-Live Mint Court says government should decide allocation of captive mine; move could lead to protests by rival steel makers New Delhi/Mumbai: A Supreme Court (SC) order on Friday raised the prospect that Posco's showcase $12 billion (`65,400 crore today) steel project in Orissa, stalled for at least six years, could be allocated a captive iron ore mine, but experts said such a move could lead to protests by other firms...

-The Business Standard Eminent personalities and activists, including Justice V R Krishna Iyer and historian Ramachandra Guha, today appealed to the government to ensure a speedy trial of tribals, who are accused of being Naxals or helping them. In an open letter, they said the failure to ensure justice for adivasis is a grave blot on India's human rights record. "Not only are we as a nation committed to democracy and...

-The Times of India To the Government of India, Members of the Judiciary, and All Citizens, One of the most disastrous consequences of the strife in the tribal areas of central India is that thousands of adivasi men and women remain imprisoned as under-trials, often many years after being arrested, accused of 'Naxalite/ Maoist' offences. The facts speak for themselves. In Chhattisgarh, over two thousand adivasis are currently in jail, charged with 'Naxalite/Maoist'...

-The Indian Express Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Friday ordered the state government to strictly adhere to the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of) Forest Rights Act, 2006, and the rules framed thereafter under this central Act. The order came on a public interest litigation (PIL) by a group of NGOs, which said the state government was violating the provisions of the Act in deciding the claims of...

-Live Mint Why do the central and state govts deliberately undermine the constitutionally created panchayats? The collector of any district in India would be heading 100 to 150 committees related to various development initiatives in the area. Collectors often don't get time to prepare for or preside over the meetings of these committees-imagine what happens to implementation then. On the other hand, the heads of district panchayats and municipalities in the...