-The Times of India The Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the omnibus ban on iron ore mines in Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts of Karnataka and permitted 81 lease owners, who had committed minor violations, to resume mining after compliance of stringent conditions laid down by the courts. Moving forward from its reference to illegal mining activity for decades under active political patronage as "a shocking state of depredation of nature's bounty...

-The Times of India In the continuing 'Congress vs Congress' green battle, the Union tribal ministryhas once again rebuffed the Andhra government's attempt to start mining in tribal pockets of Vishakhapatnam, rejecting the claim that ban on sale or lease of tribal land to non-tribals was not applicable to state corporations. Reiteration of the illegality came after Andhra mounted a fresh defence of the bauxite mining lease - after a meeting in...

-The Indian Express Alarmed by ministerial turf wars thwarting his GoM's bid to "expedite" environment clearances and coal supply to eight power projects identified by the Prime Minister's Office, Sharad Pawar is learnt to have sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's "intervention" to ensure the GoM's decisions are "implemented in a time-bound manner". Pawar was made chairman of the GoM on environmental and developmental issues relating to coal mining and other development...

-The Economic Times Tribal affairs minister VKishore Chandra Deo is best known for engaging Cabinet colleagues through carefully-crafted letters to get his point across. From preventing the dilution ofForest Rights Act to a directive to governors to stop mining in tribal areas, the 66-year-old activist-minister believes in winning over Cabinet colleagues politely. And he has proved one doesn't have to be outspoken, like some of his colleagues, to get work done....

-The Indian Express If the BJP finds itself on the back foot today, it isn't because of corruption scandals, but due to the splintering of its social coalition As the stage is set for the state assembly elections in Karnataka, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda recently made a surprising admission: corruption is not an issue in the upcoming elections, and the precipitous decline in political morality can only be arrested by...