-PTI   The barriers erected by villagers to cordon off South Korean steel major Posco's proposed steel plant in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district have been removed, paving the way for site preparatory activities to resume on the much-delayed Rs 52,000 crore project. Work at the project site resumed on Saturday, after a gap of 25 days, when locals removed two bamboo gates erected by them at Gadakujang and Nuagaon following talks with state government...

-The Telegraph   The Centre is planning to carry out a land survey in 60 Maoist-affected districts and provide legal aid to tribals fighting disputes over plots amid concerns that tribal dispossession was the main reason behind the growth of Naxalism. Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today said a large number of tribals had lost land to non-tribals. “We have to document these cases and provide legal assistance to tribals who are fighting land...

A report from a sample survey of the functioning of the public distribution system in 12 villages in two districts in Orissa, a state usually associated with a poor PDS. While there are errors in exclusion and inclusion of households covered, there has been a vast improvement in operation of the PDS; below the poverty line households seem to be receiving their entitlements. The households also express a strong preference...

-The Times of India   Posco officials and police faced a major stumbling block at Gadakujang village, the site of the company's proposed steel plant in Jagatsinghpur district, as a large number of irate villagers prevented their entry into the area on Thursday. Many agitated villagers prevented the entry of police forces by blocking the road at Gadakujang. Last week, the Posco authorities had started land-leveling works after acquiring about 1,980 acre land...

-The Business Standard   The road to renewal of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Posco India seems to be bumpy with the officials of the steel firm and the Orissa government failing to reach a consensus even though the pact lapsed on June 21 last year. In the latest of their series of interactions with the state government, the Posco India officials on Wednesday met state Chief Secretary B K Patnaik and steel...