-The Times of India Even as Red menace continues to be a major internal security challenge affecting almost one-third of total districts in the country, West Bengal — parts of which was once a hotbed of Maoist activities — has shown a remarkable improvement with none of its naxal-affected district reporting any casualty in the first seven months this year. Bihar comes next, reporting significant improvement in terms of reduced incidents and...

-The Times of India KOLKATA: Call it fuel austerity. For the first time, the principal secretaries of 18 departments of the state government — including chief secretary Samar Ghosh — will tour five districts in a bus rather than hired cars. This will not only save a huge amount of fuel cost, the government won't have to pay for the accommodation of the drivers and other related expenses. The secretaries will not,...

-The Telegraph The Union environment ministry has raised concerns over the proposed power plant on Nayachar island, casting a cloud on the Rs 8,600-crore investment proposal by NRI businessman Prasoon Mukherjee. At a meeting earlier this month with Bengal government officials, an expert appraisal committee under the central ministry asked the state to come up with a revised environment protection plan. Handing over a 100-page dossier prepared by a group of professionals, chaired...

-PTI Darjeeling (WB), Aug. 27: In the conflict between forest guards and forest dwellers in West Bengal’s Doars and Terai regions, 13 tribals have died in firing by forest guards since 2007, according to the State Forest Department. While the Forest Department described those killed as belonging to the timber mafia, rights bodies claimed they were just poor and innocent tribals who merely entered the forest in search of firewood and forest...

-The Hindu The West Bengal government got a major relief on Friday when the Supreme Court extended the interim order of suspension of the Calcutta High Court judgment that struck down the law intended to reclaim Singur land leased out to the Tatas and to give a part of it back to farmers who were yet to receive compensation for it. The High Court, while delivering judgment on June 22, suspended the...