State govts are willing to hand land, forest, water over to industry. But more desperately, people all over India have begun to use all available means to contest the usually coercive intrusion of the State into their lives -Ashutosh Mishra

South Korean steel giant POSCO's proposed steel plant hangs in virtual limbo. Popular resistance by the POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti has rendered land acquisition for the Rs 51,000 crore project-hailed as a foreign direct investment coup-quite impossible.

Ongole, July 27: Aqua culture and salt industries have turned soil saline in many parts of Prakasam district making large chunks of land unfit for cultivation. Salt cultivation is on in 7,867 acres in four mandals of the district and in the last one decade, aquaculture is also on the rise in nine mandals.

Over 5000 landless people at a memorial meeting yesterday urged the government to distribute khas lands among landless people, saying it is their constitutional right.

They also demanded arrest and punishment of land grabbers who shot dead Shaheed Jayeda Khatun, a leader of landless people at Baburabad in Kaliganj upazila on July 27 in 1998 as the landless demanded khas land.

KOLKATA, July 27: Amidst widespread fears that food security in the state would come under threat owing to the LF government's industrialisation policy, a report prepared by the state land and land reforms department reveals that in fact only 9,000 acres of farm land in the state has been converted for setting up of industries over the last two years.
Of far more concern, in the context of food security, is the fact that some 15 lakh acres of farm land remain uncultivated in the state every year mainly due to the financial constraints of marginal farmers and bargadars, as per the report.

PANJIM, JULY 24

Vivek Mehra / New Delhi July 25, 2008, 0:08 IST

The book is a thoroughly researched one. Palit and Bhattacharjee have successfully attempted to demystify the special economic zone (SEZ) phenomenon. The facts surrounding SEZs are presented in a simple and systematic manner.

Jamshedpur, July 24: Jindal Steel and Power Limited has opened its local office in the city to expedite the process of land acquisition for its greenfield project.

The office that came up in New Baradwari would deal with the process of land acquisition for its proposed 5-million-tonne steel plant project.

The plant will be set up at Asanboni, about 25km from Jamshedpur.

The office premises would remain busy with the visitors, especially rayiats possessing landed properties at Asanboni and also the middlemen.

PANJIM, JULY 23

Works relate to power, land, irrigation and flood control

Rs.126.18 crore project sanctioned to meet power requirements of West Delhi and provide power to DMRC

PWD to undertake project to build road over-bridge, under-bridge at railway level crossing near Nand Nagri

NEW DELHI: The Expenditure Finance Committee of the Delhi Government has given its nod to seven new projects amounting to Rs.347 crore. Four projects relate to the Public Works Department and one each to power, land and building and irrigation and flood control departments.

Menaka Rao

He won a case against a co-operative society that promised water supply after mortgaging his land

After fighting for about 10 years, a Nashik-based farmer, Punja Gaikwad won a case against an