The State Finance Commission, although a technical and quasijudicial constitutional entity like the Union Finance Commission, has to help local governments plan for economic development and deliver social justice and public services at the local level.
All discussion of illegal mining, specially of iron ore, has to keep in mind two things. First, the nature of legality cannot be defined in narrow terms of mining laws, but needs to cover the environmental and social goods that lie in its ambit. Second, the massive growth in mining is directly related to the nature of economic liberalisation and loosening of government controls.
Labelling of genetically modified foods is a contentious issue and internationally there is sharp division on whether such labels ought to be mandatory. This debate has reached India where the government has proposed mandatory labels. Mandatory labelling aims to provide greater information and correspondingly more informed consumer choice.
The governments of the Himalayan hill-states and the international donor agencies have consistently advocated disbursal of funds for improvement of road connectivity in keeping with the mandates of a
The latest Cooum river restoration project in Chennai aims to focus on slum eviction as an achievable first step. A 19-kilometre elevated expressway on the river is also planned.
The plan to mine uranium in Meghalaya to address the needs of the nuclear industry in India has run into opposition and protests in the state. A complicated story featuring the opposition led by the Khasi Students Union emerges as one delves into the issue. Placing an active source of rent in a region with not one but several established insurgencies is fundamentally a flawed idea.
