HC Cancels MG Road Frontage Categorization

In a ruling that could increase the land acquisition cost for the Kochi Metro rail project, the Kerala high court has held that fixing the price of land that has frontage to a sideroad as well as MG Road at the rate of the sideroad is wrong.

The Central Government would provide relief only to those farmers, who were affected by drought, and not compensation for crop loss, clarified Pravesh Sharma, Team leader of the Central Drought Tea

Team visits delta regions in Tiruchi, Thanjavur, and Tiruvarur districts

Farmers representatives sought to impress upon the Central team that toured the delta districts on Tuesday the need for sanctioning relief quickly to all farmers as the drought has had a severe impact. Several farmers also insisted that the Centre sanction the full quantum of compensation sought by the State (which has sought about Rs.19,665 crore as drought relief).

The Himachal Pradesh government has claimed R1,365 crore in damages from Brakel Corporation of Netherlands for the delay in execution of the 980-mw Jangi Thopan Powari hydroelectric project. The private developer had bagged the project by quoting the highest upfront premium payment to the state in an auction held in 2005.

Meanwhile, sources said the state cabinet in its meeting on April 23 decided to invite fresh bids for the project rather than award it to the second highest bidder, Reliance Infrastructure.

House panel approves provision in mining bill requiring a miner to disburse an amount equal to the royalty earned by the govt

AParliamentary panel that examined the proposed new Mining Bill has recommended that coal and lignite miners too be asked to share an amount equivalent to the royalty they pay to the government with the project affected people as against the proposed 26% of profit they make.
A clause in the new Bill had proposed that miners of major minerals like iron ore and bauxite contribute an amount equal to royalty towards a “district mineral foundation (DMF)”, and coal and lignite mines part with 26% of profits towards compensating the project affected. The industry is opposed to this proposal, saying that this would, in effect, take mining tax in the country to 69-70%, the highest in the world.

Move to ensure compliance with recent guidelines; discrepancies to attract severe action

The country's apex drug regulator plans periodic inspection of clinical trial sites to ensure these comply with the recently issued guidelines. If discrepancies are found, strict action is to be taken against the company and the trials might also be suspended, said a senior official in the the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) office.

Even while trade and industry have been demanding the reopening of the GAIL pipeline project, citing the energy needs of the region, farmers are united against its unilateral implementation in its

The Hooda Government today modified its land pooling scheme making it more attractive for landowners.

The major decision has been taken with a view to taking care of the major vote bank of the Congress, the farming community, ahead of next year’s parliamentary and state assembly elections, sources told The Tribune here today. Under the new policy, the landowners can now opt for the scheme within one month from the date of determination of compensation for land by the committee headed by the Divisional Commissioner.

Compensation to be credited to their savings bank accounts

The State government has sanctioned Rs.60 crore for the distribution of compensation to 1.28 lakh farmers who suffered more than 50 per cent crop loss due to drought, according to Collector N.Venkatachalam. Presiding over a special drought relief meeting at the Collectorate here on Thursday, he said crops on 1.83 lakh acres, including paddy covering 9,919 acres, were damaged.

PANJIM: The Goa Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Thursday, with both Ruling and Opposition MLAs, unitedly urging the Central government to step in for providing financial relief for the mining dependent people of Goa and resume legal mining.

The resolution, which was moved by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar urged the Centre to provide a financial package for rehabilitation of the people affected due to suspension of mining activities since September 2012. The resolution also urged the Centre to start legal mining while assuring that each mine will be ‘perfectly checked’ before allowing it to start.