Humanity Hunted,Talks Fail

Humanity Hunted,Talks Fail

Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and time- One Hundred and Sixty One

Palash Biswas


Nandigram tas Mamata walks out.alks fail The top leadership of the CPI(M) will gather in New delhi tomorrow for a two-day Polit Bureau meet to finalise its strategy for the coming Presidential polls, the holding of the next Party Congress and approach to UPA government's policies and other things. Terming the dwindling tiger population in the country "alarming and a national crisis", experts Thursday demanded a separate wildlife protection cadre on the lines of the Rapid Action Force. Well, you may shed some tears for Tigers! Have you any for the hunted Humanity worldwide and the suffring Rural Agro Underprevileged communities in India, enslaved for thousand and thousand years and now victimised systematiclly with Post Modern Mnusmriti of the Zionist Hindu Global Order!

Friends, I am not surprised at all. The peace talks turned out to be a Farce, well scripted by the participants who have no commitment to the people. The opposition including the fire brand brahmin Lady, had nothing to do with Nandigarm or Singur Movement. She just encshed the people`s uprising with proactive cooperation of the Brahmincal media diluting the Mobilisation process of United Front of Resistance forces. TMC or any political party has no right to bargain with state Power!

The Players of peace have played the game well to highlight their respective interests and duped the VOTE BANK ahead of Panchayat Elections in Bengal!

Ruling Left front with all so called differances and debate stand united to achiev the predestined goals of Capitalist Development. Come Salim! come DOW! Come AMBANI! Come Zindal! Come Tata! Come all MNCs! The political parties clear the DEck! The State Power and the opposition, yes , under the leadership of MS Mamata bannerjee dilute the Resistance with respective styles. Nit Result is the same. Chemical Hub In haldia is inevitable. Buddha arranged the Reality Show at the Mahajati Sadan to create an illusion of Democracy, which exists no where!

The all party meeting for the restoration of peace at Nandigram began on Thursday on a chaotic note with the BJP, which has not been invited, staging a black flag demonstration.As participants at the meeting, convened by junior Left Front partner Forward Bloc's Secretary Ashok Ghosh, began arriving at Mahajati Sadan, the venue, BJP workers reached the spot and began demonstrating after blocking the arterial C R Avenue leading to chaos.The police said that 30 BJP workers were arrested.A strong police picket was also set up to ensure that the meeting could proceed undisturbed.

Think, Mamata happens to be a closemost ally of sangh Parivar and BJP opposes her appearance ! Same is the story of Congress, which has been always detached as far as the Resistance against indiscriminate Industrilisation and urbanisation, rearrangement of demography and eviction of rural bengal are concerned. Somen Mitra and Pradip bhattacharya were never seen in any scene, they represented Congress and kept MUM! Pranab Presidential bait is working so fine!

Ahead of the all-party peace meeting for restoration of normalcy at Nandigram, ministers of Left Front partners today held a meeting with the West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.
RSP leader and state PWD minister Kshiti Goswami and CPI leader and state Water Investigation minister Nanda Gopal Bhattacharya met the chief minister.

"We told the Chief Minister that the initiative of the all-party peace meeting was an initial effort in the peace process at Nandigram," they said.

The roles of each artist is well scripted just before the REEL Life superimposed the ground realities! Ad you should judge this scene in referance to All INDIA, why, Worldwide SCENERIO!

eGoM may offer equity in developer cos. to SEZ land-losers

The empowered group of ministers (eGoM) on SEZ is actively considering the proposal of offering 20% of the total compensation offered for the land acquisition in the form of equity shares of the company that actually develops the SEZ, report Economic Times.

Union minister of state for commerce Jairam Ramesh informed that the Resettlement & Rehabilitation (R&R) Policy, 2007; the Resettlement & Rehabilitation Bill, 2007, and Land Acquisition Amendment Bill, 2007 are under the consideration of the eGoM.

Offering the compensation package in form of equity is a crucial part of the proposed R&R policy, he said, adding that the group is expected to clear these issues within a month, following which they will be placed in Parliament.

It is worth noting that the R&R policy currently being scrutinized by the group has also broadened coverage levels for beneficiaries by including victims those losing land, those losing houses, those losing their livelihood and those affected otherwise, in the compensation package. The SEZ developer will have to provide necessary infrastructure facilities and amenities at resettlement areas.

The ministry of rural development, which drafted the R&R policy, has urged for adequate resettlement and full payment of compensation before displacement of families. It further demands payment of one-third compensation in the beginning and the rest before displacement, particularly to tribal families. Reservation benefits for Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes will be applicable for resettlement areas too.

Further progress in 123 pact, but gaps remain: India
New Delhi: India Wednesday said it has made "further progress" in civil nuclear negotiations with the US, but some "gaps" still need to be bridged before the two sides can clinch the 123 bilateral pact that will lead to nuclear commerce between the two countries.

War-hit Iraq turns to Indian guru for some peace
New Delhi : Ravaged by a violence they had never known before, despairing Iraqis Wednesday turned to Indian spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for peace that was snuffed out of their lives by the 2003 US invasion.

Sahai asks Bengal to offer 10-year tax holiday
Financial Express, India - 19 hours ago
KOLKATA, MAY 23 : Union minister for food processing industries Subodh Kant Sahai has asked West Bengal to declare tax holidays for 10 years so that the ...

Local leaders exploiting rural markets: MCX
Business Standard, India - 6 hours ago
The Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) is pitching hard with the state government for allowing spot exchange of commodities in West Bengal. ...
MCX to launch electronic spot exchange in Gujarat, Rajasthan Financial Express
MCX stuck in launching national spot exchange Economic Times

Now Reliance's Raigad SEZ faces opposition
India PRwire (Press Release), India - 11 hours ago
Even as Singur and Nandigram simmer in West Bengal, signs of serious trouble are evident in Raigad district of Maharashtra where Reliance Industries, ...
Now Reliance's Raigad SEZ Faces Opposition NEWSPost India
Now Reliance's Raigad SEZ faces opposition NewKerala.com
Now Reliance's Raigad SEZ faces opposition Monsters and Critics.com

Conservation!

The Global order is based on Nuclear race and it is worried of global warming!

India should have received a wake-up call this week about the future of its dwindling tiger population, but conservationists are far from convinced it will be heard.

Is there any conservation for the dying indigenous species? Well, A scheme for providing free coaching to the SCs/OBCs and minorities is being recast with the creation of the Ministry of Minority Affairs. You know the rarest opportunities and Job Crunch with globalistion! You know UP election results and you have seen all the drama involving quota and reservation! The Ruling Brahmins play the game with surgical precision!

Muslims have no reservation. They have hardly any entry in job market. Still, they hold a siezabl Vote bank to shatter all exit polls. Hence,like last year, 1.57 lakh devotees from India will be able to undertake the Haj pilgrimage for 2007, it was announced on Thursday!

"The government was planning to set up a wildlife crime control bureau but nothing has happened so far. The partial tiger report published by Wildlife Institute of India should wake up the authorities from their slumber," said Tito Joseph, a senior project officer of Wildlife Protection Society of India.

Renowned tiger expert Raghu Chundawat said India needs a dedicated wildlife cadre as early as possible.

What about the dying species of Rural India! Well,India Inc has every reason to celebrate the success of the country's growth that has been the result of some prudent economic policies and has grabbed global attention, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday.


In Kolkata,The all-party peace initiative for restoration of peace at Nandigram on Thursday suffered a jolt with Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee walking out after CPI(M) leader Subhas Chakraborty refused to accept the March 14 police firing as genocide.Banerjee, who entered the meeting venue along with her party colleague and Leader of the Opposition Partha Chattopadhyay at 3:15 pm, walked out after 45 minutes and drove to her residence.Meeting convenor and Forward Bloc state Secretary Ashok Ghosh tried to tackle the situation but failed.

Blaming the CPI(M) for the adjournment of today's all-party peace meeting on Nandigram, Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee said she had walked out as the Marxists were justifying the March 14 "genocide".

"They were seeking to safeguard the killers of the farmers of Nandigram on whom state-sponsored terrorism was unleashed while the voice of the opposition was gagged," an angry Trinamool chief, who left the meeting midaway after sharp differences with CPI(M) leader Subhas Chakraborty on terming the firing incident as "genocide" in a resolution, told reporters at her Kalighat residence.

Alleging that the CPI(M) leaders at the meeting 'insulted and humiliated us', Banerjee said "the state government lacks the will to restore peace in Nandigram which is evident from the fact that the Chief Minister has not attended it.

"There was no dearth of goodwill on our part as we led a high-powered delegation to the meeting," she said.

She said she had demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee after he took responsibility for the Nandigram massacre. "We also demanded punishment to the gulity and to start with, the Chief Minister should be punished first."

Asked if she would attend peace talks in future, Banerjee said "if Forward Bloc convenes it, we will go, but it should not be a CPI(M) meeting and there should be a concrete agenda for talks.

"We have no differences with LF partners with whom we have cordial relations," Banerjee said.

Earlier, it was stated that West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and State CPI-M Secretary Biman Bose would not attend the meeting, as they were leaving for Delhi to attend a Politburo meeting, scheduled for Friday. Ghosh had said that he had received an assurance from Bhattacharjee that the decisions taken at the meeting would be put into effect by the State Government, as demanded by the Mamta Banerjee-led Krishi Jami Raksha Committee.

The Trinamool MP had earlier refused to respond to calls of peace talks.

The all-party meet aims to start the peace process at troubled Nandigram in East Midnapore District, where 14 people, who were protesting against acquisition of agricultural land for industrialisation, were killed in police firing in March.

Banerjee made it clear that she would raise her agenda and the March 14 police action in Nandigram. She wanted the CBI probe to be completed and blamed that the state CID for not filing chargesheets against 10 people arrested at the Janani brick kiln and allowing them to get bail.


In SEOUL, POSCO, the world's third-largest steel maker, said on Wednesday it will start constructing a steel complex project in India in October as scheduled.

"We expect to solve the problem soon in securing land and start construction in October," Lee Dong-hee, POSCO's Chief Financial Officer, told Reuters.

In 2005, POSCO signed a contract to build a $12 billion integrated steel complex in Orissa, the largest single foreign investment in india. But the project has been hampered by local protests.

Maya puts Anil Ambani`s SEZ project in trouble

Lucknow: Anil Ambani' controversial multi-product proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) near Noida has met a roadblock with the newly sworn-in Mayawati led government in the State, expressing its reservation on the project. The Uttar Pradesh government has approached the Centre expressing reservation in allotting land for a proposed Special Economic Zone promoted by Anil Ambani Group, as the site identified for the project is not "contiguous." The state government has conveyed to the Centre that guidelines were not followed in proposing allotment of land to ADA Reliance for a multi-product SEZ in Noida, Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told reporters here today.

The SEZ was proposed to be developed on 1,200 acres.

Singh said that a three-member committee headed by the Principal Secretary (Finance) found that the land proposed to be allotted to Anil Ambani Group's Reliance was not contiguous, which was a basic requirement for allotment.

"There exists a road in the middle of the land," he added.

The decision not to forward the matter to the Centre was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mayawati, he said.

As the UPA celebrates its third anniversary, a national coalition of citizen`s groups on Thursday released a `People`s Report Card` on the government, giving it only 30 per cent marks. The report is based on a survey carried out by 500 grassroots organisations across the country on the performance of the government vis-a-vis its common minimum programme.

"When the UPA was formed, there was a lot of enthusiasm. There were expectations, but the government seems to be still pursuing the India shining agenda of the NDA and has forgotten the common people," said Amitabh Behar, convener of the people`s campaign titled `Wada Na Todo Abhiyan`.

Pointing out that public spending on education and health in comparison to the GDP is "abysmally low", Yamini Misra, another campaign representative, said, "When you take the GDP into account, we spend 3.3 percent on education whereas poorer countries like Ethiopia spend 4.6 per cent."

She further said levying education cess was a good move, but complained that the UPA has used it as a substitute for increasing allocations.

On the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the report said it has yielded some jobs, but noted that the funding for the additional 130 districts is only Rs 700 crore compared to Rs 11,000 crore for the initial 200 districts.

"Lack of basic services like primary education, health, water is something that the UPA government has failed to resolve," said B Muralidharan, member WNTA Steering Committee.

India can reap "demographic dividend" with more reforms: WTO
New Delhi, May 24: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has said India can reap the ''demographic dividend'' of its young population provided it continues with structural reforms along with greater investment in physical and human capital.

Manmohan Singh calls for inclusive growth through 10-point social charter
New Delhi, May 24 : Urging Indian industry to make growth process both efficient and inclusive, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today outlined a 10-point social charter for this purpose.

Organised crime is hurting economy: Chidambaram
New Delhi, May 24: Organised crime such as money laundering, terrorism and drug-peddling is hurting the economy more than petty thefts, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Thursday, and warned of dire results if it were left unchecked.

Welfare benefits soon to 369 mn workers in unorganised sector
New Delhi, May 24: India Thursday took a step towards a welfare state by announcing that it would soon extend benefits - life and disability cover, health and old age pension - to the 369 million workers in the unorganised sector.

'Nuclear energy is panacea for India's energy needs'
Ranchi, May 23: Nuclear energy has the potential to meet India's energy needs and keep carbon dioxide emissions at the lowest possible level, Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, said here Wednesday.

Channel 4 to say sorry for Big Brother racial slur

A British broadcaster at the centre of a racist bullying row over Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty was ordered Thursday to make an unprecedented series of on-air apologies. Britain`s communications watchdog Ofcom found Channel 4 guilty of "serious editorial misjudgement" over incidents in "Celebrity Big Brother" in January which sparked more than 40,000 viewer complaints and angry protests in India.

Left criticises UPA's economic policies
New Delhi, May 24 (PTI): Left parties today came out with a stinging criticism of the UPA government's economic policies asking the ruling coalition to "seriously introspect" its role in tackling communal forces as also the price situation.

While the CPI(M) said "popular pressure" has to be mounted on the government in the coming days to bridge the "growing hiatus between the 'shining' and 'suffering' India", the Forward Bloc blamed the UPA for its "failure" to combat communalism, terrorism and corruption.

Maintaining that UPA policies were benefitting the "communal combine", CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury said if this was happening, then "the very raison de etre of the UPA comes under a serious question mark" as the BJP-led NDA had gained in the recent assembly polls in some states.

"It is tantamount to felling the tree on which one is sitting," Yechury said in an editorial in the 'People's Democracy' on the UPA's three-year report card. "On its third anniversary, the UPA needs to squarely face this contradictory situation".

In a scathing attack on the Planning Commission, Yechury said while the government swore by the CMP, the plan body was "vigorously pushing the public-private partnership model for crucial infrastructure sector development".

"Instead of attracting private money for public sector projects, which the Planning Commission claims it does, it is actually promoting private profit-making with public money", he said.



Globe and Mail
Offical tiger figures 'grossly over-inflated'
Telegraph.co.uk - 12 hours ago
By Peter Foster in New Delhi. Tiger number in India have fallen by more than half in just ten years confirming conservationists worst fears that previous "official" figures were grossly over-inflated.
Census shows sharp fall in tiger numbers Times of India
Tiger count tells sorry tale Hindustan Times

Shed a tear for the tiger
POORNIMA JOSHI

New Delhi, May 23: The threat to the big cat is bigger than estimated.

Tiger population has plunged in several reserves in central India, home to one of the largest concentrations of the national animal, according to the preliminary findings of a census.

The overall picture confirms the trends that have been trickling out over the last few weeks but the first glimpse of the reserve-by-reserve figures reveals that the crisis is more grave than previously assumed.

Individual figures for all states have not been given but it appears that in Madhya Pradesh, which has a third of the country’s tigers, the feline population has more or less halved.

The findings of the survey, done by the Wildlife Institute of India, are all the more alarming as the margin of error is narrow.

Armed with an improvised technique that combined different methods of counting tigers, the institute has enhanced accuracy.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070524/asp/frontpage/story_7822157.asp

Rediff
Marked Indian presence at Cannes
Zee News - 23 May 2007
Cannes, May 23: After the honour of walking the red carpet at Cannes, Brand India continued to make its presence felt at the film festival with Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan promoting his latest release `Cheeni Kum`, which was premiered here.

The Amnesty International Report for 2005-06 , released simultaneously at Delhi, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar and Trivandrum on Wednesday had something to say about the Nandigram issue.

The Nandigram issue kept cropping up during the release of the report. An Amnesty International statement condemned the police action and denounced the forcible eviction of people in the name of industry. The organisation also demanded that there should be proper discussion with Nandigram residents before the government embarks on its industrialisation drive.

Justice Dilip Kumar Basu (Retd) said that Nandigram residents have been denied the basic constitutional right to assembly. Justice Chittatosh Mookherjee, former chief justice of the Calcutta High Court and the first chairman of the Bengal chapter of the Human Rights Commission, spoke on human rights violations.

“The government should ensure human rights are not violated and should establish the rule of law without infringing on the rights of marginalised populations, including women and children,” said Soumya Bhaumik, human rights education co-ordinator with Amnesty International India.



The all-party talks for restoration of peace in Nandigram collapsed today with Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee staging a walk-out alleging that CPI(M) did not accept the killing of 14 people in the area on March 14 as "genocide" and was trying to force the group to accept a pre-drafted order.

CPI(M) leader Subhas Chakraborty apparently said the incident in Nandigram was the fallout of the troubled law and order in the area. According to him, three police jeeps were set on fire in a matter of days, and the firing was the result of police effort to restore normalcy in the area.

Banerjee, however, did not subscribe to the argument and wanted punishment for those involved in the killings on March 14. She left the meeting with seven of her group members, which had representation of all parties except the Jamait and BJP.

Forward Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh, who convened the meeting, said Trinamool's arguments were heard with patience, but said it is a matter of discussion whether the incident was "genocide".
Ghosh said as the meeting was "inconclusive" it was "adjourned" and will be held later after bilateral discussions with all the parties.Ghosh, however, described the meeting as "success" and sounded optimistic of a consensus on a future date.

Banerjee said although she welcomed the move for an all-party meeting, she was dissappointed with the outcome of today's meet. She said she will preside over a meeting at Panskura tomorrow in response to Chief Minister's meeting there supporting the industrialisation initiative undertaken by the state government.

''The party Polit Bureau meet, on May 25 and 26, will also hold discussions on the outcome in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh polls,'' CPIM Polit Bureau member Ms Brinda Karat told UNI.The crucial meeting of the party's 17-member Polit Bureau, which implements the decisions of the party 85-member Central Committee, is being held at a time when the election of the next President tops the agenda of all political parties.While the present incumbent Dr APJ Abdul Kalam's term expires on July 24, the election for the Vice President's post is also due in August.

The Polit Bureau meet -- to be attended by nonagenarians, the former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and former party General Secretary H S Surjeet, senior party leaders Sitaram Yechury, M K Pandhe, Biman Basu, Kerala and West Bengal Chief Ministers V S Achhutanandan and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee -- will deliberate on the current socio-political and economic scenario, at the party headquarters - A K Gopalan Bhawan.

Ms Karat said the discussions will be held on the national situation, the UP government's performance in the three years of its rule, a critical appraisal of it and their approach to its various policies and programmes.Discussions in detail on the preperations for the next Party Congress would be held, she said, adding the date and the venue would be finalised.

The 18th Party Congress was held in Delhi in 2005 wherein party patriarch H S Surjeet had handed over the reins to Prakash Karat, while the party had resolved to expand its base in the Hindi heartland among other things.

However, the party leaders say the expansion of the party and other Left parties in Bihar and UP is the biggest challenge for the Left Front, which won a record 43 Lok Sabha seats in the 2004 general elections, followed by astonishing victories in Kerala and West Bengal.

But in the recent UP assembly polls, the party failed even to retain its two seats.

The Party will also discuss various reports to be submitted by its state units.

The CPI(M) would also discuss the ongoing talks between the government and the US administration on the nuclear deal, particularly the 123 agreement and other related issues.

In Kolkata, as participants of the meeting began arriving at the venue, Mahajati Sadan, BJP workers reached the spot and began demonstrations after blocking the arterial C R Avenue leading to chaos. The police said that 30 BJP workers were arrested. A strong police picket was also set up to ensure that the meeting could proceed undisturbed.

CPI(M) leaders including Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty, CITU state president Shyamal Chakraborty and state secretariat member Madan Ghosh, CPI state secretary Manju Kumar Majumdar and RSP Minister Kshiti Goswami also attended the meeting today.

Mamata Banerjee led a six-member delegation, which included the Leader of the Opposition Partha Chattopadhyay. The other members of the delegation were Baccharam Manna, Shisir Adhikary, Shubhendu Adhikary, Abu Sayed and Shiekh Sufian.

Congress was represented by PCC Working President Pradip Bhattacharya and Somen Mitra and Legislature Party leader Manas Bhunia.

The parties not invited to the meeting were the BJP and Left Front partners Revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI) and Biplabi Bangla Congress - all without any representation in the state assembly. An invitation extended to the CPI(ML) Liberation, also non-existent in the legislature, was later revoked.

Jamait-e-Ulema-I-Hind, which had been playing a major role in the Nandigram agitation, had also not been called in the meeting because of its non-political entity.

The SUCI has boycotted the meeting describing it as "futile", while the BJP, one of the few parties not invited, has alleged that it is a "farce". Kept away from the talks after getting invitation, CPI(ML) Liberation has said the party is skeptical about the success of the peace process.

Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and CPI(M) state secretary Biman Basu were not present at the meeting.

The area has remained a political hot-bed for more than four months over the issue of setting up a chemical hub wedging a sharp political divide among the local people, triggering unabated violence even though the Left Front Government has backed out on the project.

The unrest stalled all economic and development activities in Nandigram, and even denied administration to run in Nandigram, which virtually remained cut off from the rest of the state with members of the Trinamool Congress-led Bhoomi Uchched Protirodh Committee digging up roads and keeping vigil against entry of outsiders.

Altogether 23 people, including 14 killed in the March 14 police firing, have died in the area since January while hundreds of houses have been torched in the continuing armed rivalry.

Govt set to crack whip on NGOs receiving foreign funds

New Delhi, May 24: The government plans to tighten administrative and penal provisions to discourage misuse of tax concessions by voluntary organisations (VOS).

"The government will consider tightening administrative and penal procedure to ensure these incentives are not misused by paper charities for private financial gains," according to the National Policy on Voluntary Sector unveiled by Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia today. The policy, however, made a case for continuing fiscal concessions for VOS and suggested the government should simplify and streamline the system for granting tax exemption to charitable projects under the Income Tax Act.

Ahluwalia said donors should also be allowed to gift stocks and shares, which have become a significant form of wealth in the country, to such organisations.

The policy also suggested simplification of related provisions of Foreign Exchange Contribution (Regulation) Act apply in consultation with joint consultative groups to be set up by relevant central departments.

The government is in the process of amending the FCRA to facilitate inflow of foreign contribution for legitimate voluntary activities.

The policy also suggested encouraging government agencies to ensure proper accountability and monitoring of public funds distributed to the VOS.

Ahluwalia said monitoring of funds provided to the VOS by the government would address concerns regarding effectiveness of grants-in-aid schemes.

According to the policy, the Centre would examine the feasibility of enacting a simple and liberal central law to serve as an alternative to all-India statute for registering VOS, particularly for those who wish to operate in different parts of the country and even abroad.

Such a law would co-exist with prevailing central and state laws, allowing a VO to register under one or more laws, depending upon the nature and sphere of its activities.

Referring to issues concerning registration of VOS, he said the voluntary sector must address these issues through a suitable self-regulation.

The government, he added, would encourage evaluation of a national-level self regulatory agency for voluntary sector.

Stating that government accredition was not desirable, he said the government would encourage voluntary sector to develop alternative accredition methodologies to faclitate funding and make the process more transparent.

Ahluwalia further said Planning Commission would encourage state governments to review laws and rules and simplify them in accordance with the national policy.

The policy also said laws relating to charitable trusts vary across the states and have become complex and restrictive leading to delays, harassment and corruption.

''There exists a road in the middle of the land,'' said Shashank Shekhar Singh, Cabinet Secretary.

The decision to not forward the matter to the Centre was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Mayawati.


Nandigram Effects on Supreme Court: Issues Notices on Acquisition of Cultivable Lands for SEZs

SEZs: Supreme Court issues notice to Centre, States

Legal Correspondent

Petition challenges acquisition of cultivable land under guise of "public purpose"

http://www.thehindu businessline. com/2007/ 05/23/stories/ 2007052301790800 .htm
Land Acquisition Act being misused: petitioners
Poor farmers deprived of their land, livelihood

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Union Government, States and Union Territories on a public interest litigation petition challenging the acquisition of cultivable land from farmers under the guise of "public purpose" for developing special economic zones (SEZs).
A Bench, headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, issued the notice last week on the petition by the Karnataka Landless Farmers Association and four others, after hearing counsel D.K. Garg. It directed that this petition be tagged with a similar one, for which notice had been issued.
The petitioners questioned the constitutional validity of Sections 3 (f), 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 that authorised governments to acquire agricultural land for "public purpose" for builders, developers and industrialists denuding poor farmers and cultivators of their land and livelihood, forcing them to commit mass suicide.
They said that every year, poor farmers and landowners were deprived of lakhs of hectares of their land. A pre-Independence Act had become a tool for land mafias and grabbers to grab the land of poor farmers for economic gains.
Approvals to SEZs
The petitioners pointed out that till September 2006, the Board of Approvals Committee of the Commerce Ministry approved 267 SEZs and the area for each SEZ was in the range of 1,000-14,000 hectares. They provided figures of land acquisition to show how the provisions in the Act were being misused.