Tribals vow to oppose displacement

Social movements-

Efforts- The blocking of the Daitari-Paradip highway will continue until the
Government initiated a meaningful dialogue with the agitating tribals

Mobilization-10,000 tribals and members of pro-tribal mass organisations and political outfits from Orissa,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra

Demands- No cultivable or forest land should be handed over to private companies to set up industries or
special economic zones either in Orissa or any other part of the country. all States
and the Centre stop transfer of tribal land in scheduled areas and other areas to non-tribals and
restore all unlawful alienation of land

Names of pressure groups- Bisthapan Virodhi Janmanch, which has been

spearheading the anti-displacement agitation in Kalinga Nagar.

Date of the event-3 january 2007

Mp tribals seek full right on forest land

People's Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi on Tuesday charged the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department officials of beating and forcibly
evicting the tribals from their land in Harda district. 

"The MP Forest Department officials were beating tribals and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dweller (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act 2006 isn't being implemented properly in state," PUDR secretary Moushumi Basu told reporters here, after visiting Harda. 

Kssp demands transparency in adb loans

Kozhikode: The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) has demanded greater transparency regarding the agreement for loan from Asian Development Bank (ADB)
signed by the State Government. The KSSP said that people feared the move would lead to privatisation of essential services.

KSSP president K.N. Ganesh said transparency was essential, as it was feared that the agreement would lead to denial of public water tap facility and imposition of user
fees for various services.

The KSSP spokesman said that although the LDF Government had announced that the conditionalities for the ADB loan no longer existed, a condition remained that
there should be a middleman in the form of a foreign consultant between the local body and the State Government.

Another clause stipulates that there should be global tenders for all purchases costing more than Rs.45 crore.

The KSSP said local bodies should be able to utilise the loan without interference from the foreign consultant. The KSSP said resources for water supply, waste disposal
and road development should be raised locally.

Local bodies were unable to utilise Plan funds and put to efficient use the revenue from tax.

Muscle money power rule the roost in pds ,say rti activists

Even though the Right to Information Act was passed almost a year ago, for many citizens getting a simple piece of information on issues such as their entitlement for
foodgrains under the Public Distribution System still remains a distant dream. Not only do they face opposition from unscrupulous officials, often they are also
threatened by the corrupt officials and traders to whom the PDS stocks are transferred illegally

Sez only way forward for job growth ,says cii

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) as conceived by the government will be a "powerful instrument'' to achieve rapid growth in manufacturing, employment and exports,
according to the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), R. Seshasayee.
The SEZs offer "the only way forward'' in bridging the gap between India and South-East Asia, including China, in terms of manufacturing and employment, Mr.
Seshasayee said in the first pronouncement of the CII on the controversy surrounding SEZs.

Pro-American tilt in foreign policy: AITUC

Special Correspondent

No economic justification in signing nuclear deal: Dasgupta

NEW DELHI: The All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) on Tuesday expressed concern over what it called the pro-American tilt in foreign policy. While appreciating
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's speech at Havana, the Communist Party of India-backed outfit disapproved the signing of the civilian nuclear deal with the United
States.

"There is no economic justification for signing the treaty," AITUC general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta said in his report at the union's working committee meeting in
Kolkata.

Mr. Dasgupta welcomed the Government move to normalise relations with Pakistan, expand trade and economic cooperation and increase people-to-people contact
between the two countries.

Bhopal gas victims getting sub-standard drugs: NGOs

Staff Correspondent

"Criminal neglect of medical care by State Government"

BHOPAL: Four non-government organisations working here among the victims of the Union Carbide gas disaster of 1984 and ground water contamination have alleged
after conducting raids on Wednesday on two medical stores of the Madhya Pradesh Gas Relief Department that a large number of expired and substandard drugs are
being used for treatment of the gas victims.

Social audit uncovers irregularities in rajasthan

The dharna, convened by the Suchana Evum Rojgar Ka Adhikar Abhiyan, on its 29th day was attended by over 2,000 persons from 22 districts of Rajasthan. The workers took
out a rally in the evening demanding action in the anomalies detected in the implementation of the job scheme.

During the day a delegation led by Magsaysay award winner Aruna Roy met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and submitted a memorandum to him on the minimum wages. They
asked Mr. Gehlot to go personally to Delhi to plead the cause of MNREGA workers and get the clearance from the Centre on the extra payment needed. Another delegation met
the Chief Secretary S. Ahmed and briefed him on the decision not to celebrate Diwali by the workers of MNREGA all over Rajasthan.