Govt mulling Special Parl Session to pass crucial bills New Delhi: With the crucial Food Security Bill and Land Acquisition Bill still pending, sources say the government is mulling a Special Session of Parliament to get the bills passed. Reports also say the government is looking at the option of introducing an ordinance instead too.

But the government had earlier denied any such move. Sources say that the Food Ministry is opposed to bringing an ordinance.

The government may be hopeful of getting the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) help in passing the bills after the resignation of Pawan Kumar Bansal as the Railway Minister and Ashwani Kumar as the Law Minister. The Budget Session was a complete wash-out as the BJP was stiff on demanding the resignation of Bansal and Ashwani over the Railwayu bribery controversy and the coal scam.

However, whether or not the BJP would co-operate in the passing of the bills remains to be seen. The BJP has been demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the coal scam. ...more    
11:14 AM, May 14, 2013

Congress wins Karnataka, Parliament adjourned sine die New Delhi: Parliament was adjourned sine die at 12.56 pm on Wednesday, two days before scheduled end of the Budget session. The decision was reportedly taken after the Congress's victory in Karnataka elections. The adjournment would mean that crucial bills like the Food Security Bill and the Land Acquisition Bill won't be passed. It was yet another day of uproar and unruly scenes in Lok Sabha as opposition MPs rushed...  
12:56 PM, May 08, 2013

National food security bill tabled in Parliament
by IANS
New Delhi: A war of words broke out between the Congress and the opposition over the National Food Security Bill that the government tried its best to debate in the Lok Sabha and get passed on Monday. The opposition continued to disrupt the house over the coal blocks allocation issue as Food Minister KV Thomas moved the bill, saying it was a key UPA legislation that would give the right...  
04:05 AM, May 07, 2013

Odisha: Land acquisition for Posco steel project resumes Paradip/Bhubaneswar: Land acquisition for the Rs 52,000 crore Posco steel project resumed in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district on Monday after being suspended for about two-and-a-half months. The restarting of the demolition of betel vines at Gobindpur village at the proposed plant site near Paradip coincided with Posco-India CMD YW Yoon meeting Development Commissioner JK Mohapatra at the state secretariat in Bhubaneswar. Though Yoon described the meeting as a courtesy call, sources...  
12:24 AM, Apr 23, 2013

Land Bill should be sent back to Select Committee: CPI(M)
by
New Delhi: CPI(M) Politburo Member Brinda Karat reiterated the Left party's demand to send the Land Bill back to a Select Committee. Karat was speaking to CNN-IBN's Rupashree Nanda. Here's the transcript of the interview: CNN IBN: The signal that came out of the all party meet that was held on the April 18 was that the Left had agreed not to send the Land Bill back to the Select...  
10:27 PM, Apr 22, 2013

New Land Acquisition Bill is a compromise: Jairam Ramesh New Delhi: Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh during the all party meeting on Thursday said there was an agreement that the Land Bill should be brought for discussion and passing in the second half of the Budget Session. The minister is hopeful of finally replacing the colonial, 119-year-old Land Acquisition Act with a fairer law but added that Parliament must function. Between April 9-18, Ramesh reached out to leaders cutting...  
09:45 PM, Apr 18, 2013

Land Bill: BJP assures support, says govt must compensate farmers

As parties decide to bring the Land Acquisition Bill in the second half of the Budget Session in Parliament, beginning from Monday, the BJP has assured support. "The problem of land mafia has escalated as they believe that the prices of land will go up after acquiring plots from the farmers. The government must ensure that the original farmer is compensated," said Leader of Opposition Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj. ...
03:32 PM, Apr 18, 2013

Land Acquisition Bill: All-party meet called on Thursday New Delhi: An all-party meeting has been called on Thursday to discuss the Land Acquisition Bill, which seeks to strengthen landowners' rights during acquisition for development. This will be the third all-party meeting on the Land Acquisition Bill. The parties, which failed to arrive on a consensus on the bill in the last two meetings, were asked to give their suggestions by April 15 and six parties are reported to...  
08:19 AM, Apr 18, 2013

Land Bill to be brought in coming Parl Session Anand: Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday said the Centre will bring in revised Land Acquisition Bill in the forthcoming session of Parliament as there was a political consensus on it. "We will bring the revised bill in this session. All political parties want to get it passed," Ramesh said. "States have given their suggestions and I have also met opposition leaders like Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj...  
05:17 PM, Apr 13, 2013

Anti-Posco protesters demand withdrawal of force Bhubaneswar: With Odisha government all set to resume land acquisition for Posco's mega steel project in Jagatsinghpur district, anti-displacement bodies and Left parties on Friday staged demonstrations demanding withdrawal of force from the proposed plant site area. Demonstrations were held in various district headquarters in response to a call by CPI to observe All India Solidarity Day. Besides Odisha, demonstrations were held in other states, claimed CPI national executive member...  
07:50 PM, Apr 12, 2013

Land Acquisition Bill: All party meet inconclusive New Delhi: An all party meet convened to reach a consensus on the Land Acquisition Bill remained inconclusive on Tuesday with no headway being made at all. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), AIADMK and CPM gave their suggestions, other parties are expected to follow suit by April 15. After all the suggestions are made, there will be another round of meeting on April 18, by when there is likely...  
03:39 PM, Apr 09, 2013

Land Acquisition Bill: All party meet today New Delhi: The government will convene an all party meet on Tuesday to iron out the controversial Land Acquisition Bill. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath has called the meeting as the party meet could not reach a consensus by March 7. While the Left wants the Land Bill to be sent back to the standing committee, the Trinamool Congress has completely rejected it. Earlier in April, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh...  
07:40 AM, Apr 09, 2013

Rs 297 crore additional funds for Kochi Metro Kerala government on Wednesday sanctioned an additional Rs 297.75 crore for the Kochi Metro project. Out of this, Rs. 88.50 crore is state government's equity share and Rs 209.25 crore for land acquisition, a Kochi Metro press release said. ...  
08:45 PM, Mar 27, 2013

Land bill: Govt convenes all-party meet on March 7 The government has convened an all-party meeting on March 7 to iron out differences on issues relating to the ambitious land acquisition bill. Sources said the meeting has been convened by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath after several MPs including Basudev Acharya (CPI-M) raised objection about certain clauses in the bill including compensation package and rehabilitation. ...  
09:50 PM, Mar 01, 2013

Mamata Banerjee firm on no land acquisition stand
by IANS
Countering her predecessor Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's strong pitch for industrialisation, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday reiterated her government's stand of not "forcibly" acquiring land except for setting up railway lines and roads. ...  
02:39 AM, Feb 13, 2013

Protests and sand, but no steel: POSCO's fading India dream A few weather-beaten shipping containers, a swathe of sand and a bitterly divided village: that is all South Korea's POSCO has to show seven years after it announced plans for a $12 billion steel mill on a fertile strip in Odisha. Last week, the project took a step forward as land was taken over from farmers for the first time since 2011, and yet Posco is still a long way...  
08:36 PM, Feb 10, 2013

Odisha land takeover for Posco plant passes peacefully
by IANS
Land acquisition for Posco's $12 billion steel plant in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district passed off peacefully on Monday under heavy police deployment, an official said. ...  
01:20 AM, Feb 05, 2013

Land acquisition for Posco on, police excess alleged The land acquisition for the Rs 52,000-crore Posco steel project, which resumed amidst tight security at Gobindpur village in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, continued peacefully today, the state government said. Chief Secretary BK Patnaik claimed people were offering their land and betel vines on their own. "There is no violence during the land acquisition. The district administration of Jagatsinghpur and the local police have been instructed to undertake land acquisition work...  
10:50 PM, Feb 04, 2013

Real estate sector likely to revive in 2013, say experts After a long lull, the year 2013 is expected to bring back hopes of growth to the real estate sector, mainly due to the government's positive approach towards reforms and moderation of interest rates, experts say. Land Acquisition and Real Estate Regulation Bills are expected to be passed during the year, while there is a likelihood of Reserve Bank bringing down the interest rates. ...  
03:19 PM, Dec 23, 2012

Land acquisition bill deferred till Budget Session The controversial Land Acquisition Bill is set for further delay as its consideration was on Monday deferred by the Lok Sabha till the next session bowing to the wishes of Opposition members. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said the Bill would be taken up for consideration as the first measure in the budget session. ...  
08:04 PM, Dec 18, 2012