Lost opportunity in Bihar
Rural Bihar is being suffocated by the control exercised by the landed gentry who own a disproportionate share of cultivable land and yet have little interest in increasing agricultural production. Those who can and do
D Bandyopadhyay
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Singur: What happened, what next and time to pay the cost
Since Tata Motors has shifted the Nano project from Singur, the company will have to meet the cost of land acquisition, development and the police protection that was provided for two years. The state government should issue a global expression of interest to set up an automobile plant in the area
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Does land still matter?
The national economy is growing at near double-digit rates but neither industry nor non-agricultural activities in rural India have been able to provide livelihoods for millions of rural workers. It is this failure that underlies the spurt in rural violence that has highlighted once again the issue of the poor's access to land, water and forests. It is gradually being recognised that further deterioration of economic, social and political conditions of the rural poor can neither be arrested nor reversed without a significant policy shift towards a comprehensive land reform programme.