It took a year of peaceful protests for 3,000-odd villagers of Rojka Meo in Mewat district to finally get their due. They were given revised compensation of their land taken up by the government for developing an industrial township in the area. On Thursday, a large number of villagers sat on a dharna on the Gurgaon-Alwar State Highway at Rojka Meo in Mewat district for seven hours. It was after this that a decision to hike their compensation by Rs 21 lakh per acre was reached.

Many projects in the country may be languishing because of land acquisition problems but the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) has over the past three years acquired 70 per cent of the 10,000 hectares it requires to construct exclusive railway lines for goods traffic. The area acquired is more than half as large as the 18,500-hectare Kolkata metropolitan city.

Pretrial discussions began on Wednesday in a rare public interest lawsuit whose plaintiffs include non-governmental environmental organizations.

The three plaintiffs — Friend of Nature, Chongqing Green Volunteers Union and the Qujing environmental protection bureau — exchanged evidence with Luliang Chemical Industry, the defendant, on Wednesday, said Chang Cheng, a program officer of Friend of Nature.

The exchange and discussion will last at least three days, Chang said.

A minister in Ivory Coast has been sacked over his alleged role in the disappearance of millions of dollars meant for victims of pollution.

Adama Bictogo says he has not done anything wrong.

The case relates to a 2006 incident in which thousands became ill after toxic waste was dumped in Abidjan.

Multinational Trafigura, which shipped it, denied any wrongdoing but made a series of payments in relation to the case without admitting liability.

MUMBAI: For 480-odd farmers of Virur village in Chandrapur district, it was a pleasant surprise and a big relief when Coal India Ltd hiked the compensation for land acquisition from Rs 44,000 to Rs 10 lakh per acre and also offered job to a family member. The company will now shell out around Rs 125 crore to these farmers for acquiring 1,497 hectare for exploration of coal blocks.

New Delhi: Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday laid the onus of the petrol price hike on oil marketers. “The decision has been taken. Petrol is a deregulated commodity,” he said. The government had freed petrol prices in June 2010 when crude came down to around $40 a barrel from a historic high of $147 per barrel in July 2008. But in practice, oil companies do not move without a signal from the parent oil ministry which officially continues to deny any control.

BHUBANESWAR: The Krushak Morcha of the BJP on Wednesday assailed the State Government for its failure to solve the farmers’ problems. Presiding over a meeting of the State functionaries of Krushak Morcha here on Wednesday, president of the farmers wing Mahesh Sahu said that the farmers are yet to get compensation for crop loss they sustained last year due to natural calamities.

The bodies of five miners have been removed from a mine that collapsed last Sunday in Northeast China's Liaoning province, bringing the death toll to nine, local authorities said Wednesday.

Twelve miners were working in a newly-dug shaft in the Qingshui No 2 Mine, located in the provincial capital of Shenyang, when the shaft's roof collapsed at 11 am Sunday, according to a press release issued by the provincial coal mine safety supervisory bureau.

Power companies have refused to ink fuel supply pacts with the miner due to insertion of new clauses

The Coal Ministry has asked Coal India to examine issues, including changes in penalty clause, raised by the power producers regarding the model fuel supply agreement. The move comes against the backdrop of NTPC and many power companies refusing to ink fuel supply pacts with Coal India Ltd (CIL), disagreeing with introduction of new clauses.

India's state-run upstream oil firms will bear nearly 40 percent of the 1.38 trillion rupee ($25 billion) cost of retail fuel subsidies for the 2011/12 year, a government source said on Monday.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Oil India Ltd and GAIL (India) sell refined products and crude oil to state fuel retailers at a discount. Government also provides a cash subsidy to cover some of their losses.

State-run upstream firms will give a total discount of about 550 billion rupees to Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp, the source said.