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.

New Delhi Noted agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan on Thursday urged the government to invest in building infrastructure for post-harvest technology before it implements the food security Bill.

Pointing out a huge mismatch between grain production and storage facilities, Swaminathan said for ensuring adequate supply of grain under the food security law, a modern procurement system needs to be in place.

Plans are afoot to increase the production of inland fish in the State to three lakh tonnes a year.

Presently, of the total 5.97 lakh tonnes of fish production in Tamil Nadu, inland fish production is only 1.72 lakh tonnes and marine fisheries is 4.25 lakh tonnes. To make available more fish seeds and advanced fingerlings from 7 cm to 10 cm stage, the capacity of fish hatcheries and fish-rearing centres across the State is being enhanced and additional infrastructure created. Catla, Rohu, Mrigal varieties of Indian major carp (kendai meen) and common carp are bred and reared at these centres.

Chandigarh: A senior official of the Chandigarh Administration on Monday urged the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to draft an industrial policy for the city. Stating that the Draft Industrial Policy 2009 had become old, Home Secretary-cum-Industries Secretary Anil Kumar further said that the time was ripe for a fresh policy draft. “ Let us focus on a few key areas and draft a policy to give vision and guidance to the industry in Chandigarh.

ThiruvananthapuramKerala, counting on debt funding by Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to feed 80% of its proposed R1.18-lakh-crore high-speed rail corridor project, is likely to corner some Japanese industrial investment too, as if in bonus.

A business team, led by Japanese diplomatic officials, has been in talks with state industry officials on a project for manufacturing advanced technology components for high-speed trains.

GUWAHATI : An effort on the part of the Public Works Department (PWD) of Assam to get funds from the World Bank for the development of the State’s road connectivity has finally paid dividends. The World Bank has already sanctioned the funds to the State PWD.

The funds of the World Bank will be used to build 1000-km of new roads in the State. In the first phase, Rs 1950-crore has been sanctioned for building 500-km of roads in different parts of the State.

SRINAGAR: Minister for Tourism and Culture, Nawang Rigzin Jora today said that tourism potential of Dodhpathari is being explored fully by creation of tourist related infrastructure and development of scenic spots of the area. He said to upgrade infrastructure facilities at the destination the Government has submitted a project of Rs 4.91 crore to Union Ministry of Tourism for approval of funding.

New Delhi: Drawing flak for project delays, the government has decided to set up a dedicated forum to clear bottlenecks such as coal linkages and environmental and defence clearances that are major holdups. Top government officials told TOI that after the meeting of the Prime Minister’s Council on Trade and Industry last month, the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) has been asked to identify projects and remove bottlenecks in consultation with other departments and ministries.

Greater Noida: After missing several deadlines, the Yamuna Expressway is finally set to open around June 15. The state government has asked Jaypee Group to complete work on the e-way by May 31 after which UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will inaugurate it. Recently, a meeting was held between the Jaypee group top brass and the UP government in which pending work was discussed and a deadline set to give final touches to the expressway by May 31.

Dharavi's officer on special duty (OSD) and the committee of experts (CoE) added one more year to the already delayed Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) by coming up with alternative plans in mid-2009. Gautam Chatterjee, OSD, and the CoE, with three of its 10 members from the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centre (SPARC), rejected the existing 5-sector model that had been approved by at least 12 government departments and even the Planning Commission of India.