CBI is ready to probe Orissa mining scam

November 24th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa will soon deport 4,035 Bangladeshi infiltrators who have been living in 25 of the state's 30 districts, officials said Tuesday. The state government has identified as many as 4,083 Bangladeshi infiltrators during the past seven years and has deported 48 of them in a phased manner, a senior official of the state home department told IANS.

November 22nd, 2009 HYDERABAD - Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah Sunday rejected the opposition Telugu Desam Party's (TDP) demand for his resignation over alleged irregularities by Karnataka minister G.

November 21st, 2009 BANGALORE - Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC), owned by rebel Karnataka Tourism Minister G. Janaradhan Reddy, Saturday said it was not given an opportunity to present its version by the Supreme Courts Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which recommended the controversial firm be asked stop illegal mining in Andhra Pradesh.

November 14th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Justice Bilal Nazki was Saturday sworn in as the chief justice of the Orissa High Court just four days before he retires Nov 18. Justice Nazki, who was a judge of the Bombay High Court, was administered the oath by Governor M.C.

October 31st, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Orissa Saturday launched a programme to bring legal services and awareness to rural areas of the state with Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan flagging off a "legal service van" here.

October 29th, 2009 SHILLONG - The Khasi Students Union (KSU), a dominant student-youth body, has temporarily suspended its road blockade against uranium mining in Meghalaya after the government invited it for talks, officials said here Thursday. The KSU was to begin its third phase of a night road blockade Thursday to protest proposed uranium mining in the West Khasi Hills district of southern Meghalaya.

October 23rd, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - Three suspected Maoists were arrested Friday from Rayagada district in Orissa, police said. "We arrested three Maoists in an early (Friday) morning operation.

October 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court will hear today a petition seeking an independent investigation into the mysterious death of Ashutosh Asthana, the main accused in multi-crore provident fund scam. The petition filed by Nahar Singh Yadav, secretary of the Ghaziabad Bar Association, wants the viscera of Asthana to be examined by an independent agency outside Uttar Pradesh.

October 20th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Uttar Pradesh Government to hand over the viscera of Ashutosh Asthana, the prime accused in Uttar Pradesh multi-crore provident fund scam to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Asthana died in judicial custody on Saturday.

October 19th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - A public suit was filed in the Orissa High Court to check the illegal fishing boats in coastal areas which the petitioner maintained could "jeopardize the security of the country". "I have filed the petition to check the illegal fishing boats in the coastal areas, especially along the coast of Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapra district.

October 14th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - The Orissa High court Wednesday issued notices to several key officials of the central government and the Andhra Pradesh and Orissa governments on a controversial mega irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh. "The petition was filed by Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and former Orissa legislator Laxman Munda.

October 12th, 2009 LONDON - The British government Monday criticised the global mining group Vedanta Resources, owned by Indian-born billionaire Anil Agarwal, for failing to consult tribal populations in Orissa before launching operations to mine bauxite. The government upheld complaints made by the NGO Survival International that Vedanta's operations in the sacred Nyamgiri Hills of Orissa breached guidelines drawn up by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - a grouping of the world's most industrialized nations.

October 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Supreme Court Thursday agreed to allow mining of building materials in 600 hectares of the Aravali ranges in Haryana, if the state government sets up a fool-proof mechanism to recuperate land degraded by the activity. A bench of Chief Justice K.G.

September 18th, 2009 PANAJI - Acting on a petition filed by a nine-year-old boy, the Panaji bench of Bombay High Court has passed an interim order restraining the Vedanta-owned Sesa Goa's mining operations at the firm's Advalpal mining lease in North Goa. The petitioner, Akash Naik from Advalpal village, was backed by well-known NGO Goa Foundation, which has taken up several litigations against mining firms in the past.

September 9th, 2009 BHUBANESWAR - A former Orissa legislator Wednesday filed a petition in the Orissa High Court for contempt proceedings against several officials for allegedly pushing a mega irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh in violation of the court's order. Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Laxaman Munda has sought contempt proceedings against the secretary of the environment and forests ministry, the Central Water Commission chairman, and the principal secretary, the chief secretary and four other officials of Andhra Pradesh, his lawyer Bibhu Prasad Tripathy told IANS here.