A newly e-literate village paanwala's obsession with Google has blown the lid off a unique NREGS scam in Porbandar. The motley bunch of beneficiaries include affluent NRIs, doctors, government officials, teachers and well-off farmers — all shown as unemployed village labourers holding NREGS job cards. So far, the money siphoned off comes to nearly Rs 1 crore. On paper, there are 963 NREGS job cardholders at Kotda village in Kutiyana taluka...

Food and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar is being praised in some quarters for daring to take a politically incorrect position. In a sharp disagreement with the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council's (NAC) proposal to supply subsidised food to 75% of the population, Pawar has pointed out two flaws in the proposal: first, that it is unaffordable and second that it is near impossible to procure and store the required food...

India's key sectors like water, forest, health and agriculture will be affected in a major way due to the increase in net temperature by 1.7- 2.2 degree celsius in another 20 years in the four climate hotspots. The "Climate Change and India: a 4x4 assessment" report, which was released today providing an assessment of impact of climate change in 2030, also predicts an increase in precipitation (rain, snow and storm) in...

The CAG indicts Uttarakhand for pursuing hydel power projects indiscriminately without concern for the environment. IN a severe indictment of the Uttarakhand government, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said it was pushing the State towards a major environmental catastrophe by following a highly ambitious hydropower policy. In a report titled “Performance Audit of Hydropower Development Through Private Sector Participation”, which was released recently, the CAG substantiates the allegations...

Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh announced in Sariska on Wednesday Rs.30 crore for shifting villages from the Sariska Tiger Reserve. On a visit to the reserve after the death of CP1, one of the five tigers released there as part of the re-introduction of tigers, Mr. Ramesh expressed his concern over the incident but gave the go-ahead to his team there for the continuation of...