The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has cornered the state government, which had recently demanded a special package of Rs 2,500 crore for frost-hit farmers, in its report tabled in state Assembly today. The CAG has found gross irregularities, non-implementation of schemes, weak budgetary and expenditure controls in both original and supplementary budgets, rush of expenditure at the close of the financial year and underutilisation of central assistance. “The targets...

The social audit of schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Act (MGNREGA) now permits the involvement of outsiders in the process as facilitators. A new set of rules framed by the ministry of rural development for such audits has been approved. Christened Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Gurantee Audits of Schemes Rules 2011, the rules ensure the audit process is independent of agencies implementing the scheme and the...

To facilitate larger lease holdings of land for agro-based units The amendment allows the lease period for 15 years instead of five years Accounts of the panchayati raj institutions placed under the purview of CAG Rajasthan has amended its tenancy laws to facilitate larger lease holdings of agricultural land for longer periods by entrepreneurs who are interested in setting up agro-based products. The move takes into account the big potential the State has...

Judicial review of executive action is not unique, but the remedy in the CVC case is a departure from the court's record of approach to corruption. THE Supreme Court's decision to declare the appointment of Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) P.J. Thomas as non-existent in law has stimulated much debate. The political fallout of the ruling has been widely studied, with pundits pondering over how seriously it may impact the Prime Minister's...

The quashing of the appointment of P.J. Thomas as the CVC shows the judiciary can go beyond the express provisions of law to render justice. THE Indian Constitution does not envisage strict separation of powers among the three branches of the government – the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. This flexibility permits marginal incursions though one branch cannot usurp the essential functions of the other. One of the essential functions...