Andhra Pradesh will be the first state to use National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) funds to provide road connectivity and improve hygienic conditions in remote areas inhabited by Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe people. Rural connectivity has now been included in the permissible category of works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). Following this, the state government decided to spend Rs 1,000 crore from NREGS funds to...
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SC seeks update on probe into killing of Naxal leader Azad
The Supreme Court on Monday sought a detailed status report from the Andhra Pradesh government on the investigations into the alleged fake encounter of senior Maoist leader Azad. A bench comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice R M Lodha told AP's counsel and senior advocate Altaf Ahmed that the court "does not want even an iota of doubt in this matter". It asked the state to place the probe status report...
More »Boost to rural roads in 1,000 villages
The Andhra Pradesh government plans to provide rural connectivity in 14 districts across the state. The project has been linked to the Centre's Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The government issued a GO on March 3, extending the project to 14 districts, which would get internal roads and drains in the next two years. The project would provide these facilities in Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy,...
More »In rain-battered Adilabad, death stalks farmers by S Harpal Singh
With one cotton farmer committing suicide every alternate day, the district has become a virtual killing field for growers grappling with the socio-economic upheaval caused by crop failure this season. The current spate of suicides started at the beginning of the last quarter of 2010, when it became clear that the excessive rain irreparably damaged the crops. Dismal yields and mounting debts drove 30 farmers to death during this period. With 16...
More »Suicide leash on lenders
Public uproar over 20 suicides in two months has forced the Andhra Pradesh government to act to regulate micro-finance institutions. On October 14, the state government brought an ordinance making it compulsory for MFIs to register themselves, declare the effective rate of interest they charge, ensure that no security is sought for loans and no coercion is used for recovery. Non-compliance will be punished with a three-year prison term and a...
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