Rajasthan had emerged as a model for transparency and accountability in NREGS implementation. Tragically, entrenched interests have been allowed to hijack the process.  Through the second half of October and for most of November this year, Rajasthan was engulfed in an unusual form of protest, spearheaded in the main by gram panchayat officials. Joined in some places by elected MLAs and MPs, and backed covertly by a section of District...

The termination of the proposed social audits of works carried out under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in 16 panchayats -- one each from an equal number of districts -- in Rajasthan this past week has come as a rude shock to the social activists who pioneered the job scheme. Coming as it does from the Congress Government in the NREGS flagship State of Rajasthan, the development has...

A Bill to amend Article 243 D of the Constitution and thus increase reservation for women from one-third to not less than half of the seats in panchayats was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The Bill is also aimed at increasing reservation for women in the post of Chairperson and in the seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes across three tiers (village panchayat, Panchayat Union and...

Chhattisgarh announced a proposed investment of more than Rs 1,77,000 crore in the state. Until October 2008, it had signed over a hundred mous with companies like Jindals, Tata Steel and Essar. After a couple of months of this announcement, a bureaucrat heading the state environment regulatory body resigned. “Development is the preferred option, provided the carrying capacity is available. There cannot be a trade-off at the cost of the health...

President Pratibha Patil on Tuesday called for enrolling women in a big way to make cleanliness a pivotal campaign in the rural areas and to build character and healthy habits among children. Addressing the winners of the Nirmal Gram Puraskars for the year 2009, the President emphasised on enlisting the active participation of women, self help groups, anganwadis and other women institutions for the success of the cleanliness crusade launched...