Two aides of economist Jean Drèze were targeted by unscrupulous contractors, suspected to have been backed by Maoists, for exposing rampant corruption in the Centre’s flagship rural job scheme in a Latehar village late last night. Niyamat Ansari died after he was beaten up mercilessly by a 12-member gang at Jerua village, 130km from the state capital, but his friend and colleague Bhukan Singh had a narrow escape as he wasn’t...

The workers covered under the purview of the scheme now will be drawing wages at Rs. 119 a day A section of society feels that the works assigned will be of no use The increase in the wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) that came into effect in the district a few days ago has evoked varied response n the district. The workers covered under the purview of...

The flagship programmes of the UPA government in the social sector have had little impact. Spending has been between 25 and 75 per cent in many schemes like the Indira Awas Yojana, the rural housing scheme, the rural electrification scheme and the rural health programme. Irrigation statistics have come under scrutiny. Some education initiatives have managed to achieve physical targets but several NGOs have raised issues concerning the quality. National Rural Employment...

One of the big surprises in the 2011-2012 budget was that spending on the country’s landmark rural employment program remained flat, disappointing activists who see it as a way of redressing growing wealth disparities. The program has since 2006 guaranteed 100 days of work a year for unskilled laborers to build rural infrastructure like irrigation ditches and roads. The Congress party has made the program, known as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural...

For most schemes, the increases have been nominalThe Union Budget goes eloquent about the virtues of the flagship schemes of the UPA government but Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has kept a tight fist while allocating funds, whether for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) or those under the umbrella of Bharat Nirman.Though the finance minister referred to wages under the 100-day employment programme having being increased after being indexed...