The Government of India has formally launched the news Guidelines of the MGNAREGA based on the Mihir Shah Committee report. The news guidelines include many new works under conservation activities and it strengthens the hands of the Village Panchayats and gram sabhas. However, the list of works does not include the activities under the system of rice intensification (SRI) which encourages scientific method of paddy cultivation with better yield in...

-Down to Earth Biometric-based unique identity or Aadhaar is leading to huge problems for people working for the rural employment guarantee scheme and for others receiving welfare benefits. Not only have enrolments been done shoddily but the experience of the pilot projects shows that it is almost impossible to authenticate the work-hardened fingerprints of the poor, find Latha Jishnu and Jyotika Sood. Besides, there is the overwhelming issue of deficient online...

The green bench of the Himachal Pradesh high court slapped a fine of Rs 100 crore on Jaiprakash Associates on Friday for setting up a cement plant fraudulently. The court quashed the environmental clearance granted to the company's thermal plant and directed that it be dismantled within three months. It also called for a special investigation team to be set up to see if state officials were involved. Disposing of...

A barbed wire fence put up on Government land dividing two different groups of Dalits for nearly a decade in Santhaiyur village near Peraiyur was removed by the Madurai Rural district police on Wednesday. A section of people belonging to one of the Scheduled Castes had erected stone pillars and fenced the poromboke land for about 30 feet with barbed wires to “prevent the people of other group entering the land...

COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu forest department's push to get Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary declared a tiger reserve suffered a setback on Wednesday when grama sabhas in all 19 tribal-majority panchayats in the region passed separate resolutions against the move. The resolutions said the department had not consulted the local communities on the project, though Section 38 V of the Wildlife Protection Act makes it mandatory. The Wildlife Protection Act stipulates that approval from...