It was UPA 1's winning mantra. But the Rs 33,000 crore a year rural Job Guarantee scheme may be floundering with the government admitting the flagship programme suffers from delayed payments, poor awareness, lack of durable assets, faulty job cards and muster rolls.  The finance ministry has echoed some of the major criticisms of the Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guarantee Actlisting endemic "lack of awareness about rights and entitlements" and inability...

'This will send a strong message that State will not compromise on corruption' Even as an hour-long meeting on Saturday between Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav indicated that the phase of Centre-State confrontation might just be over, the Central Minister has urged Mr. Yadav to recommend a CBI probe into the irregularities in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee...

-The Times of India It was UPA 1's winning mantra. But the Rs 33,000 crore a year rural Job Guarantee scheme may be floundering with the government admitting the flagship programme suffers from delayed payments, poor awareness, lack of durable assets, faulty job cards and muster rolls. The finance ministry has echoed some of the major criticisms of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act listing endemic "lack of awareness about...

-IANS The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government will soon move the central government to increase Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) wages to Rs.200 from Rs.136. Unhappy with the central government hiking the wage for the 100-day rural Job Guarantee programme from Rs.130 to Rs.136 in the state, West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress is planning to take up the issue with New Delhi. "We will soon demand that the central government...

MGNREGA is certainly a good idea. But it can’t be allowed to play havoc with farming operations by weaning away labourers during peak season RURAL DEVELOPMENT Minister Jairam Ramesh recently rubbished the need for freezing the flagship rural job scheme MGNREGA during peak agricultural season. Dismissing the possibility, Ramesh had said: “The matter has been examined by the Mihir Shah Committee and rejected.” Knowing that Mihir Shah’s entry into Planning Commission...