Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) after reaching a saturation point in sanctioning of works like digging of nadis' (small water reservoirs), making gravel roads and plantations etc, is now focusing on improving the economic standard of the SC/ST and those in the Below Poverty Line' (BPL) category. Till now the works undertaken in the rural employment scheme were aimed at public utility, however the gram panchayats covered...
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No pause in Punjab’s toxic harvest by Amrita Chaudhary
Even as recent media reports caution that most fruits and vegetables are largely unfit for human consumption due to their high chemical content, pesticides continue to be used recklessly in the fields of Punjab. The ‘Granary of India’ constitutes 2.5 per cent of the total agricultural land in India, but consumes more than 18 per cent of the total pesticides used in India. Within the state the worst affected is the southwestern...
More »Prabhash Joshi and the RTI Movement by Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, Shankar Singh
TRIBUTE On May 5 it will be six months since Prabhat Joshi left us. Remembering that towering figure in the field of journalism on this occasion, we are carrying the following tribute which brings out yet another facet of his personality. It was written quite sometime ago but could not be published earlier due to unavoidable reasons. Prabhash Joshi was one of the most important journalists and thinkers of our times. He...
More »Coca-Cola care by Joe Thomas
There has recently been some triumphalism in Indian government circles over reports that the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) has been successful in reducing maternal mortality and infant mortality. Yet while the reduction in maternal mortality – from 301 to 254 for every 100,000 live births – does provide some cause for cheer, the reduction in child mortality – from 58 to 53 for every 100,000 live births – still...
More »Khap forces couple to seek death in Barmer by Ajay Parmar
A newly wed couple in Barmer district has approached the district magistrate seeking permission to end their life after a khap panchayat ordered their separation and payment of Rs 5 lakh. The panchayat had threatened to kill them if the failed to abide by its diktat. According to local reports, the khap panchayat of Bhimda village had ruled on March 5 that one Khama would have to severe her relations...
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