-Outlook New Delhi: The Centre today asked state governments to put all information related to implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and Public Distribution System in public domain. It has also asked states to ensure proactive disclosure under Right to Information (RTI) Act of information on public works done by a department at block and panchayat levels. Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005 lays down that information should be...

-Down to Earth Revival of small river in Fatehpur district shows the way Buoyed by the success of revival of a dry rivulet in Fatehpur district, the Uttar Pradesh government is planning to revive all dried up streams of the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The Uttar Pradesh government has directed the state's Department of Rural Development to prepare plans for recharging dried tributaries,...

-The Economic Times NEW DELHI: CBI director Ranjit Sinha has said infrastructure building through the public-private partnership model could lead to a spike in corruption cases as the potentially lucrative contracts may encourage collusion between big firms and state officials. "This route is full of pitfalls and it has opportunities for corrupt activities with big scope for collusion among promoters of consortiums to whom such projects are awarded and corrupt public servants...

-The Hindu     In Uttarakhand, women take the lead role in reviving and maintaining civil forests under Van Panchayats even in the face of several obstacles Munni Adhikari, a resident of Dhaura Gram Sabha in Lamgara block of Uttarakhand's Almora district, lives in an idyllic setting: green slopes covered with tall pine and oak trees, wild flowers in full bloom, neat little terrace farms... While this natural splendour can instantly captivate any...

-The Hindu Villages get infrastructure to conserve water and recharge wells Madurai: The district's dry pockets in the Usilampatti and Sedapatti blocks are alive with development activity aimed at mitigating the hardship faced by drought-hit farmers. Watershed and percolation ponds are being created in these regions. On the lines of initiatives taken by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and non-governmental organisations, the State government is establishing watershed projects to...