The Chhattisgarh model offers some key lessons on how to make the public distribution system deliverProbably the only thing extraordinary about Manglu is that he is the perfect example of an ordinary tribal. The 60-year-old belongs to the Pahadi Korba tribe and lives in Govindpur village of Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh. He best represents what modern India calls a below poverty line (BPL) beneficiary of various government schemes. Manglu earns...
More »SEARCH RESULT
High alert for third leg of rural polls by Amit Gupta
Heavy security bandobast is in place for the third phase of panchayat elections which will take place tomorrow in 61 blocks of 20 districts, with many of the areas considered rebel strongholds.This phase covers as many as 999 panchayats where 40,471 candidates are in the fray for 12,011 posts of gram panchayat members, mukhiyas, panchayat samiti members and zilla parishad members. The electorate strength is over 32.58 lakh.“Polling parties have...
More »Second phase of Jharkhand panchayat polls begins
Polling for the second phase of panchayat elections began in Jharkhand on Monday morning amid tight security arrangements, an official in Ranchi said. The elections began at 7 am and voters were seen queueing at the polling booths despite the boycott call by Maoists. More than 700 companies ofparamilitary troopers and state police have been deployed and three helicopters are doing air surveillance to ensure peaceful polling, the official said.In...
More »A shot at hope for village elders by Kumud Jenamani
Two elders of nearby villages, with experience of a panchayat election, were among those who cast their vote today for the state’s first-ever rural polls, united in their scepticism, but hopeful that the chosen ones would deliver on their one and only need: water. Saiba Tuddu (62) of Debanki village of Potka block in East Singhbhum wants to elect a mukhiya who will pay attention to their problem, helping him erase...
More »Bihar Polls: 59% of new MLAs have a criminal background
A cold reality check for the exultant voices from Bihar is hard statistics that show that criminals and money power continue to dominate electoral politics. A total of 141 out of 241 or 59% newly-elected MLAs have criminal backgrounds according to data analysed by National Election Watch (NEW) and Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR). This is a marked increase from 117 or 35% MLAs with pending criminal cases against them in...
More »