Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday dubbed as completely bogus Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's charge that his letter seeking her concurrence for a CBI probe into alleged embezzlement of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) funds was politically motivated. Reacting to Ms. Mayawati's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mr. Ramesh denied her charge of taking up with her the fraud committed in seven districts — siphoning...

-The Hindu   Social Welfare Minister A. Narayanaswamy on Friday asked Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) families across the State to get individual household toilets constructed under the Total Sanitation Campaign or the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. He said they would be denied the statutory benefits they were enjoying if they failed to comply with this direction. Awareness would be created among such families on the importance of...

While a CAG audit is welcome, it alone won’t improve the effectiveness of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh’s recent decision to ask the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) to audit MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) funds has created a buzz among social sector observers. They’ve been demanding reforms in MGNREGA’s implementation to arrest the slide in its effectiveness. The...

In his letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged bungling of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds in the state, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has specifically named seven districts where large sums have been spent on purchasing toys, calendars, tents and other such items of questionable relevance. National and state quality monitors have in their reports mentioned several instances...

-The Economic Times   Congress sharpened its attack against BSP, with Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh accusing the Mayawati government of embezzlingMGNREGA funds. In a letter to the chief minister, Ramesh asked the state government to seek a CBI probe into "violations and cases of deliberate embezzlement of funds" in the implementation of the Centre's flagship programme.  Ramesh pointed to alleged siphoning of funds earmarked for the rural employment guarantee scheme in seven...