The Assembly elections this year, followed by squabbles and tussles between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the CPM at various gram panchayats and panchayat samitis after the regime change, have spelt doom for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in West Bengal. In the seven months from April 1 to October 31, only 19 days of jobs could be given to 2.55 lakh families and 4.17 crore mandays could...
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Plan to take politics out of panchayats by Pranesh Sarkar
The Mamata Banerjee government is planning to take politics — or at least political symbols — out of panchayats, the foundation on which the Left built the edifice that remained impregnable for 34 years. “We would like to have non-political rural bodies as it would uproot petty politics that often halts development projects in rural areas. If things go as planned, the required amendments in the act would come into force...
More »BJP, Left oppose FDI in retail; UPA also divided
-CNN-IBN As the Cabinet meets to decide on allowing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail, it remains to be seen whether the Prime Minister will bite the bullet. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left, UPA ally Trinamool Congress along with some Cabinet ministers Veerappa Moily and Mukul Wasnik have opposed it. While the BJP feels that FDI will lead to unemployment, the Left has said that it may lead...
More »Unjustified Aggressiveness! by D Bandyopadhyay
My attention was drawn to “An Open Letter to the Chief Minister of West Bengal” which was signed by thirty members of the civil society of Kolkata and Delhi. What disturbed me was the tone and tenor of the language used in the letter in denouncing Ms Mamata Banerjee’s bold initiative in inviting the Maoists of Junglemahal for a dialogue after “ceasefire”. May I ask with all humility who among the...
More »Is Nregs losing steam in states? by Manish Anand
The UPA’s flagship scheme National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) appears to be losing steam, as financial performance for the current year till the month of October indicates only five states having spent more than 50 per cent of the allotted fund. While the BJP-ruled Gujarat (63 per cent) leads the pack of states in utilisation of NREGS funds, states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka have lagged behind...
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