In a quiet coup of sorts, Maoists have taken control of panchayats in about 30 blocks of Malkangiri and Koraput districts in the ongoing panchayat elections in Orissa. All their nominees have been elected unopposed after the Maoists warned local people against nominating any other candidate. Close to 2,500 members of these panchayats have also been elected unopposed. Sources said at least 32 heads of panchayats (sarpanches) have known Maoist...
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Jairam clears massive outlay for Bihar's rural infrastructure by Shoumojit Banerjee
Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday cleared the decks for a huge fund outlay which is set to bolster Bihar's rural infrastructure. Speaking to journalists here, Mr. Ramesh said the Union Rural Ministry would pump in Rs. 2,500 crore for laying of over 6,500 km of rural roads across the State for fiscal 2011-12. “Bihar is a top priority for us with Rs. 8,000 crore being allotted from the Central...
More »Rs 565 cr stashed in Geneva accounts: Report by Ritu Sarin
The government’s draft report on black money — that has been circulated to members of the high level committee on black money for final comments — confirms that details of the HSBC accounts in Geneva have given the country its biggest black money trail. Citing this as an instance where the government has moved fast in tracing the coded account holders, the report states that the receipt resulted in information...
More »Bribing of voters to be made a cognisable offence by J Balaji
The Law Ministry has reportedly accepted a proposal of the Election Commission to amend the law to make bribing of voters, either in cash or kind, a cognisable offence. It has written to the Home Ministry seeking issue of an ordinance to amend IPC Section 171(B), under which the bribe giver is now booked, to make it a cognisable offence. It would also apply to those who take bribes. With the...
More »Himalayan Resilience by Ratna Bharali Talukdar
-Eastern Panorama It’s been almost two months since a 6.9 magnitude earthquake left the Himalayan state of Sikkim devastated. Nine families of Ralak village in Tingchim Mangshilla Gram Panchayat in the North District of Sikkim are still living in make shift relief camps with the mothers cuddling their children under blankets to give them comfort and warmth in the cold November nights. As snow has already covered the mountains visible from...
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