Activists against graft have often pointed out that even the threat of jail hardly serves as a deterrent for a corrupt person, as he can enjoy his ill-gotten gains after he completes his sentence. Now, that could be set to change. Assets amassed through corrupt means by a public servant will be frozen during investigation and liquidated on his being proved guilty, if the proposed Lokpal bill comes through. The drafting...
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NAC members protest against plan panel's move for new poverty line by Nitin Sethi
A spoon, 25 grams of dal, half a slice of bread, some washing powder and a torn piece of kurta, in total worth Rs 20. That is what three key National Advisory Council members -- Jean Dreze, Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander -- brought for the deputy chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Monday protesting against the Rs 20 per day person expenditure poverty line it has decided...
More »Road from Taj to Red Fort, thanks to NREGS fraud by Ravish Tiwari
“Agra ke Taj Mahal se Dilly ke Lal Kila tak Sampark Marg.” According to records, this is one of the projects undertaken under NREGS, for which over Rs 1 crore was spent during the last financial year. But inquiries have revealed that there is no such project on the ground. The matter came up during Minister of State for Rural Development Pradeep Jain Aditya’s recent visit to Varanasi. According to the Management...
More »Shanti Bhushan expresses concern at slow Lokpal Bill drafting by Gargi Parsai
Terming the process of drafting the Lokpal Bill “slow,” joint drafting committee co-chairman Shanti Bhushan has expressed doubts about its completion by June 30, the deadline set by the government. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for Monday. In a letter written on Thursday to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who heads the committee, Mr. Bhushan said: “The deadline for drafting the Jan Lokpal Bill is June 30. The progress...
More »Raipur to skip plan panel over Binayak by Jaideep Hardikar
Chhattisgarh’s BJP government has decided to abstain from Planning Commission meetings in protest against the inclusion of Binayak Sen in its steering committee on health. Chief minister Raman Singh has told TV channels that an elected government cannot attend meetings where a “convict” will be present. Senior state officials, though, said that bureaucrats would be sent to plan panel meetings on financial matters such as outlays and projects. Skipping these meetings can...
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