Massive backlog in submission of Detailed Contingent Bills 1,021 cases of misappropriation, defalcation, theft amounting to Rs. 407.97 crore as of March 2010 Large number of unfurnished utilisation certificates for grants to the tune of Rs.4,527.77 crore The pendency of Detailed Contingent (DC) Bills, once a subject of a free-for-all in the Bihar Assembly last year, has popped up again in the Comptroller and Auditor-General's report tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday. The audit...

Prashant Bhushan seeks CBI probe into financial irregularities Scrap power purchase agreement with State government Land acquisition orders served on 46 villages The Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to reverse the stop-work order imposed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on the construction of the Maheshwar dam for “non-compliance” of various norms. The dam is being built by S. Kumars group in Madhya Pradesh. Addressing a joint...

For a poor boy from the dark heart of tribal India, constable Kartam Surya has done well. An 8th class pass from the village of Misma in South Bastar’s Dantewada district — in the so-called Maoist 'liberated zone' in Chhattisgarh — 26-year-old Surya makes sure he gives his father, a marginal farmer scratching a living from the land, enough money to live in peace and comfort. "Surya is a good son...

Half the world’s 48 least developed countries (LDCs) can “graduate” out of their impoverished status within 10 years if they benefit from better targeted development aid, duty- and quota-free access for exports and doubled farm productivity and school enrolment, according to a United Nations report released today. This is considered a bold objective, given that altogether there have been 51 LDCs since the category was created by the UN in 1970,...

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has cornered the state government, which had recently demanded a special package of Rs 2,500 crore for frost-hit farmers, in its report tabled in state Assembly today. The CAG has found gross irregularities, non-implementation of schemes, weak budgetary and expenditure controls in both original and supplementary budgets, rush of expenditure at the close of the financial year and underutilisation of central assistance. “The targets...