Maharashtra, pioneer of the employment guarantee scheme 35 years ago, is now the worst performer under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) with the home districts of some of its tallest leaders dragging it down. For instance, Pune, home district of Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, has provided negligible work in the past two years despite strong demand for employment. As per the official figures for the current year,...

-The Times of India   One in every five Indian adults living in urban cities suffers not only from hypertension but also diabetes. In Maharashtra, more disturbingly, one in three persons is struck by the twin epidemic. These are some of the highlights of India's largest clinic-based survey to assess the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension. The findings of the study, called Screening India's Twin Epidemic (SITE), were announced on Monday in...

-IANS There were only 12 days of work per household in West Bengal under the rural jobs scheme MGNREGA as against the national average of 28 days, say NGOs who blame organisational inefficiency and faulty implementation for the situation in the state. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) assures 100 days of work for one member of every rural household in a year. But West Bengal's performance has...

-The Telegraph   The comptroller and auditor general today began a performance audit of the rural job scheme in 12 states, including Bengal, amid allegations of widespread corruption hobbling India’s largest social sector programme. The idea is to see whether the scheme has indeed secured villagers’ livelihood by providing guaranteed employment, and whether rules have been followed in its implementation. For instance, at least 60 per cent of the expenditure on every project under...

Gram panchayats to provide land and create the grounds The Ministry of Rural Development has decided to bring sports back into the lives of the tribal boys and girls in the 60 left-wing extremist-affected districts where the Integrated Action Plan (IAP) has been implemented. Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh has cleared the proposal to construct one playground in each village, falling under the 60 IAP districts under the Mahatma Gandhi...