-The Hindustan Times If the news reports doing the rounds are to be believed, the NDA is planning to further dilute the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the country's single-largest flagship programme that has a budget of Rs. 34,000 crore for 2014-15. While most governments when they come to power do tinker with schemes launched by their predecessors - the MGNREGA was the UPA's pet scheme - this...
More »SEARCH RESULT
Total Matching Records found : 582
Telling the right reform from the wrong -Pramathesh Ambasta
-The Indian Express Moves to dilute labour-material ratio in MGNREGA and focus exclusively on select backward blocks will adversely impact rural poor. Before the general elections, free-market fundamentalists had lobbied fiercely to reshape so-called wasteful social-sector expenditures. Primary among their targets was the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which, according to them, should become an unconditional cash transfer scheme. Post-elections, the late Gopinath Munde's espousal of the MGNREGA went...
More »Economists ask PM not to dilute NREGS, Gadkari says focus on needy areas -Vivek Deshpande and Surabhi
-The Indian Express As leading economists urged the Prime Minister not to dilute the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme saying it provides economic security to millions, Union Minister for Rural Development Nitin Gadkari justified the Centre's decision to restrict the focus of the job scheme to the "most backward and needy" districts and reduce the labour-material ratio from 60:40 to 51:49. Denying any move to reduce compensation for lack of...
More »Changes may limit NREGA to only 60 blocks in Rajasthan -Anindo Dey
-The Times of India JAIPUR: The paradox could not be greater. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which had its genesis in the mass movements launched in Rajasthan, is now facing a dilution in its home state. The Union rural development ministry is likely to amend the provisions of MGNREGA, converting it to just a scheme and thereby threatening to rob it of its es sence. In Rajasthan, such an...
More »Despite ban, farmers continue burning wheat, paddy straw -Kamaljit Singh Kamal
-The Hindustan Times Gurdaspur (Punjab): Punjab, known for its sprawling agricultural fields, is equally famous for burning of paddy and wheat straw by farmers after the harvesting season. The smoke released from burning of paddy straw is extremely bad for health. "Each year, the agriculture department spreads the same message highlighting the ill-effects of straw burning in the fields, but farmers rarely pay heed to it. Burning of straw causes severe harm...
More »
