The Naveen Patnaik government is facing court strictures and opposition criticism for irregularities in grant of mining leases. WHEN Naveen Patnaik stepped into his father Biju Patnaik's shoes and donned the mantle of leadership of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) to become the Chief Minister of Orissa for the first time in March 2000, he was seen as a crusader against corruption. In his initial years in power, he did...
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Shortchanged by Manoj Mitta
For Sonia Gandhi, the change could not have been more dramatic. Just last year, her contribution in pushing for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was hailed as the single largest reason for the fresh mandate received by a government avowedly dedicated to the aam aadmi. Yet, last week, Gandhi, as chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC) was reduced to lodging a complaint with Prime Minister...
More »Kerala won't be quite the same again by P Sainath
Women have rarely held posts of political authority in Kerala. There are, though, processes at play that could alter some things, a sense that big changes are under way. They will account for over 50 per cent of all 21, 682 wards in the 1,209 local bodies going to the polls. A single issue dogs all candidates in the local polls in Guruvayoor municipality of Kerala's Thrissur district. Any of the...
More »State appoints Ombudsmen for rural job scheme by Prafulla Marpakwar
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has ushered in a revolution of sorts in rural India by providing employment to people in the country’s dusty villages. Now, the state has taken a lead in ensuring that many more citizens can benefit from the Act. Maharashtra is probably the first state to appoint Ombudsmen and deputy Ombudsmen in most of its districts for effective monitoring of the centrally-sponsored...
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KEY TRENDS • Section 105 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, which provides for excluding 13 Central legislation, including Land Acquisition (Mines) Act 1885, Atomic Energy Act, 1962, Railway Act 1989, National Highways Act 1956 and Metro Railways (Construction of Works) Act, 1978, from its purview, has been amended for payment of compensation with rigours $ • The amendments have now...
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