-PTI The role of the Urban Development Ministry, responsible for creating infrastructure for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, has come under the scanner of the PAC which has flagged some serious issues regarding delay in getting environmental clearance and extending "undue favour" to a private company in awarding contracts. While responding to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) query on the "inordinate delay" in approaching the Environment Ministry for getting clearance, the Urban Development...

Weak performance of monsoon this year has led the government to anticipate a significant increase in demand for work under its flagship ruralemployment guarantee scheme. The rural development ministry has asked all states to prepare contingency plans and review their estimates of work demand under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The move is an indication that the Centre is not very certain of monsoon catching up in the...

Even seven years after the people-friendly Right-To-Information (RTI) Act was passed by Parliament around this time in 2005, people who use this legislation to expose corruption continue to live with fear of being threatened, thrashed and throttled to death in Gujarat. That the road to accessing information from government is still arduous in the Bharatiya Janata party-ruled state became evident once again earlier this week when an RTI activist of Amreli...

Ranchi: Supreme Court today dismissed a petition filed by local tribals against setting up three national institutes of higher learning on the outskirts of Ranchi, arming a hitherto defensive district administration to deal with the ongoing protests firmly. According to lawyer Rajeev Gupta, representing petitioners Mangu Oraon and others, an apex court division bench comprising Justice H.L. Gokhale and Justice Ranjana Desai observed that “it’s a 50-year old case” which the...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's direct involvement in the finance ministry has renewed reform vigour among officials, who plan steps to reform fuel pricing and accelerate domestic oil exploration, government and industry officials said. According to officials fuel pricing reforms are expected after mid July post Presidential poll, which would include a hike in diesel rates by atleast Rs 3 per litre and limiting highly subsidized cooking gas cylinders to four refills...