-Live Mint It turns out that some state officials were using NRHM to enrich themselves The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched seven years ago with the goal of improving healthcare delivery to people in villages, especially the poor, through a generous infusion of federal funds. Local authorities were given a relatively free hand in deciding how to spend the money, with the Centre promising funds with no strings attached for...

Koli people struggle for their hearths and homes as politico-businessman lobby mows down homes for redevelopment project   Ugly tidings were round the bend for Kalpesh Shivkar when a registered letter arrived from Pilot Constructions Pvt. Ltd. in March 2010 requesting him to vacate his house in the interests of redevelopment. This was followed by an impassive notice issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation pasted on his door, directing the Shivkar family to...

By not resolving the definition of ‘public purpose,' the Land Acquisition Bill keeps the door open for misuse It has taken more than 110 years for the government to draft a new Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill. But despite mounting evidence of widespread misuse of government authority in taking over farm land and the increasing protests against the legal ambiguity that abets such exploitative practices, the revised legislation remains dubiously...

The government may make mandatory the disclosure of high-value purchases such as property and jewellery. Stung by growing public outrage over corruption, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will on Monday spell out steps taken and planned to curb proliferation of black money. There are no clear estimates of the size of India’s black economy but the amount is pegged between $462 billion (Rs.22 lakh crore) and $1.4 trillion (Rs.77 lakh crore). Mukherjee...

Cabinet clears change in divorce law: Women to get part of husband’s property In a move that could be a setback to land acquisition for commercial use, a parliamentary committee unanimously recommended that the government should not acquire land for industrial, commercial or for-profit enterprises or private companies. Instead, the panel, which has proposed legislation favouring landowners, recommends that private companies and public-private partnerships would have to buy land in the open...