Every answer to question on Nitish Kumar's performance in the last five years as Bihar's chief minister begins with the phrase, ''Kam se kam itna toh kiya hai... (at the very least, he has done this...).'' By any index of growth and development, Nitish's five-year reign has unleashed no miracles. With 54.4% of its population under the Tendulkar Committee's revised poverty line, Bihar is India's poorest state and its health indicators...
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Court rejects plea to make property a fundamental right by J Venkatesan
The Supreme Court has dismissed a public interest litigation petition seeking a direction to make ‘right to property' a fundamental right under the Constitution. Though the ‘right to property' was deleted by the 44 {+t} {+h} Constitution Amendment in 1978, it was challenged only in 2007 in the context of acquisition of large extents of land for Special Economic Zones, and the court issued notice to the Centre. It was contended in...
More »Centre admits conflict with states over BPL norms
A Prolonged conflict between the Centre and state governments to identify “eligible” Below Poverty Line (BPL) families has made food distribution largely ineffective, leading to tons of food grains rotting at government storage houses, the Centre has admitted in the Supreme Court. Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran, appearing for the Union Food Ministry, said both the Centre and the states agreed on the principle to supply food grains to BPL families...
More »Delay as stratagem by MJ Antony
When the revenue departments sleep over cases they had lost in the courts and do not appeal for long, it is difficult to tell whether it is just red tape or something else. Their lethargy causes losses to the government and gains to tax dodgers. The new chief justice of India (CJI) started his stint in the Supreme Court a few months ago with a strict code for the indolent babus....
More »Funds not a constraint under MG NREGA: Sagar
An amount of Rs 102 crore has been spent under MG NREGA till date resulting in the generation of 69 lakh Man-days and providing employment to 2,05,361 households by taking up 2,022 development works. The information was given out at a high level meeting of the Rural development Department convened under the chairmanship of Minister for Rural Development, Panchayat, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Mohammad Sagar. While asking the officers to...
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