The Jan Lokpal bill calls for no participation of government in the selection committees of Lokayuktas. Does this undermine the very essence of democracy and the role of our public representatives?While civil society and ordinary citizens are rallying behind Satyagrahi Anna Hazare by batting for the Jan Lok Pal bill, the protest at Jantar Mantar is raising a few worrying questionsDoes the Jan Lokpal bill as proposed by Anna Hazare bypass...
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Funds delay may derail MGNREGS by NJ Nair
Union Rural Development Ministry allegedly delaying funds for State With the Union Rural Development Ministry delaying funds, implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is likely to be derailed in the State. But for the intervention of the State government, the works taken up under the scheme would have come to a halt in Alappuzha district. With new funds yet to come and the district exhausting the Rs.71...
More »In Raj, a village loses all its land to dubious cos by Ajay Parmar
Two companies based in Mumbai and Delhi have allegedly duped scores of farmers of more than 2,000 bigha of agricultural land spread across several villages near Phalodi town in Jodhpur district. In one case, the entire land of Mandali village measuring 632 bigha, belonging mostly to the Rebari tribe, has been sold. Though the district Administration has ordered an inquiry, complicity of officials is not ruled out since the land was...
More »Cash transfers and food insecurity by Kannan Kasturi
Distribution of basic food grains and fuel at controlled prices every month through the Public Distribution System (PDS) could be the largest service provided by the Indian State, touching as it does over 65 million families through a network of nearly half a million retail shops. Given that the urban middle class has little stake in the health of the PDS, there have to be some compelling reasons for the...
More »Indian activist Anna Hazare begins anti-graft fast
Indian social activist Anna Hazare has begun what he has called a "fast unto death" to pressure the government to act on corruption. The 72-year-old campaigner says he will refuse all food and drink until the government enacts a comprehensive anti-corruption law. The government has set up a committee to consider a bill, but Mr Hazare wants civil society included in the process. India has recently been hit by a series of high-profile...
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