As minister for rural development, Jairam Ramesh oversees the largest spending in the social sector by the government. This includes the marquee Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) that was pioneered by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2006. The minister, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is known for his forthrightness. In a typically candid interview to Mint on...
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Panel to check eligibility of rural housing scheme beneficiaries
-The Hindu High-powered committees to be set up in all taluks The State Government has decided to constitute high-powered committees in all taluks to check the eligibility of people selected under various rural housing schemes and also to select the beneficiaries if Gram Sabhas fail to do so within the stipulated time. The decision to constitute the committee comes in the wake of large-scale complaints about irregularities in the selection of beneficiaries under...
More »Ramesh proposes big role for Gram Sabhas in tribal land acquisition
-The Hindu It will make land acquisition more difficult for private players The Union government proposes to take yet another shot at the crucial land reforms agenda in a bid to help the rural poor affected by a host of land issues and inflation. Having introduced the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill in Parliament, Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh, who also holds the Department of Land Resources, aims to address...
More »Will of which people?
-The Indian Express His vision for fighting corruption was a law that threatened to subvert every institution. Now Anna Hazare has couched his Republic Day appeal for yet another law in a woolly-headed — in fact, bizarre — rendition of Gandhianism. The urge for direct democracy that ran through his appeal for supreme power for Gram Sabhas is one that’s being increasingly iterated in various mobilisations for democratic reform. To this...
More »Gram Sabhas above Lok Sabha: Anna
-The Times of India Struggling to stay relevant amid signs of growing popular indifference, Team Anna chose Republic Day to advocate radical ideas like putting Gram Sabhas above the Lok Sabha and establishing a referendum commission along the lines of Election Commission. In a video message, activist Anna Hazare also praised the Lokayukta bill of Uttarakhand, in what may be seen as a surrogate campaign for the BJP in the state. He...
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