-PTI   A Parliamentary standing committee has found discrepancies in MGNREGA wage distribution system and feels that reported number of corruption cases related to it is a just tip of the iceberg. “The number of corruption cases as reported is just a tip of the iceberg and the real situation in this regard may be more serious,” the committee said in its report on wage disbursement to labourers under MGNREGA by Post Offices...

As the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement moves to the legislative phase it has to rid itself of the panacea model. The Hazare group has to realise that it has no monopoly on diagnosis or the cure for corruption. The Lokpal is no magic bullet which will solve the problem of corruption. Corruption needs a more cautious and nuanced problematic and a wider set of solutions. To put it facetiously, Hazare’s...

-The Times of India   GARHWA: Largescale irregularities, including non-payment of wages, fake job cards, lack of awareness and non-conduct of social audit in some panchayats came to the fore at a district-level public hearing at a social audit programme of MGNREGA held at the local Nilamber Town Hall here on Thursday. The results of the audit for each gram panchayat were read out. This included not only discrepancies and irregularities but also...

-MSN   A Parliamentary committee has said discrepancies have come to the fore in the working of the Postal Department and the Rural Development ministry in dissemination of wages to workers under the MGNREGA scheme. "The inputs provided by both the departments i.e. Department of Post (DoP) and Department of Rural Development (DRD) indicate contradiction on various aspects particularly on the number of account and amount disbursed through Post," the report tabled in...

The Planning Commission has raised concerns over people migrating from the countryside to cities in search of jobs. The Plan panel says that this ‘distress migration’ is mainly due to delayed disbursement of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural employment Guarantee Act, or MGNREGA. It has asked the rural development ministry to expressly strengthen the Business Correspondent model to make payments to workers under the flagship welfare scheme. In the...