Government apathy and “land grabbing” on the Ghaggar basin by builders with the alleged collusion of bureaucrats, politicians and engineers are responsible for the recent floods in Punjab and haryana. A report of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) - “An analysis of flood disaster in the Ghaggar basin in July 2010” - suggests that the floods could be a wake up call for the affected states...

A relief of Rs 94.93 crore will be paid to farmers whose crops were damaged in the recent floods in haryana. This figure has been calculated as per the state norms on the basis of damage to crops assessed through a special girdawari. This was revealed at a meeting of the state-level committee constituted to administer the haryana Calamity Relief Fund, which was chaired by Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati here today. She directed...

In a bid to protect food grains from spoiling due to inadequate storage facilities, Punjab and Sind Bank has come up with an initiative to extend credit for the construction of rural godowns in Punjab. The Punjab government is fully supporting this initiative and they have also got the green signal from the government of India. 'The bank will provide finance for construction of rural godowns of any storage capacity as per...

At a time when some of the poorest belts of India are suffering from a monsoon failure the government, has decided to let lakhs of tonnes of food grain turn inedible in the godowns rather than give it to the needy. Ironically, it has used the proposed National Food Security Act as an excuse to not distribute the grains to the needy. The Supreme Court in its last hearing had...

The Union government has been widely criticised for letting foodgrain rot in its godowns, while food prices soar and millions remain underfed. In its defence the government has spoken about the fiscal cost of selling these stocks. However, the underlying problem of excessive procurement and overstocking of foodgrain has not received as much attention. The government has claimed that official agencies have been mopping up over 99.5 per cent market...