It was due to a civil society struggle that the government only last year removed the bar on outsiders from participating in the social audit of projects executed under its showcase legislation of MGNREGA. Barring Andhra Pradesh, no state has so far implemented this reform. Yet, in its report for the ongoing universal periodic review (UPR) before the UN Human Rights Council, India cited the social audit clause in MGNREGA...
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BD Sharma, mover behind the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act interviewed by Richard Mahapatra
Past two months saw B D Sharma negotiating release of high-profile hostages by the Maoists in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. TV viewers saw and heard Sharma, probably for the first time. Widely respected in the civil society, he has been championing the rights of tribals for four decades now. He served as collector in the undivided Bastar district of Chhattisgarh in the 1970s, after which he quit the Indian Administrative Service....
More »Govt mulls action against babus over non-submission of IPRs
-PTI Irked over non-submission of property details by some bureaucrats, the government is considering strict action, including withholding of annual increment, against the defaulters. The government has already issued repeated reminders to a number of officials of Central Secretariat Service (Under Secretary and above level) seeking their Immovable Property Returns (IPRs). "Despite this, some of them have not submitted IPRs. It has been noted that many of them give details of the returns...
More »Stop telecast of Nirmal Baba show, arrest him: Court
-The Hindustan Times A magistrate court in Bina, Madhya Pradesh, directed the information and broadcasting ministry to stop telecast of the godman Nirmal Baba’s programme ‘Nirmal Darbar’ till further orders. The court also issued an arrest warrant against Nirmal Baba on Saturday. If legal action is not taken against such persons, common people would be asking us – does law exist only for weak or the poor? It is duty of...
More »DCP’s statement recorded over RTI activist’s murder
-The Hindustan Times The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday recorded the statement of deputy commissioner of police (Zone 9) Pratap Dighavkar for eight hours in connection with the murder of Pune-based RTI activist Satish Shetty. Dighavkar was the superintendent of police (Pune rural) when Shetty was murdered on January 13, 2010 in Talegaon-Dabhade. A senior CBI official confirmed that Dighavkar's statement was recorded by the central agency at its Pune...
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