-Frontline   But in Modi's Gujarat the difference between development and darkness is all too visible to those who care to see. NARENDRA MODI may have won three consecutive elections and ruled Gujarat for more than a decade after he was posted there almost as a night watchman, to borrow a cricketing expression. He may have mobilised a massive fan following that is shouting to catapult him into the Prime Minister's post,...

-The Indian Express As the tenure of the incumbent draws to a close, let's debate the institution's structure and powers It is time for the selection of a new comptroller and auditor general as the tenure of the incumbent draws to a close on May 22. Traditionally, the CAG has been an unseen agency, churning out audit report after audit report on every department supported by government funds every year. The last...

-Greater Kashmir Jammu: Notwithstanding the pitiable condition of rural sanitation across J&K, the state government has not been able to utilize generous central funding under Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), which has now been renamed as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA), in the past three years. In the year 2010-11, out of total available funds of Rs 2373.18 lakhs, the concerned state government agencies could expend only Rs 1715.26 lakhs. The situation noticed a...

-PTI Finance Ministry should appoint a nodal officer to distribute RTI applications to the concerned central public information officer for processing, the Delhi High Court has directed while upholding the order of Central Information Commission in this regard. The Finance Ministry has five departments-- Economic Affairs, Revenue, Expenditure, Financial Services and Disinvestment. Each one of them have different sets of Central Public Information Officers for processing RTI applications but there is none to...

-Down to Earth Inadequate sewage treatment and disposal in the national capital territory is contaminating city's groundwater Delhi residents who depend on groundwater for their drinking water needs be warned. The latest data of the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) shows that groundwater samples taken from observation wells in the national capital are getting contaminated because of their unhygienic catchments and untreated sewage, which is discharged in the open and into drains,...