-The Hindu   The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) has demanded that the probe into alleged irregularities in Lavasa be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. In a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, the Medha Patkar-led organisation also sought an in-depth enquiry into the involvement of public servants and politicians in the “scam.” The NAPM alleged that various rules were bent to grant permission for the multi-crore hill city...

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation to take over the investigation into the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case. Stating that the Gujarat police could not be “relied upon” to conduct an impartial probe, the High Court asked the CBI to consider the case as an “exceptional one having national ramifications.” A Division Bench, comprising Justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari, also directed chairman of the High...

In the winter of 2009, Vilam Singh, a young tribal farmer from Chhattisgarh's Kawardha district, applied for 100 rupee-a-day work under MNREGA, the rural job scheme.  One year later, the same below-the-poverty line farmer bought land worth 3.36 crore rupees in another district, Janjgir Champa.  What explains the sudden turn of fortune?  "He did not turn rich overnight. He was simply roped in to act as a front by a power company that...

A Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday reserved order till December 1 on the appointment of an agency for a fresh probe into the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case. Since the State government did not press for handing over the case to the State police, the probe was now open to being assigned to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the National Investigation Agency, a reconstituted Special Investigation Team...

-The Times of India   Rural development ministerJairam Ramesh has written to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai seeking focused attention to the government's Rs 40,000-crore expenditure on MGNREGS, the flagship rural employment guarantee scheme, and to evaluate funds utilization by states.  The minister has highlighted some deviations made by some states in his communication to the CAG, while requesting the auditor to make suggestions that could help the government "establish...