The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Jharkhand government for an action-taken report on fluorosis in Garhwa district following complaints from villagers about the state’s failure in providing piped water supply and medicines. The notice, sent on February 14, was a result of NHRC’s own investigation report, which said that local residents complained about not getting medicines regularly and the state’s water tankers — an ad hoc measure till...

The irrationality and waste in energy subsidies in India has been a perennial theme in analysis of the Indian economy and in reform prescriptions. Progress has, however, turned out to be elusive in the face of ground realities and feasible politics.  The power ministry, after struggling for over a decade through repeated exhortations, had the satisfaction of getting a resolution in a Chief Ministers Conference in 2001 that free supply of...

-Zee News   A successful use of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) in Nanded, one of the most backward districts of Maharashtra, has seen Groundwater levels improving dramatically over the past three years.  Shrikar Pardeshi, District Collector, received an award from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for "Effective Initiative under MGNREGA" for 2010-11 a few days ago.  "(Over last three years) The Groundwater level in the district has increased by 9 meters. The...

-The Telegraph Jairam Ramesh’s Union rural development ministry has sanctioned Rs 1,011 crore for the first phase of a drinking water supply project in Bankura. The ministry will request the Union finance ministry to approve Rs 3,000 crore for similar projects in South 24-Praganas and Purulia, sources said. During his visit to Bengal last week, Ramesh had discussed the projects for the three districts with his Bengal counterpart Subrata Mukherjee. Ramesh could not...

The building collapse in Uttam Nagar that killed four people last week has again exposed how the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) as well as the state government are mired in large-scale corruption. The major cause of the incident, in which four people were killed, was reportedly the flouting of construction norms by the builder. Officials from MCD told Tehelka on condition of anonymity that the number of illegal buildings goes...