-The Hindu The intention behind the move to make the CAG a multimember body is not to activate the Shunglu Committee’s report but a desire to clip the auditor’s wings During the last few days there have been many comments on the report that the government of India was considering a proposal to make the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) a multimember body. The move has been widely seen as...

-Mainstream Weekly Dr Binayak Sen, an internationally renowned medical practitioner and social activist (a leading figure in the People’s Union for Civil Liberties), was incarcerated in Chhattisgarh and held in detention in Raipur having been branded as a Maoist for his activities in defence of poor tribals in the State. He is now out on bail. The following is the text of the Arvind Narayan Das Memorial Lecture he delivered in...

-The Hindu Robert Vadra may be the most talked about property developer in Haryana but the emergence of links between the man who sold Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law his first plot of land and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has shone a spotlight on the crucial role played by the Congress-run government in turning realty in the State into a business worth thousands of crores of rupees. Records of all licences granted...

-The Times of India While allegations of irrigation-related illegalities continue to fly thick and fast, with Maharashtra at the epicenter, the status of irrigation projectsacross the country presents a dismal picture.  Stalled projects are not only symptoms of corruption, they are depriving farmers of life-saving water for crops, weakening food security and pushing them to the brink of pauperization. In all, 77 major and 86 medium irrigation projects are running delayed by anything...

-The Hindu ‘Vision document mooted to designate them as ‘separate urban natural resources’ The Urban Development Ministry has constituted a working group to suggest ways to preserve water bodies. Rapid disappearance of water bodies from the urban landscape has sounded an alarm vis-à-vis water shortfall and has also put a considerable strain on States’ spending to meet the demand for water. A case in point is Bangalore. Despite having a Lake Development Authority that...