The termination of the proposed social audits of works carried out under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in 16 panchayats -- one each from an equal number of districts -- in Rajasthan this past week has come as a rude shock to the social activists who pioneered the job scheme. Coming as it does from the Congress Government in the NREGS flagship State of Rajasthan, the development has...

The World Bank has agreed to loan India $1bn (£600m) over the next five years to clean up the Ganges, one of the most polluted rivers in the world. The 2,500km (1,500 mile) river has been badly polluted by industrial chemicals, farm pesticides and other sewage. Speaking in Delhi, World Bank chief Robert Zoellick said the clean up would target the entire river network. Plans involve building sewage treatment plants, revamping...

Close on the heels of Congress president Sonia Gandhi exhorting party members to act as “guardians of NREGA” in the August edition of party mouthpiece Congress Sandesh, Rural Development Minister C P Joshi has packed the apex body monitoring the implementation of UPA government’s flagship National Rural Job Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) with his partymen, edging out the original architects of the scheme. The Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC), the apex...

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is confident that the NREGS is his best bet to offset the drought but many grassroots activists are unsure of the scheme’s effectiveness, especially after some recent amendments. While the drought has spread to 246 districts, a heated debate rages on the poor peoples’ entitlements versus rural asset formation, even though in theory the two positions appear complementary. 14 organisations throughout the country are up in arms...

After widening the ambit of the NREGS to include works on the private land of small and marginal farmers, the Rural Development Ministry is now considering setting up a ‘mini secretariat’ named after Rajiv Gandhi at each Gram Panchayat. The Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC), which is slated to meet early next week, will be considering a proposal for creating Bharat Nirman Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendra for each gram panchayat...