-The Hindustan Times Raipur (Chhattisgarh): Eight Poor Gond tribals suddenly find themselves in the spotlight: they are the ‘owners' of 43.7 hectares of land worth several crores of rupees, at Pusaur in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh. Ironically, they still seek employment under the welfare scheme MGNREGA. The land in question was used for constructing the 600-MW Korba West Power Co Ltd, a coal-fired power plant, by the Avantha (Thapar) group. Last month,...
More »SEARCH RESULT
MGNREGA works well for the Poor -Clement Imbert and John Papp
-Livemint.com Evaluating the impact of MGNREGA on rural labour markets, and on urban labour markets via seasonal migration Policymakers and academics are actively debating the efficacy of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and whether or not the new government should retain it in its current form in recent research. We have evaluated the impact of MGNREGA on rural labour markets, and on urban labour markets via seasonal migration....
More »22% of households in cities, 31% in villages are in debt -Subodh Varma
-The Times of india Nearly a third of rural households and a quarter of urban ones are indebted according to a survey report released this week. This is understandable with the spread of credit facilities. But the scale of indebtedness revealed is astonishing: between 2002 and 2012, the average amount owed by each family has jumped seven times in cities and more than four times in rural areas. About 22% of urban...
More »Is Swachhata only about litter? -Ruhi Saith
-The Hindu The programme needs to retain the momentum of a movement than that of a litter-cleaning project "Slum districts... consisted of Poorly built houses, a deficiency of ventilation and toilets, unpaved narrow streets, mud, and stomach-turning stenches due to the presence of decaying refuse and sewerage. In such conditions, ill health was observably endemic." This is not a description of Indian cities today (though it may well be), but of Britain around...
More »Farm Debt Curse Continues: NSSO
The agrarian crisis is far from over. Amidst news of farmers' suicide reported from parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, an official document released in December by the National Sample Survey Organisation states that nearly 52% of India's agricultural households were indebted during July, 2012 - June, 2013. The average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household in India was Rs. 47000 (see link below). Based on a survey of...
More »