The Land Acquisition Bill is a key issue before Parliament this monsoon session. A look at history would be useful. The concern with the extent and spread of agricultural land is not new. But the way in which it is being addressed certainly is. Much of the criticism of the Land Acquisition Bill has been about the provisions to safeguard irrigated, double cropped land. It is true these provisions will be...
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New MGNREGA guidelines soon
Government is expected to unveil new guidelines for its flagship rural employment scheme, which will have a special focus on naxal-affected areas and stress on skill development. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said the new guidelines will give authorities greater flexibility in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. Addressing a meeting of Parliamentary Consultative Committee on MGNREGA here, Ramesh said complaints have come mainly from states like...
More »Deconstructing The NAC by Ruchi Gupta
The past couple of months have seen a renewed attack on the National Advisory Council (NAC). The NAC has been decried as an unconstitutional, undemocratic, “super-cabinet” where unaccountable “jholawalas” hatch harebrained schemes guaranteed to run the government aground. Another line of criticism has focused on the process of the formation of the NAC, its space within the Indian Constitution, and its capacity to influence policy. The two criticisms merge with...
More »Aruna Roy, social activist interviewed by Shoma Chaudhury
The Lokpal Bill is in danger of skidding off the rails. As it is introduced in Parliament, eminent activist Aruna Roy tells Shoma Chaudhury why we should not rush into it. THE LOKPAL BILL is now being debated in Parliament, almost 40 years after the idea was first mooted. Unfortunately, parented on one side by decades of wilful government inertia and, on the other, by the panicked hustle of ‘Team...
More »The road to reforming Karnataka's mine mafia by Karthik Subbaraman & Meera Mohanty
After sliding a mile backward into a morass, Karnataka'smining sector has just been shoved a metre forward. Since it has taken an almighty effort by the judiciary and a quasi-judicial body, the Lokayukta, to accomplish even this much, what hope is there for a sector that is vital for Karnataka's and India'sindustrial development?? Will the sector - represented by mining firms, traders, transporters, government agencies - slide back deep into...
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