Bhubaneswar : A year after the CBI probed into the irregularities across six districts of Orissa, a special performance audit of the implementation of the NREGS programme by the Comptroller and Auditor General has found misappropriation of funds through ghost workers, uneconomic execution of the works, delay in payment, and irregular maintenance of records still plaguing the scheme. The Supreme Court last year ordered a CBI probe following a writ petition...

-AFP At least 79 people have died and 2.2 million forced to leave their homes over the last week as torrential monsoon rains triggered floods across India's northeast, officials said Monday. Assam has been worst hit with the massive Brahmaputra river breaching its banks, while extensive flooding has also hit Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. The Assam state government said 26 of 27 districts had endured flash floods as heavy rains destroyed thousands of...

-PTI Land acquisition proceedings will become illegal if the Government fails to observe the mandatory requirement of issuing public notices to the affected parties, the Supreme Court has held, quashing the Maharashtra Government’s acquisition of a piece of land for a defence unit. A Bench of Justices H. L. Dattu and A. R. Dave said that besides notifying the acquisition in the official Gazette, the authorities were bound to notify the affected...

-The Hindu Hygiene and sanitation will be the focus of the next round of sample Survey across the country that will begin on July 1. K.P. Unnikrishnan, Deputy Director-General, National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO), South zone, said here on Monday that source and availability of drinking water and housing conditions too would be included in the Survey. In the south of Karnataka, including Bangalore district, 76 villages and 116 urban blocks have been...

-The Hindu An odd job that was going to earn her some extra money happened to turn 23-year-old Aarthi Jaiswal into a voice for her neighbourhood in Jahangirpuri here. A few months ago she and a group of her friends were hired for Rs.150 per day to conduct a house-to-house Survey asking for people’s opinion on the Delhi Government’s proposal to replace the public distribution system with direct cash transfers into...