Meghalaya will set up an agency to ensure there is no delay in payment of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). "The State Rural Agency of Meghalaya (SRAM) would be responsible in ensuring there is smooth flow of fund in the implementation of the MGNREGA in the state. We have approved the proposal submitted by the Community and Rural Development (C&RD) development for constituting of...

The All-India Adivasi Mahasabha, on the first day of its three-day long conference here on Monday at the Talkatora Indoor Stadium, stressed the need to unite the diverse tribal communities from across the country to gain a voice in Delhi, as a starting point to controlling their own destinies – and their land, water and forests. In his speech, Meghalaya Governor R.S. Moosahary told delegates: “Let us unite all tribal groups...

The annual report (2009-2010) of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which was tabled in the state Assembly on Friday, stated that individuals benefited from arecanut plantations in Meghalaya after availing the scheme. “Most of the village employment councils have taken up arecanut plantation projects. However, there are rare cases of arecanut plantations on community land and are mostly carried out on individual lands,” said the social audit,...

Social activist Aruna Roy Thursday said India's second war of independence has to be fought with the right to information (RTI) law, to free the nation from poverty and corruption. 'The next battle is ready with information and understanding of issues through the RTI and it is the ideal tool to help eradicate poverty and corruption,' the Magsaysay awardee said. Roy is in Shillong, the state capital of Meghalaya, to attend a...

Assam has topped the list of complaints related to implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the north east. The list covers all complaints that the ministry of rural development received till 31 March 2010. According to the ministry, Assam has 30 complaints, followed by Manipur with seven, Nagaland with five, Tripura with two and Mizoram and Sikkim with one each. All complaints have been...