-The Telegraph The development is considered significant in the backdrop of Centre’s decision to freeze funds under the scheme citing Embezzlement Calcutta: The state panchayat and rural development department has asked district authorities to strictly follow all norms for projects under the 100 days’ job scheme when central funds are released. The development is considered significant in the backdrop of the Centre’s decision to freeze funds under the scheme citing Embezzlement. “The development is...

-The Telegraph The activists flagged a reply by the Jharkhand food, and civil supplies department during the monsoon session about payment of food security allowances Jamshedpur: Food security activists in Jharkhand are pained at the difference between the government's claim in the state Assembly on the implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013, and stark realities at the ground level. The activists have flagged a reply by the Jharkhand food, and civil...

When a massive sum of public money is spent on a programme like Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA)--a demand-driven programme, there is likelihood of financial misappropriations and mismanagement. Thankfully there are checks and balances in the rural employment guarantee legislation to counter such malpractices. It is worth noting that the total allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGA) for 2020-21 was Rs. 1,11,500.00 crore (R.E.), up...

-Press note from Right to Food Campaign, Jharkhand   Etwariya Devi, a 67-year-old widow, died of hunger and exhaustion on 25 December in Sonpurwa village of Majhiaon block of Garhwa district (Jharkhand). She lived with her son Ghura Vishwakarma, daughter-in-law Usha Devi and their three children in a dilapidated kutcha house. The family has a hand-to-mouth existence and is routinely unable to access adequate nutrition. Surviving the day on only a meal...

-The Indian Express RTI Act needs to be protected against attempts to dilute it. RTI activists must be made less vulnerable In April, the government of India proposed amendments to the RTI Act, one of the most empowering pieces of legislation inherited from the UPA era. The most controversial amendment pertained to Rule 12. It would allow the withdrawal of an application in case of the applicant’s death, making the job of...