Greater role of private sector proposed
As per Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's promise of enabling India join the league of developed nations by 2020, the Planning Commission on Thursday detailed its report on "India Vision 2020." Based on recommendations by Dr S P Gupta Committee's report on developmental aspects to turn around India's future, the …
Patkar accuses Modi of genocide by flooding houses
Narmada Bachao Andolan chief Medha Patkar usually does not mix her anti-big dam business with hard politics. She has over the years criticised both the BJP regime in Gujarat as well as the Congress raj in Madhya Pradesh when their policies did not suit the interests of her overactive movement. …
Centre to review rural development programmes
The Centre will review the progress of the rural development programmes sponsored by it with the States at a national conference here with special focus on non-performance and under-utilisation of funds. The concurrence of the States will be sought for a constitutional amendment to the Panchayati Raj Act and the …
State to enact law for economic zone in Hassan
Karnataka will soon enact a legislation to establish a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Hassan and along the coast for setting up export promotion parks in the State, Minister for Large and Medium Industries R V Deshpande said on Thursday. Interacting with a German business delegation from the State of …
KUWS&DB water pipes laid in private layout
Eyebrows are raised over the action of two Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board engineers who completed 800-metre length pipeline excavation work (for which there was no sanction) and laid 35 pipes overnight in a private layout. Incidentally, if private layouts possess infrastructure like drinking water facility, the site …
Rajasthan refutes charge
The Rajasthan Government has denied charges of underutilisation of Central funds for rural development by the state. The charge of non-use of funds by the Union Minister for Rural Development, Shanta Kumar, and his Minister of State, Subhash Maharia, was inaccurate, the State authorities said giving their own figures. Rajasthan …
Pvt sector third in China`s booming economy
Private sector in China has become the third "engine" of the country's fast-paced economic growth behind the state-owned and collective economies, the National Bureau of Statistics has said. According to the second national census of basic work units in China, there were 1.32 million private enterprises in China by the …
Swift completion of projects stressed
The Administrative Secretary of Bhiwani district and Commissioner, Food and Supply Department, Haryana, Mr H.C. Disodia, directed the district officials to ensure time bound completion of the ongoing development projects announced in the Sarkar Aap Ke Dwar programmes.
Build safeguards
Prime Minister A B Vajpayee's call for channelisation of household savings into the capital market is in tune with the changing requirements of the economy, which is on the ascending mode of reforms. While launching a nationwide securities awareness campaign, Mr Vajpayee has called for concerted efforts to motivate savers …
Karnataka releases water from KRS
The Irrigation Department authorities have released water from the Krishnaraja Sagar Reservoir to Tamil Nadu to save the standing crops in that state. Sources in the department said 830 cusecs of water was being released into the riverbed since Jan 18 night. Coupled with the 2,500 cusecs being discharged from …
The difficult art of governance
A logjam appears to have set in the process of strengthening up of democratic institutions at grassroots level as the much talked about Panchayati Raj institutions are not making much headway on account of the non-cooperative attitude of State governments. The Indian Parliament gave assent to the historic 73rd Constitutional …
`Steps to ensure regular GP meets soon`
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister MY Ghorpade today said the government would take steps to ensure that all gram panchayats held meetings at least once in three months. He was speaking after releasing the book 'Pragmatic Rural Development for Poverty Alleviation - A pioneering paradigm', authored by Dr K …
Drinking water diverted for power generation
Over 1500 villages and towns in three districts in the command region of the Kaiga reservoir, Karnataka, will face severe water crisis with water meant for drinking being diverted for power generation. This is due to the malfunctioning of the two units of the Kaiga Power Centre, and the dependence …
Punjab seeks special package
The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, wrote to the Prime Minister seeking a special economic package for the state on the same pattern as available to Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and J and K. This package envisages huge benefits and incentives in the shape of exemption from central excise duty, …
Water crisis grave in Dharamsala
Dharamsala, now the winter capital of Himachal, is facing the worst ever water crisis due to continued failure of winter rain. The situation is so acute that many areas have to go without water for days on and the Irrigation and Public Health Department is only now waking up to …
`Ignorant` corporators on a blissful odyssey Down Under
A massive delegation of more than 55 corporators from across the country began a fortnight trip to Australia, New Zealand and Thailand on Friday. "The International Workshop on Urban and Rural Development - 2003 is being organised by the HUDCO and the Netherland IHC. It would be an opportunity for …
Breathe easy, California shows how
The stories of the smog in California in the fifties are legendary: Rubberbands would snap, nylon stockings would get eaten away and tyres would crack. Today, California's effort to clean up its air has become an example. This afternoon, Delhi decided to take a leaf out of California's success when …
`City benefits for villages`
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit assured the residents of rural areas that the Delhi Government will provide them all the civic amenities at par with the city dwellers. While inaugurating the first Bhagidari workshop for the residents of rural areas of North West, South West and South districts on Thursday morning, …
