The Bikaner Development Authority Bill, 2025, passed by the Rajasthan Assembly, aims to establish a Bikaner Development Authority to regulate development activities in the Bikaner district. The bill was passed by voice vote, with the opposition Congress walking out of the House due to insufficient discussion. The bill was introduced …
The debate on contribution of futures trading to inflation gathered momentum, with Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia saying such trading does not lead to higher prices of commodities. Ahluwalia's comments came two days after FM P Chidambaram hinted at a ban on futures trading in food articles as …
A review of the role of planning should look at the possibility of expanding its role to municipalities, districts and panchayats rather than limiting it. Feb 23-29, 2008
The conclusions of the recent report of the Planning Commission's expert group on groundwater management and ownership, from an earth-science perspective, are poorly informed and simplistic. The report is conspicuous in its failure to seek counsel from the nation's scientific, professional and public institutions that have expertise and interest in …
If the government is to be believed there is enough usable water in the country to meet projected demand until 2050. Stumped by this claim, scientists at iit Delhi and Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, pored over official calculations for estimating the country's water resources. They say the government has …
This book reviews recent experiences in participatory monitoring in tropical forest management and summarizes the concepts and lessons learned. It discusses impacts, challenges, and shortcomings of participatory monitoring and presents a matrix of case studies, methods and tools as a quick reference guide. Finally it provides recommendations for future directions …
This book reviews recent experiences in participatory monitoring in tropical forest management and summarizes the concepts and lessons learned. It discusses impacts, challenges, and shortcomings of participatory monitoring and presents a matrix of case studies, methods and tools as a quick reference guide. Finally it provides recommendations for future directions …
a planning Commission expert group on groundwater recently released its report. Titled Groundwater management and ownership, the report suggests community-based groundwater management at the farm level. It is, however, silent on urban and industrial use. In October 2005, the Planning Commission created an expert group headed by its energy and …
People living in regional cities and towns around the world expect governments to deliver reasonable levels of public transport services in their local area. They understand that a small population base can limit the frequency and span of public transport, but want and deserve an acceptable minimum level of service …
There was a time when it was said that the Indian budget was a gamble on the monsoons. That is not the case any more, with industrial production soaring and agriculture on the margins. But what is clear is that without addressing the problems of the majority of farmers in …
a planning Commission expert committee recommended early in March that an autonomous body under the Union ministry of rural development (mord) be professionalised. The autonomous body
parshit Kurmi, a daily-wage labourer in Delhi since 1991, was puzzled when he was told that the government's latest estimate had found poverty levels were coming down. For the past 16 years, Kurmi's life has been uncertain as he struggles to survive. "In Delhi, I earn more, but am poorer …
What led to the constitution of a Working Group on Environment (WGE)? The planning board wanted to move with the times. The Kerala government had a science and technology and environment department since 1987. But the V S Achutanandan government has made environment an independent department. Since the government wanted …
the Union budget for 2007-08 is big on illusions, small on vision. Despite the hype about its tilt towards the agriculture sector, the budget has failed to put together a package to bail out the ailing sector. Also, despite being the first budget of the 11th Five-Year Plan, it has …
50 more districts in the ambit After months of squabbling among the Union ministry of rural development (MoRD), the Union ministry of finance (MoF) and the Planning Commission, the Centre has agreed to extend the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) to another 50 districts. Currently, NREGA is in operation …
THE centre's commitment to targets stipulated by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, 2003, threatens to set it on a collision course with states. The matter at hand is funding social sector projects. Going by discussions on preparation of the Union budget 2007-2008, the centre seems to have made …
goa town planning minister resigns: Embroiled in a controversy over the Goa State Regional Plan 2011, the state's town and country planning minister, Atanasio Monserrate, resigned from the cabinet on January 3, 2006. In less than a week, the Goa chief minister, Pratapsinh Rane, sworn in BJP legisator Manohar Azgaokar …
The Planning Commission's approach draft for the 11th Five-Year Plan has raised concerns regarding the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the ongoing jatropha plantations for developing bio-diesel in various parts of the country. The report says being a water-intensive crop jatropha plantations could lead to a drinking water shortage, and …
An interim report on the uk's land-use planning was released on July 4, 2006, fuelling a debate on the possibility of relaxing regulations in the planning system to encourage rapid market growth. Kate Barker, member of the monetary policy committee of the Bank of England and author of the 2004 …
