Update 28

Dear friends,

The debate on the NREGB seems to be picking up again - pasted below are excerpts from two articles that appeared in today's papers. The Standing Committee will be hearing testimonies from those who had made submissions to it in February from 5 May onwards.

Left to Centre: expedite employment Bill

Excerpts: "Accusing the chairman of the standing committee on rural development Kalyan Singh of not being interested in expediting the report on the National Employment Guarantee (NEG) Bill 2004, the Left parties, along with some eminent intellectuals and NGOs, under the aegis of the People's Action for Employment Guarantee, have threatened to launch a campaign for the implementation of the Bill across 10 states from May 13. They are demanding a universal and irreversible employment guarantee Act, as promised in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP)."

"However, the Left has also made it clear that without the changes they have recommended, they will not support the Bill's passage."

RTI Bill '04 in Lok Sabha on May 9

Excerpts: "One of the most keenly awaited legislation that the UPA government has been pushing for - Right to Information Bill, 2004 - is scheduled to come up in the Lok Sabha on May 9."

However, sources said, the standing committee has met on the issue only once. "It is unlikely to be ready this session," said an official source. And this despite Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad requesting Kalyan Singh to submit the report before the end of the session, so that the Bill could be introduced."

Last updated: 3 May 2005