Panchayati raj: Half a cheer for democracy
There is a great push to make panchayats the fulcrum of rural development in India. But 16 years after this third tier of governance was created, it has not got its due. The future of rural development will depend on how state governments devolve real power to panchayats.

Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme does not work as envisaged
Civil society groups Asha Parivar and National Alliance of People’s Movements conducted a social audit of NREGA schemes in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoi district in December 2006. The NGOs later brought out a factsheet, which listed a number of irregularities. Further explorations by Down To Earth confirmed the findings of the audit.

Bundelkhand in grip of severe drought
Bundelkhand has been reeling under intense drought for the last five years. The current spell is the longest and most severe in the region's history. A plummeting water table, crop failure and the resultant indebtedness have already driven hundreds of farmers to suicide. And life is tough for those who survive.

Employment guarantee scheme not in sync with Mastapur's needs
Residents of Mastapur village in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh district thought of NREGA as a means of renovating their local tank to tide over a four-year-long drought. For, under NREGA, water conservation gets top priority. But hopes disappeared soon: instead, the village got a kachcha road, which is hardly commutable.

Rajasthan tackles drought through pokhars
Rajasthan’s Karauli district has been reeling under drought for the last four years. To tackle this, people are reviving pokhars -- 200-year-old traditional water harvesting systems. Villagers are also talking about using NREGA for large-scale revival of pokhars in the district.