Government officials and functionaries still shudder at the name of Fatehpura taluka in Dahod, a tribal district in Gujarat. In August 2010, India’s first union of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) workers, called the Rashtriya Rojgar Khatri Kamdaronu Kayda Union (RRKKKU), had exposed a massive scam in which Rs 4.18 crores of NREGA money had been siphoned.

A high-voltage campaign to draft in record time a major anti-corruption law (Lokpal Bill) for India won concessions from the government in the street, but thereafter its leaders found the going much tougher.

Arvind Kejriwal has been the moving force behind the India Against Corruption movement and the fast unto death undertaken by Anna Hazare at Jantar Mantar. He spoke to Civil Society on his draft for a Jan Lokpal Bill and some of the concerns expressed over how it has been put together.

Nikhil Dey is the low-profile joint convener of the National Campaign for the People's Right to Information (NCPRI). As a member of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), he has worked extensively at the grassroots for the implementation of the RTI Act and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

In recent months, the BJP-dominated Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the Congress-led Delhi government have been outdoing each other in floating proposals and schemes for better governance. The MCD is in the throes of implementing a new Residents' Welfare Committee (RWC) scheme.

Happy anniversary to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)! April 2011 saw the completion of the first year of the ministry's promise to ensure green justice for one and all.

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In 2003, when Hungund taluk in the Bagalkot district of Karnataka was hit by a severe drought, farmers did not have to buy food grain from the market. Nearly 90 per cent of them had built bunds and conserved topsoil using traditional techniques of drought-proofing which have their roots in this district.

A proposed amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act envisages benefit-sharing with people in forests who are displaced by mining. It has been suggested that mining companies give 26 per cent of their equity or their profits to communities. The proposed law is revolutionary in its implications.

Orissa's first community radio station, Radio Namaskar, is making its voice heard, loud and clear.

Rikin Gandhi has great faith in the power of good story telling.