World's 7 cities where land is completely free

As small towns suffer from a continuing flight from rural toward-more urban living, some economic development groups and governments in these troubled areas have chosen to stay and fight.

The Homestead Act of 1862 is no longer in effect, but free land is still available out there in the great wide open (often literally in the great wide open). In fact, the town of Beatrice, Nebraska has even enacted a Homestead Act of 2010 .

As with the homesteaders of the 1800s, the new pioneers must not be the faint of heart—they can’t be the type to shy away from the trials of building a home from the ground up, or the lack of Starbucks on every corner, or unpaved roads (extremely remote location and lack of infrastructure is probably what caused a well-publicized land giveaway in Anderson ,AK to flop). If the Google Maps overhead view of the vast open space surrounding the modest street grids of these towns doesn’t instill cabin fever, then read on—these parcels are up for land grabs.

Marne, Iowa

Marne is a southwestern Iowa community with a population of just 149 or so, about 60 miles from Omaha and 80 miles from Des Moines. It was never a big town (pop. 617 in 1875), but the head count really began declining around the turn of last century, through the teens and 20s. “The decline of the family farm affects rural areas like this, says Mayor Randy Baxter. “Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, there more smaller farms, and small towns supported the folks in the country, but now those homes aren’t there anymore.”

New Richland, MN

New Richland is a town of about 1200 in southern Minnesota, 75 miles from the outskirts of the Twin Cities, offering lake recreation and many fine churches. If this sounds like home, then consider a free 86’ x 133’ lot on the Homestake subdivision on the northwest side of town. Those who claim lots must build a house on the property within one year.

Kansas

Kansas has so much free land offered throughout the state by local Kansan governments and development groups that there’s an online hub to organize all the information, the appropriately named Kansas Free Land .

“Most rural areas in Kansas have been declining in population since 1900, so rural Kansas communities either fight or disappear,” says Jenny Russell, Republic County Economic Development Coordinator for Republic County in northern Kansas.

Beatrice, NE

One city in southeastern Nebraska that reaped the benefits of the original Homesteading Act of 1862 has created a new version of what worked so well before. The Homestead Act of 2010 offers several parcels of land for free on a first-come, first-served basis. As with the original act, applicants must occupy their parcels of land for five years.

With a population of about 12,564 and situated just 40 miles south of Lincoln (via the Homestead Expressway) and 99 miles from Omaha, Beatrice is one of the most populous and more accessible locations on this list. In this case, the aim is not to stave off the death of a town with a dwindling population, but to clean up neglected properties and get them to generate taxes and utility fees once again.

Muskegon, MI

Hoping to attract industrial employers, the city and county of Muskegon, Michigan, (pop. 174,344) launched Muskegon 25 .Under this program, companies that will bring in 25 full-time jobs or more will be granted industrial park property for building, complete with all services, gratis. In addition, the industrial parks are situated in low tax “Renaissance Zones.”

Muskegon Area First is hoping to attract food processing industry, other suppliers for local industries, and alternative energy providers. New or existing companies creating 25 jobs are allotted five acres, 50 jobs get 12 acres, 75 jobs get 20 acres, and 100 or more jobs get 20 acres. The program also provides discounts at rates proportionate to the amount of jobs created. The 25-job companies are entitled to 50% off water and sewer bills, and the discounts increase from there, down to 20% of the full rate.

Curtis, NE

Curtis is known as Nebraska’s Easter City due to its famed 40-year-old Easter Pageant tradition. This 3.266-square-kilometer community of approximately 832 persons in southern Nebraska’s Medicine Valley has the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture and an airport three minutes away.

Sound good? All righty, then: Curtis offers two options for free-land claimers. Consolidated Companies, Inc. created Roll ’n Hills lots to boost the local economy by providing free sites on paved streets with all utilities for single-family homes. Three of those lots now have occupied homes, says Ed Coles of Consolidated, and nine remain.

Camden, ME

Camden is the coastal exception in this otherwise-landlocked list of free land locales. The charming New England berg of about 4,052 citizens is offering 3.5 acres of land near Camden Harbor for a business that will create at least 24 jobs .The former industrial site on the Megunticook River, refurbished by the Town of Camden, comes equipped with 3 Phase Power, Sewer, Water, Cable, Broadband, and parking is available for up to 300.

Clearly, this is a prime deal for the right company. The Town of Camden is hoping for a company from industries such as biotech, information technology, financial services, medical labs, film, or green businesses. In fact, those last two listed industries are encouraged, as creative economy employers are encouraged and environmentally friendly businesses are given preference in this search.

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Ten best gadgets of the year 2011

Samsung Galaxy S II: One of the biggest competitor to Apple's iPhone, the Samsung Galaxy S II has sold more than 10 million units since its launch. Among the Galaxy S II's features are a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM and a Super AMOLED Plus screens, which are stunningly bright and make for an extremely sharp, colorful display. The Samsung Galaxy S II is photo-ready with a built-in 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, with a 2 megapixel cam up front for video chat. All three devices can record video in 1080p HD.

Apple iPhone 4S: At about four times the US retail price where customers buy mandatory data-service plans, the Apple iPhone 4S still finds buyers among affluent young professionals in India. The final gadget unveiled during Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' lifetime, the new iPhone comes with a faster processor, a better light-sensitive camera, and voice-activated assistant 'Siri'.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 : Also known as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Tab 750 is seen by Apple as a real threat to the iPad. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 inch is an upgraded version of the 7-inch introduced in October. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 runs on Google's newest Android version and Nvidia's dual core processor Tegra 2. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 has a bigger and brighter screen and weighs less than the iPad 2. However, it has access to only about half the applications Apple users do at more than 200,000 applications compared with over 425,000 applications from the Apple App store.

Apple iPad 2: The iPad 2 dominated the tablet market fighting stiff competition from Samsung and other Android based devices. The iPad 2 is 33 per cent thinner and up to 15 percent lighter than its predecessor, while it maintains the same 9.7-inch LED-backlit LCD screen. The dramatically faster iPad 2 boasts a dual-core A5 "system on a chip" processor under the hood, which is good for twice the CPU power and nine times the graphics performance of the original while maintaining the same 10-hour battery life.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus: While there are several smartphone manufacturers that use Google's Android operating system, the Nexus line is considered the cream of the crop. The combination of Google's software and Samsung's hardware makes the Galaxy Nexus one of the best candidates to compete with Apple's latest iPhone. With the latest version of Android under the hood, Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy Nexus is packed with new and improved features like a massive 4.65-inch touchscreen and the Android Beam, which lets you share such content as a Web page, map or video between two Android phones by bringing the backs of the phones close together.

Kindle Fire: Billed as the common man's tablet, Amazon's Kindle Fire has taken on technology giants Apple and Samsung in the tablet war as the largest Internet retailer revealed that it is selling more than one million Kindle devices a week. What Amazon did best was not to rush an iPad clone in the market but to play on iPad's weakness. What makes the Kindle fire standout is its 7" screen size, affordable price, unlimited cloud storage, nonstop steaming and Amazon's wealth of resources right at its fingertips.

Aakash tablet: Dubbed the world's cheapest tablet computer, Aakash is powered by Android 2.3 and has a resistive touchscreen, Cortex A8-700 MHz processor and graphics accelerator HD video processor, 256 MB of RAM and 2 GB of internal memory. Other specifications are a one standard USB port, 3.5 mm audio jack, a 7 inch display with 800 x 480 pixel resolution, resistive touchscreen, GPRS and WiFi support.

Samsung Galaxy Note: Phone? Tablet? It's a Galaxy note says the tagline of the newest member of its Galaxy lineup of smartphones and tablets. The Galaxy Note is nominally a smartphone, albeit with a massive 5.3 inch HD Super AMOLED display. The Note worked on the weakness of the Dell Streak 5 and came out with a winning device, that has a 1.4GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of built in storage. It also comes with a stylus pen, which allows users to operate the touchscreen with increased precision and convenience.

MacBook Air 13": The new MacBook Air is not quite as light as a feather, but it' s pretty darn close. Apple's MacBook Air began the anorexic laptop trend but the MacBook Air 13" take it to another level. The 13-inch MacBook Air has the latest Intel CPU and outperforms its predecessor in key ways. The notebook is also more versatile and can now be used for more mainstream function unlike the MacBook Air 11".

Nokia Lumia 800: The Nokia Lumia 800 is the first Nokia-made device to run Microsoft's Windows Phone mobile operating system. It's also the first handset to be released in Nokia's new Lumia range. It sports a colorful polycarbonate body with subtle curves and features an expansive 3.7" curved ClearBack glass display. Inside there is a 1.4GHz processor, an 8MP camera with Auto Focus and LED flash, and 720p video recording at 30fps.
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Iconic Moments of 2011

Japan's killer tsunami, Sikkim's devastating quake, the Occupy Wall Street movement, and Anna Hazare's hunger-strike were some of the many significant moments of 2011. Here they are in pictures:

On March 11, Japan was hit by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded. The magnitude-9.0 quake spawned a deadly tsunami that slammed into the small island nation, leaving a huge swath of devastation in its wake

Gary Kirsten ended his term as India's coach on a high, guiding India to a historic World Cup triumph, said it was an honour to coach Team India.

Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption has grabbed headlines all over and inspired the common Indian to demand for a Jan Lokpal Bill that would hold politicians accountable for their actions.

US President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and several other government officials gathered to monitor the raid that killed the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden.

Nargis, a girl born in Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, was welcomed as the world's seven billionth baby -- an honour she shares with a girl child born in the Philippines and a boy in Russia.

Steve Jobs, the Apple founder and former CEO who invented and masterfully marketed ever-sleeker gadgets that transformed everyday technology, passed away.

The last convoy of US soldiers pulled out of Iraq, ending nearly nine years of war that cost almost 4,500 American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives, and left a country grappling with political uncertainty.

Muammar Gaddafi, who ruled Libya with an iron fist for over 40 years, was killed after being on the run for two months by National Transitional Council fighters.

The success of the Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit helped soothe the bitter memories of a messy and shambolic Commonwealth Games.

Dev Anand, the 'Evergreen Romantic Superstar' of Indian cinema, has passed away in London following a cardiac arrest.

"Everybody was expecting me to score a double hundred and I think I lived (up to the) expectation," a visibly tired Sehwag said at the innings break.

Rioting and looting spread across London as hooded youths set buildings and cars ablaze, smashed shop windows and hurled bottles and stones at police in a third night of violence in Britain's worst unrest in decades.

Serial blasts struck Mumbai, less than three years after the 26/11 terrorist attacks of 2008. The three blasts targeted Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and the Kabutarkhana area of Dadar West, killing at least 17 people and injuring 131 others.

Over 90 patients in Kolkata's well known AMRI hospital were killed along with three staffers when a blaze started in the basement of the annexe building and toxic fumes quickly spread to the other floors, trapping hundreds of people.

The entire world watched their wedding live, and then it was time for the Prince to kiss his beautiful bride. He kissed not once, but twice! This one beats even the fairytales.

Streets around the square which hosted Egypt's historic uprising are spattered with the blood of protesters now demanding an end to the army rule that replaced Mubarak.

Over 50,000 troops and about 500 main battle tanks like T-90s, T-72s and the indigenous Arjun, as also infantry combat vehicles, participated in the exercise codenamed 'Sudarshan Shakti', which also featured fighter jets, transport and helicopters of the Indian Air Force.

"I AM DADA to the cutest baby girl," Amitabh Bachchan announced on Twitter.

While Vancouver city was burning following the riots post their team Canucks' disgraceful defeat in Stanley Cup, a young couple - Scott Jones and his girlfriend Alex Thomas were snapped kissing amidst the commotion.

A leopard strayed into Prakash Nagar village in West Bengal and mauled several people, including three guards, before being caught by forest officials.
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Indian Authorities Arrested Pakistani Pigeon

Indian authorities have captured a Pakistani pigeon which allegedly was a part of unknown spy network in India

Local residents of the Punjab state in India have captured a white pigeon and handled it to police forces. The pigeon is accused to be a spying tool since he had written a telephone number and address which refers to Pakistan.

Pigeon is now held in prison where he is examined by Indian police officers. The pigeon is held in good conditions and in air conditioned room.

The pigeon which is shown in photo related to this article is not related to alleged spy network ot is in any kind of relation with Pakistan or India. It is ordinary pigeon who was caught while he was doing his homework.

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Anna breaks fast after 288 hours, nation relieved

Anna Hazare ended his 12-day fast Sunday morning before tens of thousands of cheering supporters at Ramlila Maidan by sipping a glass of coconut water with honey offered to him by two girls

According to yahoo news Anna Hazare agrees to end hunger strike

An Indian reform activist agreed Saturday to end an 11-day hunger strike after Parliament expressed nonbinding support for parts of his anti-graft plan, ending a drama that had deeply embarrassed a government plagued by corruption scandals. The 74-year-old Anna Hazare had demanded sweeping legislation to create a government watchdog, but said Parliament's move was enough to persuade him to begin eating. "It's only a half victory. Total victory is yet to come," he told thousands of cheering supporters at a protest ground in New Delhi. Hazare, who has lost more than 16 pounds (7.5 kilograms), said he planned to break his fast Sunday morning. Following a nine-hour debate Saturday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament that the "sense of the House" was in favor of Hazare's demands that the proposed bill ensure greater transparency in governance and include millions of low-level bureaucrats and state officials under its purview. Lawmakers thumped their desks in support, and the bill was referred to a committee to be debated and revised. "The Parliament has spoken ... and the will of the Parliament is the will of the people," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the NDTV news channel. Hazare had called for a formal vote on the nonbinding resolution, but his aides said Parliament's actions still amounted to a victory for a protest that has attracted tens of thousands of supporters to his demonstration in the capital and more to rallies around the country. "Now at least the Parliament has had to take cognizance of the people's wish, and that is to wipe out corruption from this country," said Medha Patkar, a protest organizer. Hazare had initially wanted far more when he began his fast on Aug. 16, demanding the government withdraw its own bill to create a limited watchdog panel, introduce his far-reaching plan into Parliament and pass it with limited amendments by Aug. 30. Government officials dismissed his plan — which would let the watchdog prosecute the prime minister, judiciary and state officials — as unconstitutional and his methods as a form of blackmail anathema to democracy. Yet, the enormous outpouring of support for Hazare by Indians disgusted at the corruption infesting all aspects of public life surprised top officials and forced them to take him and his reform campaign seriously. There is a need for "change in the system," Mukherjee told Parliament. However, he dampened expectations for what the proposed bill could accomplish. "Does any one of us believe seriously ... that any one piece of legislation, however powerful and effective it may be, however independent and empowered it may be, that piece of legislation will completely eradicate corruption?" he asked. The government appeared to be flailing through much of Hazare's hunger strike as protest organizers used social media and India's breathless 24-hour news channels to spread their message and gather support. But officials worked in recent days to retake control of the debate, and Singh's speech in Parliament on Thursday praising Hazare and offering to have lawmakers debate several proposed drafts of the bill, including Hazare's, appeared to turn the tide. Hazare then softened his stand, asking only for Parliament to pass the nonbinding resolution on a few of his key demands. Mukherjee kicked off the unscheduled debate Saturday by warning lawmakers they were bound by oath to act "within the constitutional framework, without violating supremacy of Parliament." The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party expressed dismay at the government's proposal for the anti-graft law, which does not include the prime minister and judiciary in its purview. But its senior lawmaker Arun Jaitley told the assembly that "nobody can dispute that Indian Parliament is supreme when it comes to law making."

Anna Hazare Quotes on Corruption

1. “Khazane ko choro se nahin pehredaro se dokha hain. Is desh ko sirf dushmano se nahin, in gaddaro se dhokha hai. Yeh gaddar baithe hain.” (Why should we fight? The funds in government treasuries are ours. The treasuries are not threatened by thieves but by those who guard it. The country is not betrayed by enemies but by these traitors.)

2. “I want to tell the youth of this country that this fight should not be stopped with Lokpal alone. We have to fight for removing the faults of the present electoral reforms. Because of the fault in electoral system, 150 criminals have reached Parliament.”

3. “After Lokpal, we will also have to fight for farmers’ rights, bring a law that ensures permission of gram sabhas before land acquisition.”

4. “I feel a little weak. But there is nothing to worry about it. The fight will go on till we get a strong Lokpal.”

5. “We are ready to talk to the government but there is no communication from their side. Where should we go to talk and whom should we talk to?”

6. “The country did not get actual freedom even after 64 years of independence and the only change was that the whites have been replaced by the blacks”.

7. “The same loot, same corruption, same rowdyism still exists.”

8. “Government is giving land to the companies which employs labourers and suck their blood. They tell the labourers you ensure production or else you will lose job.”

9. “Is this democracy? All have come together to make money.”

10. “I have taken decision of my life, if Jan Lokpal Bill is not brought in the Monsoon Session then I will continue my fast beyond 21 days.”

11. “When government refused to take the Jan Lokpal Bill we went to people’s Parliament and now we will not move.”

12.”I have lost three kgs but I am getting energy from my supporters across the country.”

13.”I have full faith in my country. This government has looted the country, we will now only rest in peace when corruption gets removed from the country.”

14.”The countrymen should not lose this spirit, this is our fight against corruption.”

15. Till Jan Lokpal Bill is passed, we will not leave Ramlila Maidan.

“A Few Good Men” of Team Anna

Anna Hazare is a 74-year-old gentleman but his enthusiasm, zeal and energy can put the youth in their 20s to shame. His crusade against corruption has brought out the entire country [except the "cyskics" (cynics, skeptics and critics all rolled into one)] on the streets. While Anna Hazare remains the man of the moment, there's an entire dedicated team which works with him and whose members' full-time profession is activism. Then there are also dedicated people who remain behind the scenes and take care of the social media campaigning, technical stuff, logistics etc. Let's take a look at the front-bench members of the Jan Lokpal movement:

Arvind Kejriwal

Recipient of the prestigious awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006, Kejriwal has emerged as a true “youth icon” during the last few months. He was born in Hissar, Haryana in 1968, and graduated from IIT Kharagpur as a Mechanical engineer in 1989. Arvind Kejriwal was always concerned about corruption and the passivity of the people. After quitting his job with the Tata Steel, he took time off to work with the Missionaries of Charity and the Ramakrishna Mission in eastern and northeastern India. He was also instrumental in spreading awareness about the passing of the Right to Information (RTI) act. In the ongoing movement for Jan Lokpal, Arvind is considered a key figure along with Anna Hazare. People who work with him sings songs in the praise of his intelligence, which, they say, is “razor-sharp”. Awards and Honours: 2004: Ashoka Fellow, Civic Engagement. 2005: 'Satyendra Dubey Memorial Award', IIT Kanpur for his campaign for bringing transparency in Government. 2006: Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership. 2006: CNN-IBN, 'Indian of the Year' in Public Service. 2009: Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIT Kharagpur for Emergent Leadership. 2010: Policy Change Agent of the Year, Economic Times Corporate Excellence Award along with Aruna Roy.

Kiran Bedi

First Indian IPS officer, Kiran Bedi has always been known as a woman of substance and will power. A close associate of Anna, she has played an active role in the entire Jan Lokpal movement. She began her career as a Lecturer in Political Science (1970-72) at Khalsa College for Women, Amritsar. In July 1972, she joined the Indian Police Service. While in the police, she carried out several reforms. She also served as Director General of India's Bureau of Police Research and Development. In 2007, she took voluntary retirement to undertake newer tasks in life. After retirement, Kiran Bedi launched a new website, www.saferindia.com which aimed at helping people whose complaints were not accepted by the local police. This project is undertaken by the non-profit, voluntary and non-government organization she founded, the India Vision Foundation. Kiran is a Ph.D. in Social Sciences from the Department of Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

Prashant Bhushan

Based in Noida, Prashant Bhushan (born 1956) is an Indian lawyer and social activist. He is the son of eminent lawyer Shanti Bhushan. In his career spanning 15 years he has worked on around 500 PILs (Public interest Litigation). He has been a rigorous campaigner of judicial reforms. He is a member of the committee constituted in April 2011 for the Jan Lokpal bill. He is said to be a man of steel who doesn't thinks twice before exposing the wrongdoings in the courts. Bhushan was the member of the committee which drafted the Jan Lokpal Bill. He has been sharply critical of the government's version of the Lokpal calling it “ineffective” and “useless”.

Shanti bhushan

Not many would know that the Lokpal Bill was the brainchild of Shanti Bhushan who conceived it while being the law minister in the Morarji Desai government in 1977. Bhushan was an active member of the Congress (O) party (different from the Indian National Congress) and later the Janata Party. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 14 July 1977 to 2 April 1980 and the Union Law minister in the Morarji Desai ministry from 1977 to 1979. He joined the Bhartiya Janata Party in 1980. In 1986, he resigned from BJP after the party acted against his advice over an election petition. Along with his son, he has been actively involved in bringing judicial reforms. He fought (for his client) many legal cases against Indira Gandhi. Shanti Bhushan is the co-chairman of the of the joint committee constituted in April 2011 for the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Swami Agnivesh

Agnivesh is an Indian politician, self-titled Arya Samaj scholar, and social activist. He is best known for his work against bonded labour through the Bonded Labour Liberation Front, which he founded in 1981.In the late 60s, he joined the Arya Samaj and took “Sanyas” vows. In 2005, Agnivesh was part of a two week campaign against female foeticide that travelled across India. Agnivesh also argued at a conference on economic development and religion sponsored by the World Bank that people should be allowed full freedom of movement across borders through the elimination of all passports and immigration laws. Swami Agnivesh has been closely associated with the Jan Lokpal movement and is often seen campaigning strongly for it. (MensXP.com)

According to yahoo 10 Most Corrupt Indian Politicians

While everyone has been animatedly supporting Anna Hazare's fight against corruption, people seem to have forgotten who the people are who actually led to this situation. The peak of irony was when Anna was, allegedly, lodged in the same jail that housed the people who were responsible for two of the biggest scams in the country ever. How must the authorities have felt when they saw Raja and Kalmadi fill their plates while Anna was on a fast because of their misdeeds? Corruption has become an unavoidable part of politics and every now and then, one or the other politician re-affirms this fact. Here is our pick of the 10 most corrupt politicians of India.

suresh kalmadi

Suresh Kalmadi, almost single handedly caused a loss of hundreds of crores of rupees to the country. The Commonwealth Games, organized by Kalmadi was no less than a loot with numerous reports of the magnum opus event being soaked in corruption making headlines way before the Games had even started. Apparently, out of Rs. 70000 crores spent on the Games, only half of the amount was actually spent. Owing to his involvement in the scam, Kalmadi was charged with corruption and sent to Tihar jail.

A.Raja

A scam worth Rs. 176,000 crore had former Union Cabinet Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Andimuthu Raja at the centre. A. Raja as he is generally called, was the prime accused in the 2G spectrum scam, which was the largest that the country had seen in a long time. Following the shocking exposure, Raja was indicted and forced to resign. Presently, he is too has been lodged at the Tihar jail and is awaiting his trial

Mayawati

Mayawati has always been criticized for ostentatious display of power in her state. She has allegedly used her status as chief minister to amass large amounts of personal wealth. She was charged with corruption when the Taj Heritage Corridor Case was uncovered. Mayawati's birthdays have always been media events, where she usually appears decked in diamond jewellery and also accepts public donations for which, she often comes under fire. Her assets are worth millions of dollars and in the year 2007-08, she had paid an income tax of Rs. 26 crores, which placed her amongst the top 20 taxpayers of the year.

Lalu Prasad Yadav

The fact that Lalu Prasad Yadav has been an accused in 63-odd cases serves for the fact that Lalu stands as one of the strongest competitor in the list. The biggest scam that rocked Lalu's political career was the fodder scam which involved the embezzlement of Rs. 950 crore approximately. The accusation of nepotism against him has come up time and again but hardly any action has been taken against him owing to his 'connections' in the government

Madhu Koda

Former Jharkand Chief Minister, and only the third independent legislator to assume the office of chief minister in India, Madhu Koda was responsible for a scam worth over Rs. 4000 crore. The man exploited the state's natural resources by licensing illegal mining leases and stashing away the wealth amassed during the undertaking. Furthermore, the Maoists received a 30% share of the booty. Koda was arrested on charges of money laundering and is still in prison following the rejection of numerous bail applications.

Mulayam Singh Yadav

Mulayam Singh Yadav is also known as one of the most corrupt ministers in the country despite not being directly involved in any major scams. Apart from his name being involved in appointments of tainted officers and mishandling of his power as chief minister, Mulayam Singh had one major allegation levelled against him– accumulation of disproportionate assets. The case drew limelight on his sons and daughter-in-law as they too were holders of the assests that amounted to crores of rupess.

Karunanidhi

The corruptions charges against M. Karunanidhi are so many that he is often referred to as the king or emperor of corruption. He was accused of lending support to the LTTE and was indicted for abetting the LTTE in the interim report which oversaw the investigation into Rajiv Gandhi's assassination. Karunanidhi reportedly institutionalized corruption in the South. He was a leading player in the cash for votes scams that are common in the southern region, as well as notorious foe extreme nepotism shown under his rule. Not so surprising, is the fact that the main accused in the 2G scam, A, Raja, considers him to be his mentor.

Sharad Pawar

Very few people can miss the cosy relationship that Sharad Pawar shares with power and money.Every now and then, Pawar draws flak for alleged investments made by him and his family in various illegal projects. He was named by Abdul Karim Telgi, during a narcoanalysis test, stating that it was Pawar's brainchild to print fake stamp papers across the country and mint money. He was also accused in a multi-crore scam involving wheat imports and institutions headed by him and his close associates were served notices by the Bombay High Court for showing favoritism to his family.

Jayalalithaa

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has a staggering 46 corruption cases against her. Amongst the various scams were the Rs. 70 million coal import scam, Tansi land deal case, case of disproportionate assets and colour TV case, amongst many others. A raid in her residence and business establishments led to the seizure of some 28 kg of jewellery (worth Rs 51 crore), 91 wrist-watches, 41 air-conditioners, 10,500 sarees, 750 pairs of footwears, etc. She along with her former cabinet colleagues and senior bureaucrats who worked with her are still facing investigation with regard to corruption.

BS Yeddyurappa

The most recent politician http://www.mensxp.com/special-features/top-10/5458-meet-the-top-10-young-politicians-of-india.html to be caught in the web of corruption is former Chief Minister of Karnataka, B. S. Yeddyurappa. While he has a number of corruption lying against him, the one that toppled his career was his alleged involvement in the illegal iron ore export scam in districts of Karnataka. A lot of blame game followed and ended up with Yeddyurappa losing his ministerial post last month. Despite his denial, his image as one of the most corrupt politicians of the country will not fade anytime soon. (MensXP.com)