The chief state information commission (CSIC) is likely to conduct more ‘Special Appeal Disposal Programme’ after disposing of more than 450 of the 607 Right To Information (RTI) appeals in just four days. Chief state information commissioner Vijay Kuvalekar had organised the programme, which was conducted at the Podar Medical College (Ayurved), Worli, over a four-day period. The event aimed at disposing of piled up RTI applications at CSIC since 2008. Nearly...
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Law officers’ opinions can be made public by Anuja & Nikhil Kanekal
In a move that would usher in greater transparency, the Central Information Commission (CIC) ordered that legal opinion sought internally by the government can be made public. The decision is also significant because it could compound the political problems of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which is impacted by a series of allegations of corruption, some of which have been revealed through filing of queries under Right to Information (RTI). The...
More »Aruna Roy, RTI activist interviewed by Pallavi Polanki
The lone Indian activist on the 2011 TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, Aruna Roy has been more successful than most, when it comes to getting the government’s attention. The Chennai-born former bureaucrat who was an instrumental force behind the revolutionary Right to Information Act has also been credited by the government for “incorporating strong citizen entitlements” in the ambitious National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). A constant...
More »CJI's office cannot withhold all information: CIC by J Venkatesan
Supreme Court's CPIO asked to give information to RTI activist Subash Chandra Aggarwal in 10 days The Central Information Commission (CIC) has held that all information in possession of the office of the Chief Justice of India is not completely exempt from disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. “While we concede that due to the stay granted by the Supreme Court [in the assets case], all information relating to the...
More »STARVATION DEATHS CONTINUE IN ODISHA: AHRC
The popular impression is that starvation deaths happen mainly because the information about potential victims fails to reach authorities. But can it amount to murder if a starvation death is caused despite adequate warning? A recent Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) report tells us a story of corruption and negligence leading to starvation and death in Odisha. Worse still is the fact that many more villagers await the same fate...
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