-The Hindu Despite attempts at reform, frequent transfers of civil servants by loyalty-seeking politicians continue. Only a guarantee of tenure can end the menace. In April this year, the Haryana government transferred senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka for the second time in six months, or for the 44th time in his 22-year career. The use of transfers and postings in States as a means of harassing officers who are inconvenient because of...

-Frontline Despite the negative observations and criticisms, there is a strong case for MGNREGS works to be continued even in States with high per capita incomes. Hisar and Fatehabad: CONTRARY to general opinion, demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is high in Haryana. Contrary also to the views in recent discussion papers, one of them commissioned by the Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices...

-The Indian Express Bringing political parties under RTI is a bad, and anti-political, idea In a radical ruling, the chief information commissioner has decided that political parties should be open to scrutiny under the right to information. Six national parties have been asked to appoint officers to handle requests, and proactively share information about their finances and voluntary contributions, including donor information. The logic is that parties get public land and offices,...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Civil society members and RTI activists sharply criticized political parties for their reluctance to accept the Central Information Commission (CIC) order bringing them under the RTI Act. In a reflection of their cautious stance, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) - the main applicant who had sought information on donors to political parties - filed a caveat on Tuesday with the court to prevent any...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Unease among political parties over being brought under the purview of the RTI Act became evident on Tuesday with Congress strongly opposed the Central Information Commission (CIC) order and BJP also expressing its reservations. Barring CPI, no political party welcomed the decision. CPM said it cannot accept the CIC order as it felt opponents can use the ruling to "undermine" a political party. Janata Dal (U)...