-FirstPost.com It's a daily scene at the busy Gariahat crossing in Kolkata. Traffic is barreling down in all directions. Minibuses make screeching right turns at breakneck speed. The tramline in the middle of the street has been dug up and is a giant crater occupying half the road, marked by corrugated metal walls and little red flags. Taxis and autos dodge buses to try and squeeze by the construction onto a...
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Rs 3,000cr lost as tax rebates to NGOs, trusts: CAG
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government has given away more than Rs 3,000 crore by way of tax exemptions to some non-deserving big charitable organizations and trusts. The revelations were made in a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report which was submitted to the government for tabling in the monsoon session of Parliament but it was deferred by the government. Sources said the auditor has covered almost all big trusts and...
More »Let's All Come To The Party-Anjali Bhardwaj, Amrita Johri and Shekhar Singh
-Outlook Transparency promotes democracy, more the reason for political parties to come under RTI Act's purview There was great public outrage when legislators in Mumbai beat up an assistant police inspector because he stopped an MLA's car for speeding on the Bandra-Worli sealink. The sentiment was: What arrogance! How can lawmakers have so little respect for the laws they themselves made? However, the amendment in Parliament aimed at removing political parties...
More »Owning the streets -Sharit K Bhowmik
-The Indian Express The street vending bill goes a long way in securing the livelihood of the urban poor. The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, passed by Lok Sabha on September 6, 2013, is a landmark piece of legislation for the urban poor. It is the culmination of the efforts of organisations like the National Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) and the Self...
More »Rajiv-ji aur RTI Ki Jai Ho -Somi Das
-Newslaundry.com There's always outrage at the government ad spend on the death and birth centenaries of our erstwhile politicians. On Rajiv Gandhi's death centenary in 2013, we carried a report with incorrect figures. Following which, we filed a Right To Information (RTI) application to ask for the amount of advertising spend by the government on Rajiv Gandhi's death centenary ads in the Delhi editions of various English newspapers. When we contacted...
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