-The Indian Express The meeting with Sitharaman comes days after the GST Council informed states that the GST and compensation cess collections in the last few months had become a “matter of concern”. Seven Opposition-ruled states and Union Territories — Punjab, Delhi, Puducherry, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh — made a forceful representation to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Wednesday demanding pending compensation under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime,...

-The Hindu Letter to States flags falling collections The Centre has written to all the States voicing concern that due to the lower Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, the compensation cess might not be enough to pay for losses arising out of the tax system. The communication comes at a time when several States, including Rajasthan, Kerala, Delhi, Punjab and West Bengal, have publicly urged the Centre to transfer pending compensation payments...

-PTI There is the limited scope of contempt petition and the NGO can file a separate petition seeking directions for effective functioning, it said. NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday refused to pass any direction with regard to "effective functioning" of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal and disposed of a contempt plea filed by an NGO which had sought the appointment of the country's first anti-graft authority. There is the limited scope of contempt petition...

-Scroll.in The electricity tariff would be more than double the average cost in India, an RTI query has revealed. On December 3, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by a Guwahati-based civil society group challenging an order passed by the National Green Tribunal order in July. The tribunal had cleared the decks for the resumption of construction of the contentious Lower Subansiri dam along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The Supreme Court’s endorsement...

-Hindustan Times A reply under the Right to Information Act, recently, disclosed that “Lokpal is provisionally operating from the Ashoka Hotel. In the absence of a permanent office in the national capital, the country’s apex anti-corruption body, Lokpal, set up to look into complaints against public servants, pays a monthly rent of Rs 50 lakh to government-owned Hotel Ashoka for the office space it occupies in the five-star luxury hotel. A reply...