-The Tribune The biggest lesson of the last 10 years since the Right to Information Act came into force is that Indian democracy, if it has to be meaningful, has to have a strong, effective RTI regime. That regime has to be equally owned by those who govern and those who are governed. TEN years after the Right to Information Act promised the country a "practical regime of right to information for...
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BJP MPs spent crores of taxpayers' money at five star hotel: reports
-CNN-IBN The Narendra Modi government's austerity polices have taken a hit after an RTI report claimed that many BJP MPs enjoyed their overstay at five-star hotels on tax-payers' money. The RTI report showed that till November 15,2014, 92 MPs, since their election, several of them from the BJP, have been living at the Ashoka Hotel in Delhi, in spite of being allotted the government accommodation, said an IBN Live report. The report further...
More »Green panel not formed as per norms: RTI reply
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: An RTI enquiry has found that a high-level committee, formed by the ministry of earth sciences and climate change to review environmental laws, was not constituted according to requisite administrative procedure. The committee, headed by former cabinet secretary T S R Subramaniam, was tasked to review six environmental, forest and wildlife laws, including the Air and Water Act. An RTI application dated October 1, 2014, was...
More »In the mood for data sharing -Pankaj KP Shreyaskar
-The Hindu Business Line The Open Government Data initiative is gaining ground, but it needs to be in step with the Central Information Commission Open government data (OGD) is fashionable. Governments and public institutions in Europe and other parts of the globe are making increasing numbers of datasets available to the public by means of national, regional, local or thematic portals, in keeping with their political commitments towards open government and open...
More »State has delivered double blow to RTI, say angry activists -Yogesh Naik & Rajendra B Aklekar
-Mumbai Mirror Second punch: Govt issues circular telling officials to hold back any files that they think are not in public interest. Outraged Right to Information (RTI) activists have railed at two government notifications, issued in the last two weeks, which they say seek to dilute the efficacy of the RTI Act. Some advocates of transparency and the regime of accountability have termed the orders "illegal" and have written letters of protest...
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