Government, civil society to present separate Bills In the absence of any convergence of opinion on fundamental issues, government representatives and civil society members decided on Wednesday to conclude the deliberations and present their separate Bills on the structure and provisions of the Lokpal to the Union government. Emerging from the seventh meeting of the Joint Drafting Committee on the Lokpal Bill, the two sides admitted to fundamental differences on crucial...

The Union Ministry of Rural Development has eventually finalised the revised draft of the Bills on land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement, which promise to return land to the farmer if a proposed project fails to come up within five years of acquisition. Minister for Rural Development Vilasrao Deshmukh told The Hindu that the Land Acquisition Bill and the Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill were sent to the Ministry of Law for...

-The Times of India   Social activist Anna Hazare has said that he may have to revive the agitation on corruption that he had started at Jantar Mantar. Hazare said he was disappointed with the government's approach on the Lokpal Bill and accused it of going back on the promises it had made. His comments came a day after strong differences emerged between the two camps in the meeting of the joint drafting panel. The...

The joint committee for drafting the Lokpal bill has, among other things, brought much attention to lawmaking itself. What indeed is the process of enacting a law? And what therein are the points of engagement with citizens and civil society? A government bill may be introduced by a minister, and a private member bill by any member of Parliament. We focus here on government Bills, as private member Bills have rarely...

-Mid-Day.com   The next time you plan to use a public toilet in Bangalore's south zone, make sure you carry a roll of tissue paper along, since the BWSSB has decided to disconnect waterlines for non-payment of Bills. The public toilets in the city under the banner of Nirmala Sulabh Souchalaya has not paid Bills since 2004 and the due amount has added up to Rs. 5,20,017. To make matters worse, the...