WITH GOVERNMENT agencies like the CBI, NIA and NATGRID having escaped the RTI scanner, publicprivate ventures too are trying to slink away even as activists rally to include them under the Act. After the Central Information Commission (CIC) ruled on 30 May that Mumbai International Airport (Private) Limited (MIAL) is a public authority, the company was set to be the first Public- private Partnership (PPP) to be brought under RTI....
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Forest dept shut out of woods by Vivek Deshpande
Over the last one year, villagers of Ghati in Gadchiroli have kept timber out of the forest department’s reach, saying it belongs to them under the provisions of the FRA, short for Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest-Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act. The FRA recognises their rights only on non-timber minor forest produce but the villagers have interpreted it to include all trees. They say minor forest produces like mahua,...
More »State biggest land grabber, says Supreme Court
-PTI The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed the authorities for taking advantage of the "colonial law" on land acquisition to divest farmers of their prime agricultural land benefitting the rich and paying "pittiance" to common men. The apex court said a "sinister campaign" has been launched by various state governments to take adavantage of the law against the poor people for taking away the land and giving it to builders where...
More »Land Acquisition Act has become an engine of oppression: court by J Venkatesan
What farmers get are lathis and litigation, observes Justice Ganguly The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed concern over misuse of the Land Acquisition Act, a colonial law, by all States to acquire land from farmers for development in the guise of a ‘public purpose'. A Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly said that in the name of globalisation and land development the States had marginalised farmers by paying a pittance...
More »Power centre or toothless body? by Akshat Kaushal
Why is the ruling party unable to pass 3 very important bills? The National Advisory Council draws its exalted status from the fact that UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi heads it. But its inability to get its way on three new Bills indicates that its influence is waning. A couple of weeks ago, the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) cleared the drafts of two significant Bills — the Food Security Bill and...
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