-The Hindu There is no Lokpal yet, but the Centre’s Grievance Redressal Bill promises to cut through bureaucracy and corruption that plague government services. The citizen is hoping for a repeat of the RTI Act story. A year after the UPA came to power in 2004, it brought the Right to Information Act, ushering in a revolution: citizens, for the first time, could access information under the control of public authorities, whether...
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Anjali Bhardwaj, National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) interviewed by Priscilla Jebaraj
-The Hindu For Anjali Bhardwaj and her colleagues at the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), the Cabinet nod to The Right of Citizens for Time-Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill marks a significant milestone in their fight for more transparent and accountable governance. The NCPRI co-convenor speaks to Priscilla Jebaraj. * What do you think is most significant about this Bill? Are there...
More »Bihar in reverse gear-Jitendra
-Down to Earth State plans to bring down its minimum wage rate to that under MGNREGA TO reduce the burden of the state exchequer by Rs 600 crore, Bihar has decided to reduce its minimum wage rate offered to unskilled labourers, and make it on a par with the rate offered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). This is despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, in many cases, that...
More »Jostling for justice -Suvojit Bagchi
-The Hindu Hundreds of undertrials languish in overcrowded south Chhattisgarh prisons even as their trial proceeds sluggishly, says an RTI reply With most information regarding prisons closely guarded in the country, in conflict zones — some north-eastern States, Kashmir or Chhattisgarh — it is even more so. The only information about prisons that percolates to public space is about how inmates are becoming master painters, singers or dance drama designers. While those...
More »Not even one in 10 cops in Maharashtra is a woman -Chittaranjan Tembhekar & V Narayan
-The Times of India MUMBAI: Barely one out of 10 police personnel in the state is a woman against the mandated minimum of three. The appalling ratio appears grave at a time when crimes against women have seen a jump. State home department norms require that at least 30% posts in the police force be filled by women, barring the top positions peopled by the Indian Police Service cadre. But women make...
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