India has missed a historic opportunity to abolish hunger through a universal public distribution system (PDS), which entitles all citizens to affordable food. The National Advisory Council (NAC), a progressive body established by the United Progressive Alliance, was to draft such a law, but has recommended a Bill which greatly reduces the public's entitlements. This is a setback. India's annual per capita cereal consumption has fallen to 174 kg, lower than...
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RTI law being grossly misused, says former CJI Balakrishnan
Former chief justice of India KG Balakrishnan on Friday said the Right To Information (RTI) Act "was grossly misused" and needed amending to prevent the misuse. "It is time for introspection on the five-year-old RTI Act. It is grossly misused. Most of the applicants are applying the RTI not for public good, but for misuse," Balakrishnan said at a seminar on "RTI-Key to good governance", organised by the Institute of Secretariat...
More »Six information officers fined for delaying RTI reply by Ashutosh Shukla
City-based Right to Information activist (RTI) Shailesh Gandhi, in his capacity as a central information commissioner, recently passed a landmark order under the RTI Act. In an order dated October 22, he fined six public information officers (PIOs) of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Rs25,000 each, the highest penalty amount allowed under the Act. The total fine comes to Rs1.5 lakh, which is the highest penalty levied for a single...
More »109 workers died at DMRC sites by Ambika Pandit
In reply to an RTI query filed by the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) in August, the labour department of Delhi government has said that it does not have consolidated figures on the labour deaths reported during the Commonwealth Games preparations. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) had separately filed an affidavit in the high court in September which said that 109 workers had died on its sites during...
More »Villagers use RTI to take on candidates by Tarannum Manjul
Documents availed through Right to Information (RTI) Act are giving sleepless nights to former pradhans contesting the panchayat elections again. Armed with these papers — mostly related to utilisation of panchayat funds — the villagers are questioning candidates who come seeking votes. The authenticity of the information being guaranteed, the candidates have no chance to argue. In village Hamirpura in Jalaun, a candidate contesting for the the gram pradhan’s seat for the...
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