Seldom rural citizens get the chance to meet high-level officials who are responsible for delivery of public services and implement pro-poor schemes. But this was made possible thanks to the Accountability Yatra, which is taking place in Rajasthan since December 2015. It is indeed a rare opportunity to find a District Education Officer (DEO) being asked directly by a simple villager in a public meeting that in how many school...
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Modi government plans to make all public services available on mobile phones -Aman Sharma
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The Modi administration wants to make all government services available on mobile phones in the next five years so that citizens don't have to visit offices, making it much easier for them to get their work done efficiently and conveniently. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), which reports to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), proposed this last week in a report prepared along...
More »Growing crackdown on activists
-The Hindu The audacious and unprovoked attack last week on a group of activists who held a peaceful rally in Rajasthan can only be explained in terms of the rising resentment on the part of the ruling class towards civil society organisations demanding accountability. Flagged off by social activist Aruna Roy, the Jawabdehi Yatra was aimed to spread awareness about government schemes and raise the issue of accountability in their implementation....
More »Reform, only left to the judiciary? -Nitin Pai
-The Hindu More significant than the issue of whether women should be allowed entry into the Sabarimala temple is the question of whether secular judges ought to be the ones making that call. The more the state takes over the task of social reform, the less likely is the desired change to emerge from within the society Last week, the Supreme Court declared that it would hear a public interest litigation (PIL)...
More »BJP MLA leads attack on RTI rally in Rajasthan, injuring activists, vandalizing vehicles, snatching cameras -Pankti Jog
-CounterView.net In an incident which has created a flutter among Right to Information (RTI) activists across India, goonda elements, said to be close to a BJP legislator in Rajasthan have brutally attacked the 100-day Accountability or Jawabdehi Yatra, begun by Magsaysay Award winner and pioneer of the RTI Act Aruna Roy. The incident took place in Aklera area of Zalawad district, which falls into Manoharthana constituency. According to eye-witnesses, MLA Kanwar Lala...
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