-PTI Right To Information activist Anil Galgali has asked Anna Hazare to prevail upon Maharashtra Government to cancel the new RTI rules in the state. The new rules stipulate that any request for information must not exceed 150 words, should be related to one subject matter only and if required, separate applications must be made if it relates to more than one topic, Galgali, Chairman of Athak Seva Sangh, said. Amendments in...

Civil society pressure may have forced the government to keep proposed changes in the Right To Information (RTI) Act in abeyance but the information officers are quietly implementing them.   The government has proposed restrictions on RTI applications that only one issue can be raised in one application and it should not be more than 250 words. But, it had to withdraw amendments following objection by RTI proponents such as National Advisory...

-The Hindustan Times Civil society pressure may have forced the government to keep proposed changes in the Right To Information (RTI) Act in abeyance but the information officers are quietly implementing them.  The government has proposed restrictions on RTI applications that only one issue can be raised in one application and it should not be more than 250 words. But, it had to withdraw amendments following objection by RTI proponents such as...

That the RTI has become a tightly wedged thorn in the government’s side, punching holes to expose corruption and highlight the government’s inefficiency is no shocker. What is, however, is the Maharashtra government’s recent underhanded amendment of RTI in the state through two notifications in January 2012 without any public consultation. A notification dated 16 January, restricts both the number of subject matter and words in an application such that a...

-The Times of India   A letter from the office of India's Central Information Commission to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently raises serious concerns over two proposals to amend the Right to Information Act through the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) Bill 2011, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha last September. The first amendment seeks to exempt sensitive information on nuclear radiation safety issues and commercially sensitive information on technology holders from...