-The Hindu The Right to Information Act was a marvel in a country that boasted unbreachable barriers between the ruler and the ruled. It was outside the imagination of the ordinary folk raised in a cloistered environment of fear and secrecy that they could actually call for and obtain records of decisions that critically impacted their lives. Yet in only seven years, the RTI law has not just penetrated the fortress...

-Pratirodh Bureau Condemning the arrest of woman tribal-activist and journalist Dayamani Barla in Jharkhand, rights activists have demanded that the "false cases" against her be dropped and that she be immediately released.   The police have reopened an earlier case registered in 2006, when she spent fourteen days in Judicial Custody, after being charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.   She was arrested again this month, and when granted bail on 19th...

-Live Mint All file notings can be made public now except those explicitly exempted  The Union cabinet on Thursday decided to withdraw controversial draft amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) Act that sought to restrict disclosure of government file notings. The move allayed the concerns of rights activists. The draft amendments would have restricted disclosure of file notings only to social and developmental issues. The government had to drop the move following...

-Outlook Newly-appointed Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Ajay Maken today said the state governments would be asked to issue an Executive order to provide property rights to slum dwellers till the Model Bill on the issue is passed. Soon after taking charge of the ministry today, Maken told reporters that a Model Property Rights to Slum Dwellers Bill, 2011 will be passed at the earliest and the states would be...

-The Hindu The Centre will soon implement Phase II of the Rajiv Awas Yojna with a focus on providing long-term and bankable property rights to slum dwellers, Union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Ajay Maken said, soon after taking charge of his new Ministry on Tuesday. Talking to journalists at his office in Nirman Bhavan, Mr. Maken said the Centre will adopt the twin strategy of funding and “mandatory reforms” in...