Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly hikes application fee to Rs 500, could also reject request for information In a move that is clearly against the letter and spirit of Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly will now consider an applicant’s intent before providing information. The Assembly could even reject the application if it is convinced that it has been made with mala fide intent. This clearly goes against...

Activists fear that the government’s move to exempt the CBI from the Right to Information Act could have ulterior motives Kiran Bedi is convinced that the UPA government’s reluctance to give the proposed citizen’s ombudsman, the Lokpal, control of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the country’s premier investigation agency, is due to skeletons that lie buried deep in the agency’s cupboards.   The day Parliament was to discuss the Lokpal Bill,...

-Hueiyen News Service   There can be no development in Manipuri society as long as the people merely lament over deprivation of BPL rice, kerosene, NREGS wages, etc and expect to get some benefits from the government, Prof Chongtham Priyoranjan of Department of Economics, Manipur University has stated. He was speaking as Chief Guest at the launch of a project of Manipuri Chanura Marup (Macha Leima) to empower women in using RTI Act,...

He tried to expose corruption in the implementation of MNREGA works An RTI Activist who tried to expose corruption in the implementation of schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in Hassan district is allegedly facing a threat to his life from a government official. However, the police are yet to register the complaint lodged on December 30 by R. Mari Joseph, who is also convener of the...

-PTI   The Indian Space Research Organisation has declined to make public a report submitted by a high-level committee appointed by the Prime Minister that went into alleged irregularities in the controversial S-Band deal between Devas Multimedia and Antrix Corporation. While hearing an appeal filed under the RTI Act, India’s premier space agency said disclosure of information would impede investigation and declined to give copies of the report. ...