IF DISRUPTIONS over phone tapping and the India Premier League controversy had not taken Parliament sessions hostage, the Rajya Sabha may have passed the controversial Seeds Bill in the week of April 26, when it was slated to come up for discussion. The government was keen to give this Bill the force of law as soon as possible because the seed industry wants it. The Seeds Bill originally proposed in 2004...
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SC upholds constitutional validity of MPLAD scheme
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) saying it was for public purpose. The bench said that improvement can be made in the working of the MPLAD scheme, but it is not illegal. Under MPLAD scheme, members of Parliament are allocated Rs two crore annually for development of their constituencies. "We hold that the MPLAD scheme is valid,"...
More »Hazard from waste
The recent high-profile cobalt radiation exposure case in Delhi is a warning signal for bigger disasters waiting to happen. While the reported incident is not commonplace, India is home to a large and rapidly growing inventory of hazardous waste. Much of this is handled by the poor in an extremely crude manner without observing any safety norms. Part of this hazardous waste is even dumped in landfill sites where many...
More »A policy? Rubbish by Ravi Agarwal
The Cobalt-60 radiation tragedy at Mayapuri in Delhi has unearthed many skeletons, which some seem to be desperate to hide. There is already a life lost, and maybe others irrevocably damaged, while everyone is busy hurling accusations at each other. This is a typical response. Instead, we need to examine the systemic problems that this incident has indicated. While those who were negligent must be punished, there are many questions...
More »Public right to information essential to good governance, Ban stresses
Everyone has a right to information affecting their lives but too often government secrecy and a lack of Accountability ensure that the public are deprived of vital facts, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today as he called for a wholesale change in attitudes towards press freedom. Mr. Ban told a panel discussion being held at United Nations Headquarters in New York to mark the annual World Press Freedom Day that “there...
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