-TheWire.in/ Business Standard New Delhi: The controversial expansion of Vedanta’s 1,200 tonnes per day copper smelter in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu has been stayed by the high court on May 23 after at least 11 people protesting against the plant were shot dead by state police. The court has ordered that the company consult people before building the plant – something the company claimed it was legally not required to do. Vedanta claims...
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People as auditors -Nikhil Dey and Aruna Roy
-The Hindu Social audits ensure a citizen-centric mode of accountability The breakdown of institutions has underlined the fact that democracy — and especially public funds — need eternal public vigilance. But in India, the elites close ranks to neutralise voices of dissent and alarm, thus preventing public vigilance. Democratic governance needs the citizen to be legally empowered to ask questions, file complaints, and be a part of the corrective process. Social audits, as...
More »Improving social audits -Suchi Pande & Rakesh R Dubbudu
-The Hindu Telangana’s experience is instructive The institutionalisation of “social audits” to ensure implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has been challenging. Since being included in the 2005 Act at the behest of social movements, social audits have been ineffective in most parts of the country due to government indifference. So far, 26 States have created social audit units (SAUs), but the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG’s) detailed guidelines...
More »West Bengal's public service panel inactive, RTI reply reveals -Soumya Das
-The Hindu Not conducted hearings: RTI reply The State commission to ensure delivery of public services has been inactive since its inception in 2015, an RTI reply by the West Bengal government has revealed. The West Bengal Right to Public Service Commission has not conducted any hearing since its inception and is unable to provide any information about it through RTI, an activist claimed. The RTI queries were filed by Kolkata-based Biswanath Goswami. The...
More »Misdirected war against criminals in UP: Police must uphold and not undermine rule of law -Sankar Sen
-The Times of India Backed by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the Uttar Pradesh police has launched a vigorous crackdown on criminals. Some criminals have been killed in encounters and many, out of fear of being gunned down, have surrendered. According to data sourced from police headquarters as many as 1,142 encounters were recorded between March 2017 and January this year, and 38 alleged criminals were killed. Encounter specialists in the police are...
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