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...
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Indirect ways to kill RTI by Chetan Chauhan
-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...
More »Activists see red over Maharashtra govt move to amend RTI rules by Ashutosh Shukla
As more and more Scams come tumbling out of the closet by the day, courtesy the Right to Information (RTI), the Maharashtra government has made a move to amend RTI rules. As per a notification, dated January 16, which is floating around on emails, an applicant can ask questions only on a single subject matter and his application cannot exceed 150 words. Besides, during inspection, a person can carry only a...
More »Supreme Court panel in illegal mining seeks probe into Yeddyurappa bribe allegation-Meera Mohanty
A Supreme Court-appointed panel on illegal mining has recommended an investigation into alleged kickbacks paid to companies linked to the family of former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa. The Central Empowered Committee wrote in a report on Wednesday that payments of 6 crore by a mine owner to two companies controlled by the close kin of the former chief minister must be "investigated in public interest". The Supreme Court's forest bench will...
More »It's a double error-Sitaram Yechury
The ongoing debate over the incidence of poverty in India, often assuming surreal proportions, shows that there is indeed a ‘philosophy of poverty’ guiding current economic reforms. The loot of our country’s resources that is taking place both through these reforms, which continue to widen gross inequalities, and through the open plunder of our resources for private gain — as reflected in the series of mega Scams — require the legitimacy...
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