-The Economic Times For many, it is a sense of deja vu. Fifteen years ago, the government and India's financial regulators came under fire after hundreds of crores were cleaned up by a few individuals and entities from gullible investors, who were promised fabulous returns from plantation schemes. In the uproar that followed, the government and the regulators sought to palm off the responsibility of regulation of such schemes on each...

-Outlook Nearly 50 Illegal Constructions have mushroomed in surrounding areas of Taj Mahal in past three years, threatening the beauty of the monument considered as a 'symbol of love' worldwide. According to information released by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in response to an RTI query, a total of 533 Illegal Constructions have taken place in the entire Agra circle, out of which 46 have come up in Tajganj area. Many of...

-The Times of India The Supreme Court on Monday said the common man in India felt cheated as the authorities preferred to demolish illegal slums and hutments of the poor while sparing unauthorized constructions put up by the affluent. The court said the failure of the authorities to take prompt demolition action against illegal and unauthorized constructions owned by the rich gave out a loud message that "planning laws are enforced only...

-The Times of India PANAJI: In a recent significant judgment, the Supreme Court has held that the state's panchayats have the right to challenge government authority decisions before the high court, as the grassroots-level bodies represent the will of the people. The apex court verdict thus overruled the high court of Bombay at Goa's judgment which had declined relief to the Calangute panchayat. The panchayat had questioned before the high court an order...

Even seven years after the people-friendly Right-To-Information (RTI) Act was passed by Parliament around this time in 2005, people who use this legislation to expose corruption continue to live with fear of being threatened, thrashed and throttled to death in Gujarat. That the road to accessing information from government is still arduous in the Bharatiya Janata party-ruled state became evident once again earlier this week when an RTI activist of Amreli...