-Down to Earth Pollution build up in recent days corresponded with peak traffic hours and freight movement The dense smog enveloping Delhi over the past few days lifted partially on November 6, but it may return with renewed vigour, as the factors causing it remain in force, warned Delhi non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). CSE has reviewed the magnitude and severity of the smog. Its researchers  say that while every winter,...

-The Times of India Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra on Saturday lamented that public authorities have failed to make crucial pro-active disclosures despite seven years of the implementation of the RTI Act. Referring to section four of the RTI Act which mandates public authorities to make proactive disclosures and organize records within 120 days of enactment of transparency law in 2005, Mishra said these statutory provisions haven't been complied with even...

-The Hindu Sequence of attacks on “well-known business units” suggests violence was not spontaneous Last week’s violence in Faizabad district during the Durga Puja procession which left two persons dead, several injured and dozens of shops razed, was executed in a planned manner and the targets had been selected, according to a fact-finding team and accounts by victims and eyewitnesses. The fact-finding team of human rights organisation Rihai Manch said the sequence of...

-Deccan Herald Dabra is a typical village in rural Haryana. It has narrow lanes with open drains and small houses built of brick and mud. Children play in the dirt while men sit around smoking. Not many outsiders visit this poor farming community. But outside one of the houses, two policemen stand on guard. Inside, a 16-year-old girl sits in one of the rooms surrounded by women. She is the reason the...

-The Hindu The Delhi High Court order dismissing a challenge to the Bus Rapid Transit System in the national capital is praiseworthy for its assertion that the urban commons, represented by road space, is a public good. The judgment correctly observes that governments pursue the principal purpose of promoting welfare of the maximum number of people, rather than distributing public goods in a restrictive manner. Delightfully, the court makes short work...