Returning home from work recently, farmer Baidhar Singh was aghast to find his thatched hut in Balasore district, Orissa trampled to the ground. Just a few hundred metres away stood the culprits, huge and grey against the darkening sky: a herd of 65 wild elephants. That was a few weeks ago. Up till now, Singh and his wife are still calling a polythene-covered lean-to home. Singh’s experience has become quite common in...
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JK Police and RTI
In a 12 December interview, Director-General of the J&K Police (JKP) Kuldeep Khoda was questioned by Tribune journalist Jupinderjit Singh about complaints that the JKP was ignoring RTI applications. At one point, Mr. Khoda stated that the Police “will not entertain [RTI applications] on investigations of any case,” explaining this information “could help the accused due to which the department generally discouraged such applications.” The DGP’s stance is problematic. On one...
More »MP sets new RTI rules, making it tougher to get information
It took years of struggle, harassment, sweat and courage to get the Right to Information Act (2005) in place. Now, it looks like the government is hell bent on frustrating the purpose of this legislation. Yesterday, the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly secretariat notified new rules that bar the transfer of applications to multiple authorities, limit the subjects and seeks additional fees for first appeals under the Right to Information (RTI) Act....
More »Protest against proposals to amend the RTI Rules & Regulations
Nothing is going to be right if the proposed amendments in the RTI rules are limited to 250 words and to only one topic, rules for processing RTI application suggested by the Department of Personnel (DoPT) if got approved. This is the thinking of most of RTI activists, according to them common man’s weapon will not be so common if these amendment got approved. According to the proposed amendments in the...
More »How the PDS is changing in Chattisgarh by Udit Misra
The Chhattisgarh model offers some key lessons on how to make the public distribution system deliverProbably the only thing extraordinary about Manglu is that he is the perfect example of an ordinary tribal. The 60-year-old belongs to the Pahadi Korba tribe and lives in Govindpur village of Sarguja district of Chhattisgarh. He best represents what modern India calls a below poverty line (BPL) beneficiary of various government schemes. Manglu earns...
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