THE CHHATTISGARH Assembly will now consider an applicant’s intent before giving information under RTI. It might even refuse the application if it is convinced it has been made with mala fide intent. This clearly goes against the RTI Act, which says that an applicant requesting information shall not be required to give any reason. But can intent be ascertained without asking the reason? The Assembly enforced this rule last month by...

-The Hindu   The second “national convention on children's right to food” concluded here on Sunday with a call to link anti-malnutrition strategies to inflationary indices. The three-day convention in which about 1,000 delegates from 21 States participated, adopted a 25-point “charter” on combating malnutrition. Shanta Sinha, chairperson of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), stressed on focussing on the disadvantaged sections in the fight against malnutrition. Blaming the Central and...

-The Hindu   Convention suggests steps to combat malnutrition   The second “national convention on children's right to food” concluded here on Sunday with a call to link anti-malnutrition strategies to inflationary indices. The three-day convention in which about 1,000 delegates from 21 States participated, adopted a 25-point “charter” on combating malnutrition. Shanta Sinha, chairperson of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), stressed on focussing on the disadvantaged sections in the...

The Chhattisgarh legislative assembly has decided to charge Rs 500 as application fee to acquire information on the secretariat of the Vidhan Sabha under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. This is 50 times more than the application fee of Rs10 that is prescribed or charged in various government departments across the country. Details on the attendance of the MLAs, expenses incurred on each MLA per day during the session of...

The CBI is planning to book five senior BSP leaders for their alleged involvement in the Rs 10,000-crore National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scam ahead of the UP polls. Sources said the agency is set to register at least 10 more cases. "The enquiry has revealed that in several projects related to health and welfare departments of UP, several BSP leaders, including MLAs and MLCs, had connived with private contractors and...