After politicians and judges of Supreme Court, now the assets of babus have been prised open to public scrutiny. In a landmark order, the Central Information Commission has said that disclosure of information such as assets of a public servant, routinely collected by the public authority, should be made available to the public under the Right to Information Act. Passing the order in a case involving an officer with the...

To oppose the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s new scheme for privatising garbage collection and segregation, the All-India Kachra Sramik Mahasangh has decided to organise a rally at the MCD headquarters here on Thursday which is being observed as Human Rights Day. Citing the loss of livelihoods for thousands of rag pickers as a result of the civic body’s decision, the Mahasangh has demanded that the MCD cancel the contract of the...

CITIES MAKE one simple promise to newcomers: Sacrifice yourself to me and your children shall prosper. This promise drew Ahmed Raza, a small-time wrestler from an Uttar Pradesh village and millions like him to the capital of newly-independent India. Raza kept his part of the bargain, yet half a century later, his daughter was pushed out of the city her father helped build, the only home she has known. “I...

High levels of toxic chemicals are still found in Bhopal's drinking water, a new report published ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal gas tragedy, said. Residents in the areas surveyed have high rates of birth defects, rapidly rising cancer rates, neurological damage, chaotic menstrual cycles and mental illness, it said. The report also questions the reliability of the tests carried out in at the AES Laboratories in New Delhi. The...

Municipal Corporation of Delhi has topped the corruption chart with about 4,300 cases and is followed by Delhi government, Delhi Development Authority and Delhi Police. There are about 457 corruption related cases against the Delhi government employees including 137 from Delhi Jal Board (DJB). It is followed by DDA and Delhi Police where 305 and 133 officials respectively were facing corruption cases. Interestingly, 18 senior DDA officials have retired without...