If you are seeking information about a creaking flyover or inflated electricity tariffs under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, what are the chances that your queries will be answered? That may well depend on whether the service or utility is provided by a public body or a public-private partnership (PPP). While the central information commission treats PPPs as public bodies that should come under the RTI; many have wriggled...

The flawed Bill on food security has not received the kind of publicity that the Lokpal Bill has, but that does not diminish its significance. “THIS government has divided everything and everyone. There are different cards for different sections of the poor. If my employer, taking pity on me, gives me an old television, I am not entitled to a yellow card [Below Poverty Line card]. My son who is...

From 50 in 2005, the number of applications is expected to touch 15,000 this year The Karnataka Information Commission has received, in recent weeks, a flood of applications for information under the Right to Information Act at public information offices (PIOs) across the State. Factors It would appear that the heightening of the anti-corruption mood in the country following the Anna Hazare movement, the report of the State Lokayukta against illegal mining that...

-The Deccan Herald   Applicants can seek info on more subjects In a landmark decision that would enthuse RTI applicants and activists across the country, the Central Information Commission has said it is not necessary for information seekers to limit RTI applications ''to only one subject matter''. Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, in a sharp departure from the Commission’s earlier decisions, observed: “There is no legal requirement on an applicant’s part to restrict the scope...

-The Times of India   Central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi on Sunday faulted the process of selection of Information Commissioners. "My selection is a flawed process. The process of selection of information commissioner is faulty," Gandhi told reporters here. Stating that the biggest threat to right to information was from the central and state commissions, Gandhi said prolonged pendency of cases with the commissions and faulty selection process of commissioners would defeat the...