With the inability to closely follow-up on women during their pregnancy period impairing its ability to bring down maternal mortality rate, the State government has rolled up its sleeves to address the problem. The solution, here too, seems to lie in technology. The Directorate of Public Health has commissioned the use of the Pregnancy Infant COHORT Monitoring Evaluation (PICME) software for all staff members, primarily in all primary health centres (PHC),...

The government is getting ready to grant lease for granite mining despite strong opposition from the tribals in many areas of Palakonda in Srikakulam district. The irony is that the authorities are planning to grant these leases at the very place where they had already issued pattas to the local tribals. The tribals are already up in arms over the mining lease issue at Kannedhara Konda in Seetampeta mandal, Yelukalametta...

The government cannot seek exemption of its orders constituting a committee for a specific purpose under the Right to Information Act. The Central Information Commission (CIC) has said that decisions directing the setting of an expert committee cannot be treated on the same footing as that of “Cabinet papers”, which are exempt from disclosure under the Act. Allowing an appeal in a case where the applicant sought to know whether the...

The former Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, who is currently the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission has objected to disclosing his income in the past five years as sought by an applicant under the Right to Information Act. Following his objection, the Income Tax Department has rejected the application made by T. Balachandran of Kochi. Dr. Balachandran had sought from the department certified copies of the income returns...

The Orissa government bats for it, the PMO is in favour and environment minister Jairam Ramesh has obliged, but the Rs 54,000-crore Posco project has found two difficult adversaries —the villages of Dhinkia and Gobindpur. The two villages have written to Ramesh, saying they have not agreed to the takeover of forest land for the integrated steel plant under the Forest Rights Act and complained the Act has not been implemented...