-Press release by Mineral Inheritors Rights Association dated February 18, 2022 The Rajasthan government on 17th February, has taken a positive step in addressing illegal mining in the State. The Directorate of Mines and Geology, Government of Rajasthan has added an important clause to the Bid letter of the Tender document for auction of major mineral blocks. The clause-10 (e) requires the bidder to assert: “I/We have not been convicted of...
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A Story of Intimidation, Illegality and (No) Right to Information in Gujarat -Anusha R
-Newsclick.in With the increasing political climate of stifled dialogue and dissent, a denial of information sought in the legitimate interest of the public, imposing fines, and subsequent ambiguity in the face of procedural safeguards is not just disheartening, but also dangerous. It is the year 2022, almost 17 years since the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) has been passed. Albeit, in a functional democracy, the emerging field realities would have...
More »The curious case of Meghalaya’s COVID-19 relief package -Rakshita Swamy and Angela Rangad
-The Hindu Audits, transparency and citizen-centric accountability need to be a part of fund support and disbursement Every COVID-19 wave in India has brought us face to face with the dire precarity of life and livelihood for India’s vast numbers of unorganised workers, and the inadequate response of the state and society to their plight. The latest global OXFAM inequality report highlights how India’s billionaires have grown dramatically in numbers and wealth,...
More »Pegasus is Such a Deep Secret That Even RTI Fails to Crack It! -Vinita Deshmukh
-MoneyLife.in An application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, seeking information about the purchase of the spyware `Pegasus’ from Israel-based NSO group and the availing of services from NSO is presently languishing as a second appeal at the Central Information Commission (CIC) for the past several months. It was filed with the CIC after the central public information officers (CPIOs) and the first appellate authorities (FAAs) of both the...
More »Abrogation of Art 370 Halted Transparency Act in J&K -Raja Muzaffar Bhat
-Newsclick.in The SC has issued notice to the Centre over public authorities failing to disclose information under the central RTI Act, which applies to the region since 2019. Despite the rhetorical emphasis on e-governance, public authorities have failed to make suo moto information disclosures on their official websites in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country. In 2013, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) directed all public authorities to...
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