That the RTI has become a tightly wedged thorn in the government’s side, punching holes to expose corruption and highlight the government’s inefficiency is no shocker. What is, however, is the Maharashtra government’s recent underhanded amendment of RTI in the state through two notifications in January 2012 without any public consultation. A notification dated 16 January, restricts both the number of subject matter and words in an application such that a...
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Central Information Commissioner writes to PM on move to change RTI Act
-PTI Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposing the proposed move to exempt nuclear regulatory bodies from the ambit of the Right To Information Act. In his letter to the PM, Gandhi opposed the proposals in the Nuclear Safety Regulation Act (NSRA) relating to introduction of new exemption clause in the RTI Act which will prohibit disclosure of nuclear energy and radiation issues under the transparency...
More »RTI threatened in Maharashtra, say activists
-Moneylife Activists have urged the CM to fill up the posts immediately as RTI applications to various state government departments remain unanswered RTI activists and citizens are perturbed that Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has been dilly-dallying with the appointments to the vacant posts in the state information commission, and have said that he needs to be proactive in the implementation of Right to Information (RTI) Act and address the problems that...
More »Govt departments take 6 months to reply to RTI queries: Survey
-The Times of India The Right to Information (RTI) Act may have helped unearth some of the biggest scams and anomalies in schemes like NRHM and MGNREGA, but it is yet to become a potent tool to fight injustice for the common man. And the biggest stumbling block is the attitude of the government departments. The Act lays down that information should be provided within 30 days to the seeker. But a...
More »3 years of RTI in J&K-Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat
Today is 20th March and it was this day in 2009 when the new form of Right to Information Act (RTI Act) was enacted in J&K by Omar Abdullah led Government soon after coming to power. Prior to 2009 we had an RTI law passed by PDP Congress coalition Government headed by Mufti Mohammad Syeed in 2004 (J&K RTI Act 2004). The 2004 version of RTI Act was much weaker...
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