To dispose of pending Right To Information (RTI) appeals, state information commissioner Vijay Kuvalekar will hold Special Appeal Disposal Programme at Ramnath Anandilal Podar Medical College (Ayurved) in Worli on January 4, 5 and 6. Till November 30, more than 19,000 appeals were pending with the state information commission office. Almost 2,200-2,500 new appeals are filed in the state every month. “As part of this programme, the appellant, public information officer (PIO)...

-The Times of India   Despite stringent directives from the central and state government to make it easy for applicants to obtain information under Right to Information Act (RTI) Act, officials in many Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) office continue to take applications lightly. Dilly-dally tactics and indifferent treatment to applicants is described as natural in NMC. The two most common problems being created by officials are refusal to accept applications by directing...

-BBC   Authorities in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have been criticised for letting off lightly 12 doctors who conducted drug trials on children and patients with learning disabilities. The doctors were fined 5,000 rupees ($94; £60) each for failing to inform the authorities about the tests. Activists and opposition parties said the fine was a "joke" and called for an investigation by the federal police. The trials of the drug to treat sexual...

-The Hindu   Right to Information (RTI) Activist R. Marijoseph has alleged that Hassan Taluk Panchayat Executive Officer threatened to kill him for seeking information about irregularities in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). Speaking to presspersons here on Saturday, Mr. Marijoseph said the Dalit Vimochana Manava Hakkugala Vedike, under his leadership, had staged a protest on Thursday, demanding inquiry into irregularities in projects under MNREGA in many gram panchayats...

-The Times of India   Work at the offices of information commissioners across the state has slowed down due to staff shortage, resulting in a pile of 19,000 pending RTI appeals. Of the 144 posts sanctioned by the state for the eight benches of state information commissioners, including the chief, 50 have not been filled. Apart from pending appeals, there are 3,447 complaints that need to be addressed. RTI Activist Mohammed Afzal said...