Just months after the 1984 gas leak at Union Carbide's plant here, the Indian government agreed to the 'terms' set by the company on compensation to be paid to victims, a Right to Information (RTI) activist has claimed. Not only that, the government treated the world's worst industrial disaster as a 'railway accident'. 'We have obtained top secret documents dated Feb 28 and March 5, 1985, that show that Union Carbide...

-The Times of India   Founder member of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) Aruna Roy on Saturday condemned the statement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the Right To Information Act was adversely affecting deliberations in the government and deterring honest officials from expressing their views on file. Roy was speaking at a seminar on 'Strengthening participatory democracy: Role of RTI' at the International Centre Goa, Dona Paula. "The Prime...

Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra demanded on Friday that the Central Information Commission be upgraded to the status of a Constitutional authority along the lines of the Election Commission of India and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. RTI circles interpreted Mr. Mishra's intervention, coming after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's call for a critical look at the Right to Information Act, as an effort to safeguard the Act and the...

-The Economic Times   Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for a review of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, one of the UPA's trophy legislations, potentially exposing the government to a fresh stand-off with civil society. Addressing a two-day annual convention of the Central Information Commission here, Singh said the transparency law should not adversely affect deliberative processes in the government and discourage honest, well-meaning public servants from voicing their views. He...

-The Times of India   Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday endorsed the concerns of his ministerial colleagues over Right To Information (RTI), saying the transparency enabler should not adversely affect deliberations in the government and deter honest officials from expressing their views on file. While hailing RTI's extensive use and underlining his government's intent to strengthen the law, the PM said there was a need to strike a fine balance between the...