To top bureaucrats, wards of Ministers The Patna High Court has ordered the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority to reply immediately to petitions alleging preferential allocation of prime government land at sub-par rates to top-ranking bureaucrats and wards of Ministers in the Nitish Kumar government. A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justices T. Meena Kumari and Vikas Jain directed the Authority to answer the petitions filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)...

-The Times of India   Team Anna on Tuesday attacked political parties on the issue of corruption. It said that it is campaigning against Congress because it is in power and in a position to bring a strong Jan Lokpal, which will curb corruption across the country. Addressing a public meeting, team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal, said, "Uttar Pradesh has been facing the brunt of corruption for last several decades. The face of...

The United Progressive Alliance government on Monday chalked out its first multi-winged operation to tackle the problem of Naxalism through development programmes, implemented under the protection of Central security forces. Union Minister of Rural Development Jairam Ramesh finalised the action plan for Saranda forest area in Jharkhand, considered to be the second stronghold of the Maoists in the country, with Deputy Chief Minister Sudesh Mahto at a meeting attended by officials...

-The Economic Times   The Supreme Court has issued notices to social activist Anna Hazare on a public interest litigation, seeking direction to CBI to investigate 'financial irregularities' in his trust. The court also sought response from Hazare on the plea seeking his prosection for alleged siphoning of funds. A bench comprising Justice Aftab Alam and Justice Ranjana Desai also sought responses from the Centre, CBI and the Maharashtra Government on the...

-The Economic Times   It is unfortunate that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has joined the ranks of those critical of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He should be at the forefront of efforts to instil more transparency in the process of government, not less.  The PM raised three specific concerns; these are legitimate and need to be addressed. A flood of RTI requests wasting civil service time in processing them is one....