-PTI The Uttar Pradesh government has spent 900 per cent above the budget allocated for building school toilets under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, with nearly 60 per cent of the total Rs 32.25 crore going to just one district. Under the central government scheme, Rs 24,000 per unit was allocated for constructing 1,538 toilets during the five year period from 2007-08 to 2011-12, which comes to Rs 3.69 crore. However, an RTI...

-The Telegraph Guwahati: Gauhati High Court has taken up a suo motu PIL against the Calcutta-based Saradha Group and similar deposit collecting companies for allegedly duping scores of investors in Assam of their hard-earned money. Official sources said the high court recently took up the PIL (15/2013) after taking cognisance of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) general secretary and RTI activist Akhil Gogoi's letter to Chief Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel. Akhil had alleged...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: The Centre's recent decision to disclose information related to public-private partnerships (PPP) to RTI applicants may throw a spanner in the works of several infrastructure projects. While RTI activists have hailed the move saying it would usher in greater accountability, private players are cold to the idea as they apprehend the use of RTI to create opposition to projects. Industrial sources said most private firms are not...

-The Hindustan Times A civil society group on Friday demanded key changes in the bill to protect whistleblowers, including widening its scope to bring all categories of public servants and private sector employees under its purview. The National Campaign for People's Right to Information, after day-long consultations with the families of some of the whistleblowers, asked the government to make the definition of victimisation clear in the bill. The Whistleblowers Protection Bill was...

-The Times of India With over 16 activists killed and thousands under attack or threatened, RTI activists have demanded a stronger whistleblower law, including provisions for accountability and compensation for victims. The Whistleblowers Protection Bill is likely to come up in Parliament in the budget session starting next week. But activists feel that the Bill in its present form is not strong enough to prevent deaths. National Campaign for People's Right to...