-Outlook Jaipur: Social activists, including NAC member Aruna Roy, today attacked the Centre accusing it of being "indifferent" to implementing the laws relating to RTI and MNREGA and having no concern with the issues of comman man. A gathering of organisations associated with information and employment rights campaigns said they were of the view, "that all the top leaders are organizing the Chintan Camps but on the other hand have no concern...
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Whistleblower on Maharashtra dams in legal tangle -Hemali Chhapia
-The Times of India MUMBAI: An RTI activist from the city who unearthed information on the long-pending dam projects in Maharashtra has been served a notice asking him to prove that he is the owner of the single piece of land that he owns. Four months ago, Jeetendra Ghadge had filed an RTI on all the dam works across Maharashtra. The response he received was scandalous. Even as large parts of Maharashtra...
More »Activists protest PM’s remarks on frivolous use of RTI -Nivedita Khandekar
-The Hindustan Times Claiming that citizens would be deprived of a transparent and accountable system, activists have vehemently protested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s opinion about the ‘frivolous and vexatious” use of the RTI Act and how it can be a problem for public private partnerships (PPP). The PM’s remarks followed the Supreme Court and the Central Information Commission’s criticism of frivolous RTI applications. “The RTI Act has been used and owned by the...
More »RTI by itself cannot combat corruption, reforms needed-Madhu Purnima Kishwar
-The Economic Times The RTI Act is undoubtedly a historic landmark and has energised sections of our population like nothing else before. But despite its careful crafting and a well-defined machinery to back it, getting those bits of information, which vested interests within the government wish to hide, are an extremely arduous task. Therefore, I was not surprised when my RTI, seeking simple information regarding the number of foreign trips undertaken...
More »Clinical trials: Regulating chaos-Vidya Krishnan and Malia Politzer
-Live Mint The first in a two-part series examining the opaque world of clinical trials in India A hospital in Indore has been able to get away with unethical medical trials in which 32 people have died over five years, according to the state government. This despite several investigations, a state government ban and Supreme Court strictures—a classic example of the lawless nature of the clinical trial business in India. Lata Mehra, who...
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