-People's Democracy IT seems the Sheila Dixit government of Delhi, backed by powerful elements in the UPA-2 central government, will let nothing stand in the way of water privatisation in the capital. Several earlier attempts going back many years to fully or partially privatise distribution of water, especially the big loan application to the World Bank in 2005, were foiled by vigilant community organisations, public interest groups, trade unions and political...

For Subaida Bibi and many of her neighbours, the day begins at 4 am. That is when the early risers among this small community of waste pickers in Ghazipur emerge from their jhuggis to begin the slow climb up the Ghazipur landfill, the smouldering heap of garbage on which nearly 600 waste pickers in the area depend on for a living. Though figures vary, it is estimated that more than 50,000...

-The Times of India Parliamentarians owe the public exchequer over Rs 6 crore in pending electricity and water dues, according to a RTI reply. The reply from New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has over 3,335 entries of pending water and electricity dues against MPs which total to over Rs 6.27 crore. The information was provided to RTI activist Subhash Agrawal by NDMC. During the hearing of a PIL on the issue, the Lok...

A 38-year-old Right to Information activist, Shiv Kumar Tiwari, who had carried out a sting operation on New Delhi Municipal Council officials and Delhi Police personnel for taking bribe leading to several arrests and also filed a complaint in the sensational MCD “ghost employees” case, has gone missing under mysterious circumstances from Ghazipur here. Mr. Tiwari, a florist who owns “Tiwari Flower.com” on Baba Kharak Singh Marg in Connaught Place, had...

-The Hindu   Schools of Delhi Govt., MCD, NDMC, Delhi Cantonment and anganwadis to be administered tablets today Two months into the Chacha Nehru Sehat Yojna (CNSY) that seeks to provide free and comprehensive health services to all school-going children in Delhi, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday launched a major State-wide de-worming campaign by administering chewable tablets to 50 school-going children at her residence. Since soil-transmitted worms are the commonest infestations in pre-school...