BANWARA, India – In the fall of 2006, Gita Devi was pregnant with her sixth child when her family fell on hard times. A severe drought made it more difficult than ever to find farm work here in India’s northeastern plains. The family couldn’t afford food. It was unable to get a government ration card to buy grains and rice at steep discounts, even though it clearly was poor enough to...
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Reports of all panels should be made public, rules CIC
-The Hindu ‘This will ensure greater transparency in decision-making' In a significant ruling, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has said reports of all expert committees and commissions, constituted by the government, should be made public to ensure greater transparency in decision-making. Allowing a petition seeking a copy of a report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), the Commission has rejected the contention of the Public Information Officer (PIO) that the disclosure...
More »Indirect ways to kill RTI, PMO refuses info on more than one query by Chetan Chauhan
Civil society pressure may have forced the government to keep proposed changes in the Right To Information (RTI) Act in abeyance but the information officers are quietly implementing them. The government has proposed restrictions on RTI applications that only one issue can be raised in one application and it should not be more than 250 words. But, it had to withdraw amendments following objection by RTI proponents such as National Advisory...
More »Indirect ways to kill RTI by Chetan Chauhan
-The Hindustan Times Civil society pressure may have forced the government to keep proposed changes in the Right To Information (RTI) Act in abeyance but the information officers are quietly implementing them. The government has proposed restrictions on RTI applications that only one issue can be raised in one application and it should not be more than 250 words. But, it had to withdraw amendments following objection by RTI proponents such as...
More »Full steam ahead by TS Subramanian
The agitation against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant can be seen as a case of activism gone berserk. The high-octane drama against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu has wound down. The seven-month-long agitation led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) at Idinthakarai village in Tirunelveli district, demanding the closure of the ready-to-be commissioned project, ended on March 27 when S.P. Udayakumar, PMANE convener, called off...
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