Chandigarh: June 16, 2012:- A day after its inauguration, the RTI library has received around 50,000 documents pertaining to information demanded by various individuals and institutions under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Alleging bias and nepotism over the selection of eight Information Commissioners in Andhra Pradesh, RTI activists from the state appealed to the Governor, to not to sanction the names of the applicants. The selection committee, comprising the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, had picked amongst eight people, a few who had actively participated in politics.former Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah said the selection of such persons is not correct as the RTI Act mandates that eminent persons in a variety of fields be picked for the statutory posts. "We are not exactly on the merits of who have been selected. We are more on the question of the process followed. Our argument is that it is not fair to pick political persons when the law gives a wide scope for selection," he told PTI. Padmanabhaiah, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary K Madhava Rao, retired IAS officer V K Srinivasan and several other information activists met the Governor under the banner of United Forum for RTI Campaign and registered their protests. "There is a bar under law that people to be considered (for the post) should not be connected with politics. Till recently, three of them were in politics. They contested elections and lost," Padmanabhaiah said. "The prescription is they must be eminent in public life. They must have wide knowledge and experience in certain fields like law, management and social work. What is the criteria to decide that they are eminent?" he asked
A RTI inquiry has revealed that genetically modified maize was put on trial without obtaining permission from India's biotech regulatory panel, implying that the actions may have been condoned by the industry watchdog. The Coalition for a GM-Free India, a group of anti-GM activists, accessed the documents, which revealed that Monsanto planted herbicide-tolerant maize, called "NK603", illegally inside the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, even though approval was granted only for HT/Bt maize, which is a hybrid of two Bt genes, "MON89034" and herbicide tolerant line "NK603.
A 65-year old RTI applicant, and ex-Sarpanch was brutually attacked, by allegedly, relatives of sitting Sarpanch, when he demanded details of a sand clearing work, under MNREGA. Dudhram had complained to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) about the allocation of Rs 4 crore for clearing sand in Somalsar village."We were raising a valid point against corruption. We complained to the collector and to the ACB. A team was sent from Jaipur which triggered this. They decided they would beat me up if I did not go quiet on it. They may've attacked me but others will stand up against it," Dhudaram said. The attack comes at the heels of assembly elections, where corruption is the main poll agenda of various political parties, including UPA-led Congress. 
The Central Information Commission (CIC) in New Delhi has asked the Rajasthan High Court to revisit a number of provisions framed by it pertaining to the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
In a landmark RTI victory in favour of the Caravan, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has to make public the shareholding of Kalanidhi Maran in Sun Direct, a direct to home (DTH) service.
The reply to a Right To Information (RTI) application filed by Abhay Kolarkar has revealed that around 25% saplings planted along the roads by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) have died. Out of the 2,070 saplings planted in the last two years, 576 are dead, says the RTI reply.
In a GO dated September 30, 2008, the state government notified the formation of Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Board. But a recent Right To Information (RTI) application has revealed that barely four years later, the board is nearly defunct after having just identified one biodiversity heritage site, Senthiraikillai in Cuddalore district.
A man from Vasna who had filed an application under the Right to Information Act seeking to know why police stations in the city did not display essential information for the benefit of RTI applicants has alleged police are using intimidatory tactics, summoning him for hearings at short notices and making him sit with criminals.
The new RTI rules framed and implemented by the Chhattisgarh government is a clear attempt and snatching a citizen’s fundamental right of access to information and strangulating the RTI Act. Citizens are requested to sent protest letters in large numbers
erence-led coalition government has even found innovative ways and ideas to circumvent the Act, by either making absurd excuses or make its process tedious.
RTI Users Association
Day after inauguration, RTI library gets 50,000 documents
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Chandigarh: June 16, 2012:- A day after its inauguration, the RTI library has received around 50,000 documents pertaining to information demanded by various individuals and institutions under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Located at the Lala Lajpat Rai Bhawan, the open library will be functional from July 1. The process of document collection is underway and binding work has also begun. The Citizens Voice and RTI Users Association is spearheading the development of the library in association with Servants of People’s Society.
Asia's first open-access library of RTI documents gets going at Chandigarh on 7th anniversary of RTI Act
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Chandigarh, June 15, 2012: Asia's first library of RTI documents was inaugurated at the Dwarka Das Library, Lala Lajpat Rai bhawan, here today. The Citizen's Voice and RTI Users Association is spearheading the development work of the library in association with the Servants of People's Society.Inaugurating the library by cutting the ceremonial red ribbon, Onkar Chand, the chairman of Servants of the People Society, Chandigarh branch, said, “This red ribbon signifies the red tapism plaguing the public work in our country which, I am sure, this library will slice through.” The event also marked ...............++++
Provide the anwer key, JIPMER told
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In a move that will help prospective students seeking admission in educational institutions in motley of fields, the CIC has directed the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) to furnish the answer key of the entrance test conducted in July 2011. The order, will now apply to all institutes of higher learning throughout the country, and is supposed to bring greater transparency in the selection process.
The RTI application, filed by Puducherry Government Medical Officers' Association general secretary Dr K Sudhakar with the Jipmer public information off...............++++
Row over selection of Andhra ICs
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Alleging bias and nepotism over the selection of eight Information Commissioners in Andhra Pradesh, RTI activists from the state appealed to the Governor, to not to sanction the names of the applicants. The selection committee, comprising the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, had picked amongst eight people, a few who had actively participated in politics.former Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah said the selection of such persons is not correct as the RTI Act mandates that eminent persons in a variety of fields be picked for the statutory p...............++++
Proposed ‘Whistle-blowers protection’ legislation will only help the corrupt
The proposed "Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill" recently cleared by the 'Union Cabinet' is being criticised by the activists working on corruption issues. Calling it a cheating and a cheap trick by the politicians on the people of India, citizen groups have questioned the intent of the Government to keep the proposed legislation under the wraps and approving it without any public discussion or debate.
In a meeting conducted by civil society organisations, 'Burning Brain Society,' 'Citizens Voice' and 'RTI Users Association' on the issue, the activists said that most of the provisions in the proposed legislation come from the 2003 draft proposal of the legislation placed by the law commission which actually favours the bureaucrats and in a way create deterrence in exposing corruption, instead of facilitating whistle blowers. Moreover the NGO's asserted that post 2005, even individuals who are using 'Right to Information' to expose corruption needs protection.
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