Shehla Masood: Fighter till the end
Shehla Masood, RTI and wildlife conservation activist who was shot dead on August 19, was campaigning for a law to protect whistleblowers, investigating Madhya Pradesh’s record on conservation, and questioning the mining activities of diamond major Rio Tinto in MP
Speak up, speak out
As the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan completes over 20 years, a story of the songs and street plays created by the people’s movement to demand accountable governance, confront administrations and inspire communities
Goa governor summoned by state information commissioner
The governor of Goa who refused to furnish information to an RTI applicant on grounds that the governor is not a public authority has been summoned by the Goa Information Commission to explain his stand
E-literate paanwalla unearths Rs 1 crore NREGS scam
A school dropout in Gujarat’s Porbandar district used his newly-acquired computer literacy to reveal a Rs 1 crore scam in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
Maharashtra fines officers for delaying RTI replies
The Maharashtra government has imposed fines of over Rs 26 lakh collectively on public information officers for ignoring or delaying answers to queries received under the Right to Information Act
A N Tiwari is new RTI panel chief
A senior information commissioner at the Central Information Commission, Tiwari will get only two-and-a-half months in the top post until he retires on December 15, 2010
RTI activist found dead in Nanded
The attacks on right to information (RTI) activists continue unabated. Now, an RTI activist who exposed corruption in the public distribution system has been found dead in Nanded, Maharashtra
Only 33% of urbanites know about RTI
A study instituted by the Union government in 2009 has found that awareness levels about the Right to Information Act 2005 are low in India
RTI door opens at World Bank
The World Bank will open its India-related files for public scrutiny under the Right to Information Act, even as India becomes the largest recipient of its loans with over $ 9 billion worth assistance this fiscal ending June 2010
Government 'gags' RTI applicant
Instructions by the home ministry to a Right to Information (RTI) applicant to consider information on the recent Padma awards for “personal consumption” only and not share it with the media have invited criticism from activists who say such riders defeat the purpose of the RTI Act
Bombay HC seeks probe into murder of RTI activist
The Bombay High Court has ordered the Maharashtra government to probe the brutal killing of Right to Information (RTI) activist Satish Shetty near Pune, amidst growing security concerns among activists about using the RTI Act against the local land mafia
India's top judge comes under RTI
In a landmark verdict, the Delhi High Court has said the Chief Justice of India is a public authority and his office comes within the ambit of the Right to Information Act, as the concept of judicial independence is not a judge’s personal privilege but a responsibility cast on the person
More effective steps needed to implement RTI: study
The resignation of Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah has once again brought implementation of the Right to Information Act in focus. A recent audit shows that the landmark legislation has achieved a success rate of only about one in four, and that there is huge scope of improvement
CJI, SC judges declare assets
Twenty-one judges of the country’s highest court have declared assets owned by them and their spouses. The landmark move follows intense public debate about the importance of judicial accountability in India
Karnataka best in RTI implementation, WB worst
Karnataka emerges as the best implementer of the Right to Information (RTI) Act in a recent study on the efficacy of the pathbreaking legislation that, however, also reveals how far the country still has to go for full transparency
RTI Act turns four
The Right to Information Act completes four years of enactment on October 13, 2009, and the Indian government is planning to introduce amendments to make it easier for non-resident Indians to seek information, reduce the number of organisations exempt from the Act, and make it mandatory for government departments to voluntarily disclose certain types of information
Corrupt officials listed on CVC website
For the first time, India’s Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has made public the names of corrupt officials. Until now, only the number of corrupt officials was being revealed
Chief Justice's office falls under RTI: HC
In sharp contrast to Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan’s open stand that his office was outside the ambit of the Right to Information Act, the Delhi High Court has ruled that the office of Chief Justice of India is a public authority and falls within the purview of the transparency law
SC judges decide to be transparent, to make their assets public
Under pressure from within and outside, judges of the Supreme Court of India agree to declare their assets and wealth via declarations on the court’s website http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in
Activists demand strict adherence to RTI Act, in charter of demands
A group of citizens in Mumbai and Delhi with experience of the Right to Information Act have presented the government with a nine-point charter to improve the functioning of the Act and discipline its functionaries
NRIs too have the right to information
An Indian scientist based in the US petitioned the courts and got the Supreme Court to guarantee the right to information to all persons of Indian origin, including NRIs
The right to know
This backgrounder traces the history of the right to information movement in India, from its early years to the formulation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. Also, how citizens all over the country have used the right to know to ensure more transparent, accountable governance
Information behind bars
A citizen recounts her long struggle to get information out of jail authorities
RTI activist appointed central information commissioner
Sixty-one-year-old Shailesh Gandhi, who was awarded the Nani Palkhiwala Award for civil liberties this year, is widely known for using the RTI Act effectively for better governance and accountability in public life
How Saeda Apa fuelled change
The law is an ass. It does not work until you kick it. That’s what Saeda Apa and her group in Kalol, Gujarat found out as they used RTI to change their town’s public distribution system
Activists outraged over appointment of PwC to audit RTI Act
RTI activists say the situation is ironic -- legislation meant to wrest accountability away from babudom to be judged by an agency handpicked by the babus themselves. They allege that the government could end up using the PwC study to cut back or restrain certain freedoms available under the Act
RTI is development you can see
The villagers of Boru in Gujarat, under the stewardship of Gulambhai, decided they would no longer tolerate the lack of healthcare facilities in their village. Using the right to information, they fired off a series of questions to the PIO. And things began to change
Right to info soon to be available online
Bringing information closer to the public and extending the scope of e-governance, the Chief Information Commission proposes to accept applications for information online, and put all information that comes under the purview of the RTI Act online
'Ooof, woh RTI-walleh aa gaye'
Students at the Prabhat Khabar Institute for Media Studies in Ranchi use the right to information in various innovative and exploratory exercises. They have filed a slew of applicationsâfrom probing administrative excesses to simply finding out why someone has not got a telephone connection for six months
One year after: State report card on RTI
One year after the enforcement of the landmark Right to Information Act, problems of implementation and resource allocation persist. But the main problem in all but a handful of states appears to be the lukewarm response of a largely unaware citizenry
Something to hide
Public interest groups have made it clear that they intend to defeat the government's proposal to exempt file notings from the ambit of the Right to Information Act
'It's time we had a transparency revolution': Wajahat Habibullah
The bureaucracy is an institution designed to maintain the status quo, says Wajahat Habibullah, recently appointed Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) for the Right to Information Act. But the government's insular approach will have to change now
Right to Information: Are you being served?
The Pune Municipal Corporation's public information office receives at least 10 Right to Information applications a day. Who are the citizens contributing to this flurry of activity? Are these applications indicative of the success of the recent legislation and the RTI movement?
'If 40% of Indians are asking for 1% of the GDP, it's no big deal'
Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Aruna Roy is founder-member of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatana and a member of the National Advisory Council. She is an outspoken champion of an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act 2002 and the much-talked-about Employment Guarantee Act
Triveni Devi and 109 other women vanquish corrupt ration shop dealers
A chronicle of the battle of destitute women, supported by the NGO Parivartan, to expose a Rs 300 crore Public Distribution System scam in the capital and secure their entitlements using the Right to Information Act
Parivartan fights for people's right to information
Parivartan, initially started up to help people get their work done in government departments without having to pay bribes, continues its crusade to educate and help people assert their right to information
MKSS: Hamaara paisa, hamaara hisaab
How the Mazdoor Kisaan Shakti Sangathan in Rajasthan demanded and got information on minimum wages and government infrastructure programmes, sparking off, in the process, a national movement for freedom of information
Right To Information : Background & Perspective
It has taken India 77 years to transition from an opaque system of governance, legitimised by the colonial Official Secrets Act, to one where citizens can demand the right to information. The recent enactment of the Freedom of Information Act 2002 marks a significant shift for Indian democracy, for the greater the access of citizens to information, the greater the responsiveness of government to community needs
Without people's participation, the right to information will remain a non-starter
Maharashtra's Right to Information Bill, which has just been passed, is the most progressive legislation of its kind. Now, it's upto people to use it
