That the drinking water contamination in Mahabaleshwar is due to horse excreta entering Venna lake has been established by the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) in its health risk assessment research report, which mentions seven contagious diseases caused by animal waste; all of which are present in the patients’ medical records of the Red Cross Hospital (RCH), Mahabaleshwar and private clinics.
While the multi-crore Antrix-Devas controversy about the S-band spectrum deal between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)’s Antrix firm and Devas (backed by American investors), leading to international legal disputes, may have faded from public memory; that there is interest in getting details of the money spent on court cases by this government organisation, effaces through the RTI route.
Despite the Right to Information Act (RTI) having completed 17 years in India, sometimes, one comes across complete ignorance with which an RTI application is filed. One, which is filled with absurd rhetoric but has reached the desk of the second appeal hearing, compelled the information commissioner to dismiss it last week.
The world-renowned Auroville Foundation at Auroville in Tamil Nadu functions under the administrative control of the ministry of education as a statutory (autonomous) body under the government of India.
Should we say ‘Happy 18th Birthday’ to the Right To Information Act (RTI)? Yes, from the citizens’ viewpoint as, despite the opaqueness shown by all public authorities (PA), despite pending second appeals in information commissions across the country and despite the government having further diluted its strength, the enthusiasm of the citizenry to use this sunshine law—to the tune of 53 lakh -55 lakh applications per year—is encouraging.