Try GOLD - Free
The Union Government Weakens The RTI Act!
Down To Earth
|August 16, 2019
The amendment to the Right to Information Act, 2005, violates the Constitution and usurps the executive and financial powers of state legislatures
Rajasthan is the state where the idea of the right to information evolved and revolutionized India’s governance in the form of Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. Now, after the passage of the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, Rajasthan is also the state that has to withhold selection of its state information commissioners, even after having issued the notification, because the Centre is yet to prescribe their status, salary, and term. The status of information commissioners under the RTI Act, 2005, and according to the Constitution of India, will be totally denied with this amendment, which is designed to encroach upon the states’ power to implement this right within their territory.
This story is from the August 16, 2019 edition of Down To Earth.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Down To Earth
Down To Earth
The life of water
A THREE-PART FILM SERIES THAT LOOKS AT ACCESS AND AVAILABILITY OF WATER IN INDIA THROUGH A SOCIO-ECONOMIC PRISM, HIGHLIGHTING THE NATURAL RESOURCE'S INTEGRAL LINK TO AGRICULTURE, HEALTH AND POLITICS
4 mins
November 01, 2025
Down To Earth
Rays of change
From dark nights to uninterrupted electricity, rooftop solar has brought independence, health and prosperity to a Maharashtra village
3 mins
November 01, 2025
Down To Earth
FATAL NEGLECT
A spate of child deaths from contaminated cough syrup exposes deep flaws in India's drug oversight
5 mins
November 01, 2025
Down To Earth
In unsettled state
Battered by disasters, land- scarce Uttarakhand must relocate villages deemed unsafe. Forestland is the only available option, but the state faces resistance from forest department
5 mins
November 01, 2025
Down To Earth
Battle for reefs
Scientists are helping corals fight back against warming seas
10 mins
November 01, 2025
Down To Earth
Green shoots in wreckage
Even with deepening ecological collapse, from vanishing species to fractured habitats, signs of hope emerge
3 mins
November 01, 2025
Down To Earth
Back to the roots
Over 200 tribal villages in Madhya Pradesh are turning to forests to restore food security, breaking free from years of market dependence
5 mins
November 01, 2025
Down To Earth
How to slash a drug price by 97 per cent
Rulings that bar patent extensions on flimsy grounds by drug giants are opening the gates to dramatically cheaper generic medicines
4 mins
November 01, 2025
Down To Earth
TAINTED FLOW
Panipat shows an overreliance on groundwater even as residents remain wary of its contamination due to untreated discharge of textile recycling wastewater
3 mins
November 01, 2025
Down To Earth
Wetland walks
Thiruvananthapuram's Vellayani-Punchakkari wetland turns into a climate classroom to help people learn about local biodiversity, agriculture and practices that harm them
2 mins
November 01, 2025
Translate
Change font size