NAC Working Group to look into Lokpal Bill

The National Advisory Council on Saturday decided to take up a host of issues currently under consideration of the government.

The National Advisory Council (NAC) on Saturday decided to take up a host of issues currently under consideration of the government,including the Lokpal Bill,even as it looked determined to push its version of the Food Security Bill disregarding C Rangarajan Committees recommendations. It also cleared recommendations to amend the Forest Rights Act,noting that the majority of claims of forest dwellers were rejected due to difficulties in implementation.

At the 10th meeting of the NAC,chaired by Sonia Gandhi,the controversial RTI Rules limiting an application to one subject and 250 words were also discussed. The committee decided to suggest doubling the limit to 500 words,excluding the annexures. Besides,members were also of the view that an application should not be rejected even if it exceeds the word limit.

The NAC also decided to set up working groups on several issues which the government is currently dealing with: Land Acquisition,Resettlement and Rehabilitation; Urban Poverty; and Natural Resource management in convergence with MNREGA with focus on rain-fed areas.

The Working Group on Transparency and Accountability will now focus on critical issues concerning MGNREGA,particularly delayed payments,grievance redressal and quality of assets. The Working Group will also work on the Lokpal Bill, said an NAC press release. Sources said there was no deliberation on the contents of the Lokpal Bill.

Harsh Mander,Convenor,National Food Security Bill,told the members that a framework note and an explanatory note covering the main features of the proposed Bill were put up on the website for comments from public by March 7 following which the bill will be drafted.