tapasya tofuss

🚨SCOOP: For Adani projects, Gujarat govt asked Centre to delete forests earmarked for conservation under PM's pet project. Env ministry hesitated, but with twist, the job was done. I report for @reporters_co reporters-collective.in/trc/for-adani-…

Exclusive: Months before polls, Assam signs deal to pay Adani group for 3,200 MW coal power whether it is used or not. Potential payout for excess electricity pegged at Rs 12,500+ crore over 5 years. @shreegireesh reports. 1/2 reporters-collective.in/trc/assam-govt…

Himachal Pradesh has India’s highest youth unemployment. The government’s solution? Temporary, low-paying outsourced jobs with no security. @Sur1K991 investigates. 1/3 reporters-collective.in/trc/the-gig-ec…

Don't miss this brilliant piece by @furquansid

Live Now: #RTI404. A collaborative public database of how our governments have been stifling our Right To Information. One denial at a time. Lets stack up the evidence. Join us. Share it wide. Send us your 'failed' RTI Applications. rti404.com

The state may have kept Prof. Hany Babu behind bars for nearly 6 years and his bail conditions now confine him to Mumbai. Yet his students' love for their beloved teacher remain as strong as ever. Today, a rose was quietly left outside his office at DU. Happy Valentine's Day :)

Ravi Nair’s conviction is nothing to celebrate, even for his detractors. The misuse of criminal defamation poses a real threat to everyone, especially journalists. What was the case about? What were his tweets? What did the judge say? Read the story. thenewsminute.com/news/journalis…

With the air pollution season wrapped up, everyone will soon get on heat bandwagon. But as reporters, how can we go beyond the routine seasonal reporting and push the conversation forward? Please attend this session

Ground Report Statutory powers of designated local election officers were dissolved. Veto over voter’s inclusion was handed over to ‘observers’ - officers handpicked by ECI. In this report I try to piece together ECI’s entire exercise of impunity in West Bengal @reporters_co

🚨 1/ SIR: In West Bengal, suspicion is a conveyor belt. Overwhelmed officials are rubber-stamping hearing notices to 1.5Cr voters en masse, without review. This directly contradicts ECI’s claims to the Supreme Court. Read my latest for @reporters_co reporters-collective.in/trc/eci-misled…

A course in investigative and data journalism. I am teaching a course in data and investigative journalism for the next three months. This is the fourth iteration of the course. Sharing the course structure here. We at @reporters_co hope to make the course available to the larger fraternity this year. Too much gatekeeping takes place in the tiny world of investigative journalism in India. It's time we collectively break down these gates that protect nothing but privilege. Some of these are basic skills and methods that many can pick up to do robust evidence-based journalism. A lot of it is merely training your mind to access and process information and data in the context of Indian social, political and economic and legal practices. Given the time, we at The Reporters' Collective informally help colleagues from across orgs with these skills. Because we are often generously helped and aided by several public-minded experts, journalists, researchers and others. We learn from each other. This village of like-minded people who want to foster rigorous reportage in India needs to grow. I have personally learnt from so many generous fraternal colleagues over last two decades. They have shared their knowledge and methods with such big hearts. They continue to aid and abet our work in so many ways. We have been sporadically training journalists and researchers, given an opportunity. This year, we will create a structured method to share more consistently with fellow journalists and researchers and do so in a manner that those with financial limitations and from disadvantaged backgrounds have committed seats in the room. Would love to hear from fellow researchers and journalists, what you feel we could do to adapt the course to your needs. Feel free to comment here, message or email.

The lynching of Indian Muslims has become so brutally normalised that the country has learned to live with it. Not just news channels and reporters, but even opposition parties have stopped pretending to care. Worse is, even social media, which is known to outrage on such incidents, now looks away. It is as if mob violence against Indian Muslims has been accepted as routine, something which is not even worth condemning.

#ImportantNews: Many thanks to Mr. Prashant Bhushan for taking up my case challenging Supreme Court Registry’s flat-out refusal to share information on corruption/misconduct complaints received against former Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court, T. Raja. At today’s hearing, the Delhi High Court was bewildered by the stand taken by Supreme Court’s counsel who repeatedly, despite the judge asking “yes or no” answer again and again on whether “any complaints” at all were received against T. Raja by it, the counsel refused to say yes or no and instead said “such information is not maintained”! So the Supreme Court is not maintaining any information or action taken information against judges who have allegations of corruption or sexual misconduct or other grave crimes!? My question in the RTI was clear—“Has the SC Registry or the CJI has ever received ANY COMPLAINTS against the former ACJ—YES OR NO question. And if so, how many, and what action was taken?” Even the CIC asked the SC Registry to revisit the first question and answer as per records. Instead of taking a transparent stand, the Registry played with words to say that the information is not maintained in the “manner asked for”! But the RTI Act is clear—if the information exists, it has to be given out in any format possible! Plus I never asked for info to be given in any “specific format”. Instead of shining light on mere figures and final action as sought for in the RTI, the Supreme Court Registry takes a completely PREPOSTEROUS stand. If indeed it does not maintain information in any format, what a HUGE shame and a CRATER LEVEL GAP in judicial accountability! By this logic, the Supreme Court collegium or Chief Justice of India is not taking any concrete action against any judges against whom allegations of corruption/sexual misconduct/etc. are being levelled! Can we have a judiciary which acts in such a manner! If tmw, someone sends a complaint on sexual favours being asked by a HC judge, will the Supreme Court Registry and CJI simply say we don’t maintain such information and hush it up!? Mr. Bhushan made some impeccable arguments about how this stand of the SC Registry contravenes the code of conduct for judges and shreds the entire mechanism of In-House Procedure into pieces! The Delhi High Court, visibly irritated, remarked that the SC Registry is making “vague remarks” and “no answer is forthcoming”! The case has now been adjourned to April 1st 2026. SC Registry asked to file written submissions, again.

The Gujarat government sent @reporters_co a non-response on the Adani for Forests story. They went silent when we asked them to deny the existence of their record citing Adani group has the reason behind deleting lands from Modi govt's flagship afforestation scheme. Read, their response and our response below.

The 'Gujarat Forests for Adani' Story Update: Gujarat government responds. The Reporters' Collective stands by its investigation by @tapasya_umm. 1/2 Read Gujarat's response and our statement by clicking the image below. reporters-collective.in/blog/gujarat-g…

“Since when do you have to agree with people to defend them from injustice?" - Lillian Hellman

Vaishnavi Rathore (@_Vaishnavi_R) was the first journalist to report from the ground about the contentious project’s environmental and social implications. Read more: scroll.in/latest/1089647… #journalismaward

ECI introduced 'logical discrepancies' mid way through the SIR process being conducted in 12 states. This was introduced without any protocols in place. @ayushikar1998 and I report for @reporters_co reporters-collective.in/trc/eci-pulls-…

1.ECI’s haste SIR rollout is marred by unplanned chaos. So I decided to track the exercise in phase 2. Read my latest report for @reporters_co — how ECI pulled a U turn introducing a software eight days after it disparaged it to the Supreme Court. reporters-collective.in/trc/eci-pulls-…

They now tout VB-GRAMG's promise of 125 days of work. But look at the average days of employment delivered per household under NREGA. @MoRD_GoI 's solution? Limit VB-GRAMG to a few centrally notified rural areas. A classic case of shrinking the denominator to inflate the numbers.

The protest at Jantar Mantar against the repeal of #MGNREGA stands cancelled cause the Police was adamant in not giving permission. 2 days to repeal a historic Act protecting the rights of 26 cr workers. But the Police need 10 days notice to protest! #SaveMGNREGA #SaveDemocracy