RTI applies to Central govt bodies in J&K: HC

Utkarsh Anand: Sat Jul 31 2010 : New Delhi:

In a verdict that blows away the immunity clause availed by Jammu and Kashmir-based central government organisations like the Indian Army while refusing to disclose information under the RTI Act, the Delhi High Court on Friday ruled that such establishments were not precluded from the transparency law and were obligated to disclose information to the family of those posted in the state.

Directing the Indian Army to hand over court of inquiry, post-mortem and other reports relating to the death of Shaurya Chakra awardee Capt Sumit Kohli to his mother Veena Kohli, the court made it clear that the RTI was not applicable to J&K because the state, due to its peculiar conditions, had to have its separate law for public disclosure.

“This, by no stretch of imagination, can mean that where the offices and establishments of the central government, including the Army, are located in the state of J&K, no application can be made under the RTI Act to such offices and establishments under the RTI Act to seek the information held by them. Further, the mere fact that Army personnel are in the state of J&K, does not preclude such personnel, or their relatives, from seeking information concerning themselves through an application made under the RTI Act to the Army,” observed Justice S Muralidhar.The court also allowed another plea by a senior Army officer’s wife who was allowed by the CIC to have access to reports and statements, apart from the inquiry report, regarding accusations of sexual harassment made by several women Army officers against him.

The reports, which led to holding former Maj Gen A K Lal guilty of sexually harassing Captain Neha Rawat posted under his command in Ladakh, was demanded by his wife Akansha Lal under the RTI Act.

Habibullah takes RTI to World Bank job

Ritu Sarin ; Sat Jul 31 2010; New Delhi:

Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Wajahat Habibullah, whose term ends in September, has informed the government about his new assignment as member of the Independent Access to Information Appeal Board recently set up by the World Bank.

Rashtrapati Bhavan officials said Habibullah’s request for taking up the assignment has been forwarded to the Department of Personnel and Training.

The Bank’s new information disclosure policy borrows heavily from India’s Right to Information Act  whose implementation Habibullah has been monitoring  and the US Freedom Of Information Act.

“The fact that the World Bank modeled its disclosure policy also on aspects and features of the Indian law is a compliment to us,” Habibullah told The Indian Express.

The assignment is part-time  requiring a few days’ work every month since the panel is expected to examine appeals only periodically, and will occasionally meet in Washington.

The panel began work on July 1. Other members are Daniel J Metcalfe of Washington College of Law and Oliver Schrameck, a magistrate of the French Administrative Court.

RTI activists seek Court intervention- Kochi

Express News Service : 31 Jul 2010;

As a final resort, Right to Information activists in the state are planning to approach the court against the appointment of Sony B Thengamam as the State Information Commissioner.

The RTI Federation of Kerala has already taken an in-principle decision to approach the Kerala High Court once he assumes office.

With Governor RS Gavai giving clearance to the appointment of Sony Thengamam as the Information Commissioner overcoming huge protests, the RTI activists are left with no choice other than moving the court. Sony was appointed based on the recommendations by a committee consisting of the Chief Minister, Home Minister and the Opposition Leader.

There were protests against the appointment as Sony Thengamam was an office-bearer of the CPI. However, the name was cleared by the Governor based on the contention that currently Sony Thengamam is not holding any official position in the party

Information Commission raps veterinary university official

D Suresh Kumar, TNN, Jul 31, 2010,

CHENNAI: Rapping the public information officer of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Science University (TANUVAS) for failing to supply information to an applicant under the Right To Information (RTI) Act within a fixed timeframe, the Tamil Nadu Information Commission has ordered action against him.

"The registrar, TANUVAS, Chennai, is directed to take appropriate action against the concerned public information officer. The registrar of the university is directed to give an opportunity to the public information officer to explain his indifference and negligence and forward the explanation to the commission within 30 days from the date of receipt of this orders, failing which action will be initiated by the commission to effect recovery of the fine amount," state information commissioner G Ramakrishnan has said.

The censure was passed on an appeal filed by M Sundareswaran, a resident of Nanganallur who contended that the university had repeatedly failed to furnish information under the RTI Act relating to the promotion policy adopted by the institution.

He had filed his original application four years ago but unhappy over the information not being furnished completely, he had moved the Tamil Nadu Information Commission. The latter had issued orders in June 2007 and subsequently in November 2008 directing the public information officer to furnish the information sought for free of cost within a 30-day timeframe.

"Though information has been supplied for all the six items asked for, the petitioner has been put to a lot of hardship in the process of collecting the information from the public authority despite clear orders from the commission&The public authority has taken nearly 40 days even after the receipt of high court orders to supply the information, which shows their lack of commitment to carry out the commission's orders&Therefore, the commission holds the public authority guilty of not only not supplying the information as per the commission's orders but also of rank indifference to the spirit of the (RTI) Act," Ramakrishnan said in his order.

The public information officer also failed to explain to the commission why penalty should not be imposed on him.

"In view of the above reasons, the commission is left with no option excepting to conclude that the public authority has not implemented the orders of the commission even on a single count. There has been all round breach of the orders of the commission and also the provisions of the (RTI) Act. The ends of justice will not be met unless the public information officer is penalised under Section 20 (1) of the Act," the information commissioner concluded.

Church cannot come under RTI:

Panaji, July 29 – ( Courtesy Herald) The Church cannot come under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, chairman of the ad hoc legislative committee on law, Francis D’Souza said.

One Antonia Michelle Abel had suggested that while the State department of law and the judiciary were covered under the RTI Act, the office of the Archbishop should also be treated in a similar manner.

The D'Souza-led committee in its report to the Assembly had recommended that the State law department to "make a comprehensive study" and "forward a detailed report to the committee within 15 days".

Referring to report in the Herald, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator said: “That to bring the Church under RTI purview has to be decided by the government”.

D’Souza also said that his committee is supposed to forward whatever suggestion and observation comes from the general public.

“It is not supposed to pass any judgment,” D’Souza said.

Common man empowered, fights for rights

Twinkle Mangaonkar : TIMES OF INDIA

The woes of the common man are most effectively depicted in the character created by R K Laxman as a kind gentleman surviving amidst corrupt politicians and greedy bureaucrats, resigned to his fate, yet symbolising the hopes and aspirations of millions of people.

In Laxmans’s words: “After being continuously cheated by the leaders, the populace has become paralysed – it has accepted docility as a survival strategy. Can the entire 950 million people revolt?” The question is, can they?

For the past 15 years Sanjaykumar Pande, a resident of Rakhial in Ahmedabad, was forced to live with drinking water shortages, bad roads and a non-existent drainage in his area. After being a silent witness for long, he decided to act. He filed a Right to Information (RTI) application regarding the state of basic civic amenities in his municipal ward. His application, however, was rejected by the authority concerned.

Sanjay decided to appeal in the State Information Commission. Although there were 3,500 appeals pending at that time, it did not deter him and he patiently waited for his turn, which came after one and half years.

During the appeal proceedings, he was called six times and the authorities did not have replies to his questions.

The commission, taking cognisance of the fact that larger public interest would be served, ordered that not only the requisite information be given but ensured that all information regarding proposed development in the ward be disseminated.

This led to the civic authorities making a provision of Rs 7 crore in the budget for further development in the ward. Within a year, 60 per cent of the development work was over.

Now, if there is any problems in his ward, all he has to do is call and the work gets done. There is no need to file an RTI application too. Sanjay proudly says he is a social worker.

He works as a security guard at night and in the day, takes up civic issues and guides others on the RTI Act.

Isn’t this the kind of common man one would want in our country? A common man who he is empowered and has a say in the development of the nation. With the RTI Act, 2005, the entire nation has been empowered. Citizens just have to raise their hands and ask questions for answers they rightfully deserve to get.

Chronicle of a Murder foretold

The IndianExpress;Shubhlakshmi Shukla , Syed Khalique Ahmed , Hiral Dave : Fri Jul 30 2010,

The Dinesh Solanki-Amit Jethava story is about the mentor and the student turning on each other in the wake of an inevitable clash of ambitions. The lucrative limestone-mining business of Gujarat — conservatively estimated at Rs 500 crore annually — provides the backdrop for not just Jethava’s murder but a general sordid politician-bureaucrat-businessman nexus in the state.

Jethava hailed from Khambha town, part of the command area of Solanki’s transportation and limestone mining business. When his childhood friend Boga Dhakan started the Gir Nature Youth Club, the first local environment group in the area, Jethava, a compounder suspended from the local Community Health Centre, was quick to sign up. That was just under five years ago.The club soon found donors among industrialists and politicians in the area, and Jethava became close to Solanki, then a BJP MLA.

The relationship broke during the 2007 Assembly election. Jethava contested against Solanki at the Khambha-Kodinar seat, which that latter had already won thrice. As Solanki romped home for the fourth time, the enmity between the men only deepened.

In 2009, Solanki became an MP, and the Congress’s Dhirsinh Barad won the Assembly seat. Suddenly, Jethava had an ally — and Barad a friend against the common enemy, Solanki. Ever since the Assembly election battle, Jethava had been doing his best to disrupt Solanki’s businesses, unleashing against the politician a volley of petitions and RTI applications. Now, he redoubled his efforts.

Complaints against Solanki

According to officials at the Khambha police station, Jethava had filed at least 21 complaints with them — five of which were against Solanki. All were about alleged violations of environment laws in the Gir Sanctuary.

Jethava successfully petitioned the court that a community hall being built by Solanki’s Rajmoti Charitable Trust was using Central and state government grants and was, hence, public property.

Jethava was successful in digging out information through the RTI Act that proved that mobile phone towers in Kodinar — a business in which Solanki’s nephew Shiva had an interest — had been erected illegally.

He used the RTI Act to show that even though a criminal case of rioting and assault was pending against Solanki, the MP was being allowed to fly to the US.

Another complaint related to a mining lease given to Solanki by the Junagadh Collectorate in Pichvi village. According to the Forest Department, Pichvi is one of six villages in Kodinar that fall within the prohibited 5-km radius of the Gir Sanctuary.

In a complaint filed on August 25, 2008, Jethava expressed fears that Solanki might bring try to bring false charges against him.

Two months ago, Jethava filed an RTI application with the Gujarat Forest Department, seeking details of illegal mining on the periphery of the Gir Sanctuary. This month, he filed a public interest suit against illegal mining in the Gujarat High Court, which declared Solanki a respondent in the case.

He also filed affidavits with the Supreme Court-constituted Central Empowered Committee (CEC) on illegal mining around the Gir National Park and Sanctuary. The matter is still pending with the CEC.

The mining trail

The truth about Jethava’s murder lies shrouded in the complex and murky workings of Gujarat’s mining nexus. The state in which India’s fourth largest limestone deposits are located, had done little to curb illegal mining until 2002 — the year in which the Forest Department was given powers to restrict mining within the Sanctuary area, and up to a radius of 5 km around its perimeter. “Before 2002, mining activity continued around the forest area as there was no law to prevent it,” said a senior Forest Department official.

The deposits in the Porbander, Kutch and Junagadh districts — and the smaller ones in Rajkot, Banaskantha and Sabarkantha — feed huge cement plants with annual production capacities of millions of tonnes. Among the big business houses that tap into the limestone are Ambuja Cements, Siddhi Cement and Hathi Cements in Veraval in Porbander district, and Sanghi Cement, J P Cements and Sparta Cement in Kutch. A cement manufacturing plant is reported to be in the pipeline in Kutch district. Some of the country’s biggest soda-ash manufacturing units too are located in the limestone-producing areas of Gujarat.

The nature of the limestone quarrying business — windfall returns on minimal investment — attracted huge interest, and also spawned massive irregularities.

Jethava’s PIL against illegal mining in the Supreme Court, and those in the Gujarat High Court against Director of Environment J K Vyas’s promotion, have the potential to upset the workings of the mining mafia and the vested interests in the cement and soda ash industries.

According to official sources, 20 million to 22 million tonnes of limestone worth over Rs 500 crore is mined across the state annually, leading to the manufacture of nearly 15 million tonnes of cement. However, the state government has been getting royalty in the range of only about Rs 22 crore every year, with allegations that the bulk of it is siphoned off by the illegal mining mafia.

The other players

In the last five months, the state Mining and Geology department has cracked down on many Porbander-based mining companies that have allegedly underreported the quantity of limestone being quarried by them. The state government has even initiated a move to attach their landed properties.

These companies include those allegedly owned by former BJP minister Babu Bokhiria and Bima Odedara, the brother of BJP MLA Karsan Dula.

According to officials, a total of 135 companies are engaged in limestone mining in Porbander district, which has the largest of the limestone mines in the state. Sources in the Geology Commissionerate alleged that nearly 80 per cent these companies are controlled by Babu Bokhiria.

Bokhiria was accused of the murder of Congress activist and miner Molu Modhwadia in October 2005.

Molu’s wife Laki had been demanding that an FIR be lodged against Bokhiria on the basis of a note recovered from Molu’s wallet after his death. Molu had expressed the fear that Bokhiria was conspiring to eliminate him, and should be held responsible in case he (Molu) was killed.

While a forensic examination of the letter established the handwriting to be Molu’s, the police have neither made Bokhiria an accused nor questioned him in the case. Bokhiria later challenged in the High Court a fast track court’s judgment ordering his interrogation. After the High Court upheld the fast track court’s order in 2008, Bokhiria challenged the matter in the Supreme Court, where it is now pending.

Bokhiria had earlier been arrested in an illegal mining case involving the non-payment of royalty of nearly Rs 54 crore in October 2007. The case was filed by Saurashtra Chemicals in 2006 (when Bokhiria was Porbander MLA) against Bokhiria, Bhima Odedara, his son Laxman and former Congress MP Bharat Odedara, who is now in the BJP. Bokhiria was released in March 2008, after he had spent five months in jail.

Another major defaulter, Bima Dula Odedara, is the brother of Karsan Dula, BJP MLA from Kotiyana. Karsan who has 36 criminal cases against him, happens to be Bokhiria’s brother-in-law.

While five defaulters, whose penalty amount ranged between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, paid the penalties, the rest approached the Union Mining Ministry which is yet to decide on their appeal.

IIBF is beyond RTI ambit: Delhi HC

ZEE NEWS : Friday, July 30, 2010,

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today said an organisation cannot be forced to disclose information under the RTI Act just because it is substantially financed by PSUs and held that the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance (IIBF) is not a public authority.

IIBF is a professional body of banks, managed by a board comprising members from PSU banks, with its membership of over 700 banks and financial institutions as its institutional members.

The court said an organisation should be funded by the appropriate government in order to make it liable to public scrutiny under the transparency law.

The court passed the order while setting aside the order of Central Information Commission of declaring Indian Institute of Banking and Finance(IIBF) a public authority.

"It is possible that the member banks, for instance, the State Bank of India, is itself a public authority. However, substantial financing by the SBI would itself not make it a public authority. It would have to be shown that the appropriate government itself directly or indirectly finances or has financed it," justice S Muralidhar said.

The CIC, in its order, had justified declaring IIBF as a public body saying the executive bodies of the Institute are substantially manned by senior executives of public sector banks and the bulk of its finances also come directly or indirectly from those banks.

"The Institute, a non-governmental organisation, being substantially financed by public sector banks directly and indirectly, is nothing but a public authority," the CIC had said.

Setting aside the order, Justice Muralidhar said "this Court is not able to concur with the impugned order of the CIC dated February 9, 2010 which is hereby set aside".

Govt. to introduce Bill to protect whistleblowers

THE HINDU : New Delhi, July 29, 2010;

The government on Thursday said a Bill to protect whistleblowers is in the final stage of formulation.

“A Bill to protect the persons who make public interest disclosures is nearing finalisation,” Minister of State for Public Grievances Prithviraj Chavan said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

“There have been reports in the media and government has been informed about the increased threat to RTI (Right to Information) activists. Such incidents when reported are investigated by the local police,” Mr. Chavan said.

The Minister, however, ruled out any legislation to protect RTI activists specifically.

The statement comes in the backdrop of the murder of RTI activist Amit Jethava in Ahmedabad on July 20.

According to official sources, in the draft being prepared under the name The Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill, 2009, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) will be designated the authority to which complaints against any Central government employee or Central government-backed institution will be made.

The CVC will have the powers of a civil court, including powers to summon anybody, order police investigation and provide security to the whistleblower.

The issue of protection for whistleblowers caught the attention of the entire nation after the murder of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) engineer Satyendra Dubey who had sent a letter to then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, giving an account of corruption in the construction of highways.

Chavan: No move to frame law to protect RTI activists

Krishnadas Rajagopal ; Fri Jul 30 2010 ; New Delhi:

Almost a week after RTI activist Amit Jethava was shot dead near the Gujarat High Court, the minister-in-charge of RTI Act on Thursday denied any move to frame a law to protect RTI activists while the Central Information Commissioner said it was the “job of the police” to protect them.

“There is no proposal before the government to frame a specific law to protect RTI activists,” Minister of State for Public Grievances Prithviraj Chavan said in his written reply before the Rajya Sabha. Chavan was replying to a question by V Hanumantha Rao as to when “a specific law will be put in place to protect RTI activists”.

The minister said violence against activists, “when reported”, was investigated by the local police. “There have been reports in the media, and the government has been informed about increased threat to RTI activists. Such incidents, when reported, are investigated by the local police,” he said.

Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah echoed Chavan’s views, saying it was the “job of the police” to protect RTI activists and the information commissions had no “legal authority” to do so. “The threat has now started emerging, society has to start thinking of measures to protect itself,” Habibullah told The Indian Express.

However, he said the Central Information Commission would surely intervene if RTI activists facing threats approached it. “A certain weightage is attached to the Information Commission. We will caution the government against vested interests who threaten RTI activists. These vested interests will think twice then,” he added.

Jethava, who was campaigning against illegal mining in Gir Sanctuary areas, was shot dead on July 20.

Meanwhile, Chavan said in the same reply that a new Bill to protect whistle-blowers was nearing finalisation. The draft of the Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill, 2009, intends to designate the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) as the nodal authority to which complaints against any central government employee or central government-backed institution would be made. The CVC would exercise the powers of a civil court, including powers to summon anybody, order police probe and provide security to the whistle-blower.

Exposing Port Trust scam cost man job

Nagendar Sharma, Hindustan Times;New Delhi, July 28, 2010;

Close on the heels of murders of eight Right to Information (RTI) activists in first seven months of the year, a shocking case of a whistle-blower being hounded out by the Kandla Port Trust (KPT) and Shipping Ministry has come to light. Manoranjan Kumar, a former deputy chairman of the KPT, is without ajob since 2007, after he exposed a multi-crore scam allegedly involving 12,000 acres of land at one of the country's largest ports located in the Gulf of Kutch at Gandhidham, Gujarat.

The Shipping Ministry, which controls the port, refused to accept the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) order directing it to allow Kumar to complete his tenure as the KPT deputy chief. It challenged the order in Delhi High Court.

"The applicant (Kumar), in our view is on a solid wicket to state that he is a whistle-blower. He brought to the notice of the authorities irregularities going on in the port for several years," the CAT had stated in its February-2009 order.

The CAT, in its 58-page order, said, "If the system may not protect the applicant, the court must come to his rescue, otherwise no whistle-blower would ever dare to expose corruption."

The CBI has launched a probe into the matter.

"KPT's former chief vigilance officer Manoranjan Kumar's complaint to the Central Vigilance Commission as the basis, the CBI has registered a preliminary probe into the alleged land scam," CBI informed the Delhi HC on July 14.

All these developments, however, have failed to move the KPT and the Shipping Ministry.

Kumar, a 1986-batch Indian Economic Service officer, was sent on a five-year deputation from the Textiles Ministry to the KPT. Shortly after he was given the additional charge of the Chief Vigilance Officer.

In July 2007, the Shipping Ministry wanted a probe into the allegations of the port land having been illegally leased out. In his report, Kumar provided details of port land being illegally occupied without payment of lease to the KPT.

This report was not to the liking of the ministry officials, who ordered Kumar to be relieved of his duties and sent back to the Textiles Ministry. He refused and decided to fight. He continues to do so, but is without a job, awaiting the court verdict.

Jethava’s colleagues vow to take forward his work

Tanvir A Siddiqui ;Thu Jul 29 2010, Ahmedabad:

Mahiti Adhikar Nagarik Mandal, a voluntary body formed four years ago by slain environmental activist Amit Jethava in Khambha town, 60 kms from Amreli, will continue to work with “double vigour” after the death of its founder.

Mandal's office-bearers have decided to call a meeting of its members shortly to discuss how to take forward the work.

Before Jethava's killing, the office-bearers used to meet on every Sunday to hear grievances of people and help them prepare their applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

“There will be no let up in our environmental activism,” said Dilip Katariya, co-convener of the Mandal. He added that the meeting will decide their future course of action to take the 400-member organisation to newer heights and the carry the “name of its founder Amit to the international level to apprise people of the work he has done”.

Another co-convener, Purshottam Ambaliya, said there was no question of stopping the work following Jethava's death.

The only way to perpetuate his memory was to further his goals of environmental preservation and help more people get information through the RTI Act.

“We dispose of 20 to 25 applications on various issues concerning RTI on Sundays between 9 am and 2 pm,” he said.

Mandal secretary Yusuf Juneja, who had been associated with Jethava since the organisation was formed in 2006, said this work was close to Jethava's heart .

The RTI murders

Nagendar Sharma, Hindustan Times;New Delhi, July 27, 2010;

Few laws in India have generated as much excitement and hope as the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The first seven months of this year have, however, thrown up a new challenge for this revolutionary transparency law. At least 20 attacks have been reported on RTI activists across the country, resulting in eight murders.

"Through their inaction and apathy, state governments and the police cold-bloodedly leave the citizen activist standing in the line of fire for months and years, alone, undefended and crying for justice," states a letter from more than 100 activists to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the moving force behind the law.

Harsh Mander and Aruna Roy, two members of the Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council, have signed the letter, as have Magsaysay award winners Sandeep Pandey and Arvind Kejriwal.

Hindustan Times on Tuesday reported the cases of Satish Shetty and Vishram Laxman Dodiya, both murdered earlier this year in Pune and Surat, respectively.

A look at some other RTI activists who lost their lives this year:

Dattatraya Pirgonda Patil, (47), Kolhapur (Maharashtra)

He lost his life for exposing the bogus registration of 11 cooperative handloom societies in Ichalkaranji, Kolhapur, which he dug out through RTI applications.

Patil had also demanded a probe against two retired police officers for their alleged corrupt acts and had challenged the permission granted to a beer bar opposite a girls' school.

For his efforts, he had received threatening calls on several occasions in the past and he had asked for police protection, which he never received.

Patil was murdered on May 22. His family says they had alerted the police about threats he had received on the morning he was murdered, but nothing was done to provide protection.

Vitthal Gite, (39), Beed (Maharashtra)

A farmer and a flourmill owner, Gite was an unlikely crusader who lost his life on April 21 this year for exposing corruption in a school run by his own family.

According to locals, Gite was part of the family that ran the local Sainath Madhyamik Vidyalaya in Beed. He came to know of some irregularities being committed in the utilisation of grants received from the government, following the expulsion of one his relatives, Arun Gitte, from the school.

He filed RTI applications and exposed all the schools in the area that were allegedly misutilising government funds.

According to the police, Arun had organised a lunch on April 21, where all his relatives including the school's director were invited.

"An argument broke out there and the two factions attacked each other in which Vitthal was seriously injured," say the police.

Beed police chief Ravindra Sengaonkar adds: "He was not just murdered for his RTI query though it is true that he had exposed the irregularities and embezzlement."

Shashidhar Mishra, (35), Barauni, Bihar

A small-time hawker, Mishra was popularly known as Khabri Lal in the industrial townships of Barauni and Begusarai. He was shot dead in front of his house by motorcycle-borne criminals near Barauni in February.

A graduate, Mishra used RTI to expose scams in local welfare schemes. He shot into prominence when his queries revealed that contaminated water was being sold at Barauni railway junction. The Railways took cognisance of his exposure and police arrested the gang involved in the trade.

Mishra's neighbour and deputy sarpanch-cum-contractor Ranjit Mishra and his two brothers were arrested for allegedly murdering him.

Venkatesh (48), Bangalore

His struggle to save government property in and around Bangalore from the land mafia, using RTI, led to his murder.

Venkatesh (he used only one name) filed RTI applications to gather information on alleged encroachments in and around India's Silicon Valley. RTI activists say he was instrumental in saving the Bangalore Development Authority property worth Rs 35 crore.

The police initially said Venkatesh was killed in a road accident near Bangalore University's Jnana Bharati campus on April 12. Doctors who conducted the post-mortem, however, concluded that he had been murdered by a sharp-edged weapon.

Sola Ranga Rao (30), Andhra Pradesh

A resident of Sitaram village in Krishna district, Rao had filed many RTI applications seeking information from the Mandal Parishad Development Office (MPDO) on the funds sanctioned and utilised for the village's drainage system.

His family alleges he was murdered by people who were involved in siphoning off of funds allocated for the drainage system. The Andhra Pradesh Information Commission ordered an inquiry into the Rao's murder.

RTI activists to meet Governor over appointment of Information Commissioner

THE HINDU : Special Correspondent

A delegation of RTI Kerala Federation will meet the Governor, R. S. Gavai, on Thursday to complaint against the appointment of Sony B. Thengamom as State Information Commissioner under the Right to Information Act.

The Federation asserts that Mr. Thengamom is a politician who is not qualified to be appointed as Commissioner.

The Governor had earlier returned the recommendation of the Selection Committee headed by Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan for the appointment of Mr. Thengamom as Commissioner in view of the objections raised by various quarters. (Mr. Gavai is understood to have accepted the recommendation for appointment of former IAS Officer M.N. Gunavardhanan as Commissioner). It had been pointed out that Mr.Thengamom was assistant secretary of the CPI at its Kollam district unit which barred him from becoming the Commissioner.

The government has since clarified to the Governor that Mr. Thengamom has quit the party posts held by him. However, the Federation general secretary D. B. Binu said that Mr. Thengamom had held party posts at the time of his consideration for appointment as Commissioner.

Besides the Federation, the U. P. based Public Cause Research Foundation headed by Arvind Kejriwal has also written to the Kerala Governor urging him not to accept the recommendation of the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee has Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and Opposition Leader Oommen Chandy as members.

Case diaries of CBI not accessible under RTI: CIC

PTI : Wednesday, July 28, 2010,

New Delhi: The case diaries of CBI cannot be accessed under the Right to Information Act as disclosure of the information may adversely affect the prosecution process, the Central Information Commission has held.

The case relates to an RTI application filed by Vinod Kumar who sought from the Central Bureau of Investigation the Final reports (FRs) prepared by the prosecution during the investigation of a case.

The agency said investigating officers make the gist of day to day probe in the case diaries. The summary of these case diaries are presented to higher officials in the form of Final Reports.

FR-I is the report submitted by the investigating officer after collection of evidences. Similarly FR-II is the comments of the law officer on FR-I. The various facts written in FR-I are invariably repeated in one form or the other in FR-II.

It argued that FRs are not part of documents which are submitted in the Court, these are only a summary of the case diaries to prepare decision for prosecution. These documents are, therefore, held in confidence by the prosecuting agency, which in this case is the CBI.

Upholding the arguments put forth by the agency, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said as per CrPC provisions neither the accused nor his agents shall be entitled to call for such diaries nor shall he or they be entitled to see them merely because they are referred to by the Court.

"Upon this, it is clear that the CrPC specifically debars the disclosure of case diaries. Any deviation allowed will necessarily impede the process of prosecution. It is open to appellant Vinod Kumar to seek access to the records under the specific provisions of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 before the Trial Court. Under the circumstances, the appeal of Vinod Kumar is dismissed," he said.

CIC reluctant to disclose assets of info commissioners

Himanshi Dhawan, TNN, Jul 29, 2010,

NEW DELHI: After preaching transparency to the whole country, Central Information Commission appears to have trouble following its own diktat.

Over 18 months after it received an RTI query asking for wealth declaration of information commissioners, CIC continues to withhold the information on the pretext that it has sought advice from Election Commission. Incidentally, of the nine information commissioners and one chief information commissioner, so far only one, Shailesh Gandhi, has made his list of assets public.

In an order passed on Monday, chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said since Gandhi had already expressed willingness to disclose his income details, the information could be made public after getting his consent. Habibullah said as Gandhi was recognised as a "third party" under the RTI Act, his consent was required. For the rest, the commission has sought the EC's advice.

The directions came after Pune-based Vihar Durve filed an RTI plea in November 2008 asking for declaration of information relating to assets. CIC CPIO Tarun Kumar said the matter was discussed among the commissioners but no such information was maintained by the CIC. Aggrieved by the response, Durve filed an appeal referring to larger public interest as a justification for disclosure of such information. Contesting these arguments, Durve filed a second appeal. Kumar in response said CIC had made a reference to EC thrice but a response was still awaited. Habibullah, in his order, asked his office to expedite the matter of obtaining the necessary feedback.

The delay in disclosure of assets indicates the internal differences within the commission as is evident from the orders of various information commissioners. While IC Shailesh Gandhi has given several orders recognising that government officials must make their wealth declaration public, other commissioners have been reluctant to follow suit. In fact, most see this disclosure as invasion of privacy. Ironically, CIC has recognised the office of the Chief Justice of India and elected representatives as public authorities.

Is Central Information Commission at war with itself ?

Mayank Aggarwal / DNAThursday, July 29, 2010;

New Delhi: Hailed for freeing the common man from the clutches of the bureaucracy, the Central Information Commission (CIC) now seems to be stuck in the same muddle.

In 2008, when Mumbai-based Right to Information (RTI) activist Shailesh Gandhi took charge as information commissioner at the CIC, he furnished his property details to CIC chief Wajahat Habibullah for uploading on the commission’s website.

However, it was not uploaded. Subsequently, at a CIC meeting in 2008, a decision was taken to get the information on what other commissions are doing regarding details of assets. It thrice sought such information from the Election Commission (EC) to determine its practice, but the EC is yet to respond to the query.

Pune-based RTI activist Vihar Durve has also sought the property details of all information commissioners at the CIC, including Gandhi, from the commission itself. But failing to get a satisfactory reply, he filed another appeal before the CIC.

During the hearing, Durve said he was in correspondence with Gandhi, who has no objection to disclosing his property details. Such disclosure, according to Durve, is in public interest, particularly in light of action taken by the Supreme Court, it would be noteworthy that property statement of information commissioners be placed on the CIC website.

However, CIC chief Wajahat Habibullah said in his order, “On the question of disclosure of Gandhi’s property statement, Gandhi is a third party and therefore, his agreement to disclosure of this information will be sought within next 5 days.”

Habibullah also directed a CIC official “to expedite the process of obtaining feedback to the reference made to the EC to enable the commission to take a decision in the matter of property statements of information commissioners.”

8 officers get Notices for 'not providing info' under RTI

TNN, Jul 27, 2010,

BELGAUM: Karnataka Information Commission (KIC) has issued notices to eight state-level officials for "failing" to provide information sought under RTI Act. They have also been asked appear in person before the commission on August 6.

RTI activist Bhimappa Gadad from Mudalagi in Gokak taluk had sought the information from the office of the chief secretary. He wanted to know the expenditure made on Vikas Sankalp Utsav, which the government had organized to celebrate the completion of one year. The chief secretary's office, instead of providing the required information, forwarded his application to some other department.

Gadad had sought information on the amount released by the government. His posers are: "In case the government has not released the money, what was the source of the respective district administrations for spending on the Utsav? Whether the programme was a government- or party-sponsored one? How much money was spent on ads released to the media? Did the government permit the district administrations to collect money from other resources?"

Speaking to `The Times Of India', Gadad claimed that government had spent crores on Utsav, but there is no authentic data in any government department on the same. "This proves that this government is encouraging corruption in the state," he charged.

When he approached the chief secretary's office for information, it directed him to the revenue department, which, in turn, forwarded his application to the department of personnel and administrative Reforms. Later, the application was forwarded to the departments of Kannada and culture, finance and publicity.

Interestingly, many departments gave in writing that they are not concerned with the Utsav, while others said Utsav did not come under their purview. With the departments making Gadad run from pillar to post, only to get nothing even after eight months, he complained to KIC against chief secretary's office.

RTI activists apply for info head's post, seek transparency

TNN, Jul 28, 2010,

CHENNAI: Taking a leaf from a nationwide campaign carried out by eminent citizens, right to information (RTI) activists in Tamil Nadu have adopted a novel method to make the government ensure a transparent selection process while appointing a successor to the state's central information commissioner — they have launched a campaign asking all those who are interested in RTI issues to apply for the post.

With TN chief information commissioner S Ramakrishnan's term coming to an end next month, the idea is to flood the government with applications so that it is forced to come out with eligibility criteria and selection process for candidates. Also, activists whose applications get rejected could then move court to challenge the appointment if it does not come across as transparent. As per Section 15 of the RTI Act, the chief information commissioner "shall be a person of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance."

"We want the state government to have a rule under which applications are invited through advertisements that prescribe the minimum educational qualification and experience," said H Krishnaraj Rao, one of the activists who launched the campaign.

Home guard killed for seeking info under RTI

Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui, TNN, Jul 28, 2010,

LUCKNOW: In a first of its kind incident, a UP police home guard was done to death allegedly for daring to seek information under the RTI Act about government funds and work done by his village pradhan in Bahraich. The accused pradhan's husband and four others have been arrested in this connection. The police say the murder is fallout of a 40-year-old dispute between the two sides over a piece of land.

The incident took place in Katghar village under Ranipur police station of Bahraich on Sunday afternoon. According to reports, ex-pradhan of Katghar Mohan Singh, his son Vijay Pratap (32) alias Babbu Singh, who is a home guard and had come home on a holiday, and brother Satyadeo Singh was supervising some construction work on a piece of land in the village when one Indrajeet Singh and his cohorts reached the site.

Indrajeet is husband of the sitting village pradhan since the seat was reserved for the fairer sex in the last elections.

"As soon as they reached us, they started abusing and eventually a free for all ensued. Since we were not expecting a showdown and they had come prepared with sticks and rods in hand, we could not do much and they beat us severely," Satyadeo said recollecting the sequence of events.

Govt need not give copies of documents inspected under RTI

Mayura Janwalkar / DNAThursday, July 29, 2010;

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday upheld the decision of the central government to not give copies of documents that were open to inspection.

The case was filed against Kanhaiyalal Talera from Pune who had alleged that his land near the Lohegaon airport in Pune was “wrongly acquired” by the airport authority, the ministry of defence and the civil aviation.

Talera had filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005, seeking the layout for the extension of the runway. He had sought the information stating that there was no need for his land to extend the runway. The air force allowed Talera to inspect the document pertaining to the airport and the runway map.

However, Talera said that if he was allowed to inspect the documents, he should also be given the copies of the documents under the RTI.

When the ministry of defence turned down his application, he filed subsequent appeals up to the Central Information Commission (CIC), which also refused to grant him any relief.

In the high court, arguing for the central government, advocates Jamshed Mistry and Anamika Malhotra stated that if copies of the information were distributed, it could put the security of the airport in jeopardy as they could be misused.

Citing section 8(1) (a) of the RTI Act, they said that the government

was under no obligation to reveal information that could pose a security threat to India.

Upholding the government’s decision under this provision, the court granted no relief to Talera and dismissed his petition.

Murdered RTI activist had taken on Gir mining mafia

Hiral Dave , Shubhlakshmi Shukla ;Thu Jul 29 2010;KODINAR, AHMEDABAD:

On July 21, barely a fortnight after he filed a PIL in the Gujarat High Court seeking an end to illegal limestone mining along the Gir wildlife sanctuary, 36-year-old activist Amit Jethava was killed. He was shot from point blank range on a busy highway in Ahmedabad, minutes after he came out of his lawyer’s office near the very court where he filed PILs year after year.

Gujarat has the country’s fourth largest limestone deposits, some 12,000 million metric tonnes spread over Kutch, Junagadh, Amreli, Banaskantha and Sabarkantha. Official estimates peg the state’s current mining market to be worth well over Rs 500 crore a year but unofficial projections say it is much more.

A complex nexus of politicians, influential businessmen, bureaucrats and goons controls the illegal slice of the mining business, overshadowing its legally allowed chunk. Some of Jethava’s efforts using the RTI Act and PILs had changed things and sent politicians, the government and its babus scampering for cover.

Hours after his motorcycle-borne assassins left him bleeding to death by the roadside, fingers were being pointed at Dinesh Solanki, BJP’s powerful MP in Junagadh. Solanki, who is close to former Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala, holds considerable sway over the local mining business.

But Solanki has not been seen after Jethava’s killing, not even by the police personnel guarding him. Junagadh’s SP Maninder Pawar admitted he had no idea where Solanki was.

The MP, however, put out an advertisement in local newspapers on Monday, proclaiming his innocence, even suggesting that someone else hit by one of Jethava’s many PILs may have got him killed. Solanki’s advertisement also maintained that Jethava’s latest PIL could not have impacted “ mines working in my name” since those shut down after a Supreme Court order.

Jethava was not known to get fazed by circumstances. Operating mostly from his village Khambha, he soon managed to become a member of the state wildlife advisory board, even logged his name in the state as well as national environment protection circuit.

From his one-room office in Khambha, he used the RTI Act to source information from all over, and then followed it up in courts with his many PILs. It was one of his PILs that forced the state government to agree in court to appoint a Lokayukta and RTI information officers.

His pursuit of almost every development in the Gir wildlife sanctuary areas often kept the state forest brass on the tenterhooks, before he shifted base to Ahmedabad a couple of years ago to begin focussing more on the RTI route.

Senior forest officials recall the first line of a government circular some five years ago, stating: “ Amit Jethava na akshepo upar dhyan levo nahi (Do not take any complaints from Jethava seriously).”

“It is not usual for a state government to issue an official circular asking not to take an individual’s complaints seriously, ordering officers to use their discretion,” an official said.

His father Bhikhabhai runs a cobbler’s shop in his village. “My boy had courage. He never thought twice before getting to battle Solanki. He ignored the many threats that he kept getting from Solanki,” he alleged.

Jethava’s latest PIL related to a mining lease that Solanki reportedly got sanctioned by the Junagadh collectorate in Pichvi village, which, according to forest department records, is one of the six villages in Kodinar that falls within the prohibited five-kilometre radius surrounding the ecologically sensitive Gir sanctuary.

The lease (survey numbers 131 and 131/1) was extended for another 10 years in 2006. In 2007, state officials, under pressure from Jethava, cancelled Solanki’s lease along with 34 other illegal leases in the Kodinar-Jamvada belt.

But Jethava, in his PIL, claimed that the cancellation was only on paper. He adduced government records, including evidence of an alleged illegal mining racket unearthed by the state geology and mines department official, Y B Raval, on January 24 to point to Solanki’s role.

The MP had obtained the electricity connection to the mining sites in his nephew’s name. Jethava produced copies of the electricity bills to contend that illegal mining was still going on. On July 9, the High Court issued notices to all the respondents, and posted the hearing for August.

Forest officials and political circles in Junagadh and Amreli recall how close Jethava and Solanki once were. “When Jethava began his wildlife activism, Solanki (who was then an MLA) allowed him to use his MLA quarters in Gandhinagar during his visits,” said a forest officer.

But all that changed in 2007, when Jethava contested the Assembly polls against Solanki.

Incidentally, it was Solanki who urged Jethava to cash in on his increasing popularity and contest the elections for the Khambha-Kodinar Assembly seat. Solanki wanted Jethava to cut into the vote share of Dhirsinh Barad, who was touted to be the Congress candidate and who wielded significant clout in Khambha.

But the Congress fielded Laxman Parmar instead of Barad. Solanki then asked Jethava to withdraw his nomination. But Jethava refused, deciding to remain in the fray. Solanki won the seat for the fourth time. When he vacated the seat to become MP in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Barad won the Kodinar seat. Jethava got close to Barad, as they then had a common foe in Solanki.

Over the last couple of years, Jethava often took on Solanki. The Rajmoti Charitable Trust run by the MP had to give up possession of its newly-built community hall after Jethava filed a petition in court pointing out that it was built using Central and state government grants and was, therefore, public property.

Jethava then used the RTI route to prove that all the cellphone towers installed in Kodinar, in which Solanki’s nephew, Pratap Solanki, had a business interest, were illegal. He also tried to prove that although a criminal case of rioting and assault was pending against Solanki (who was accused of assaulting Barad and his kin), the MP was being allowed to go to the US.

Lacunae in the RTI Act with regard to transparency in the appointment of Information Commissioners may weaken the Act itself.

Frontline ; Volume 27 - Issue 16 :: Jul. 31-Aug. 13, 2010;

EVERY now and then the Central government contemplates amendments to the Right to Information Act, 2005, in order to restrict the information that may be made available to RTI applicants. The government has considered exempting file notings (or official discussions and consultations) by bureaucrats and Ministers from being divulged under the Act; and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has supported a plea by former Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan to exempt the office of the CJI from the purview of the Act. However, the government has not dared to go ahead with the proposed changes as they have been resisted by civil society and RTI activists.

This does not mean that the Central and State governments have not found ways to circumvent the Act. They apparently hope that appointing pliable Information Commissioners, who would favour the state vis-a-vis the citizen-applicant, will obviate the need for any amendments.

Twenty-two Information Commissioners across the country will retire in the next few months. (An Information Commissioner retires on completion of 65 years of age or after five years from the date of appointment, whichever is earlier.) Of them, 11 are Chief Information Commissioners (CICs). The Act is silent on the procedure for appointment. Under Section 12 (2) of the RTI Act, the Central Information Commission shall consist of the Chief Information Commissioner and “such number of Central Information Commissioners, not exceeding ten, as may be deemed necessary”. At present, there are nine Information Commissioners, including the CIC. Section 15(2) provides that every State Information Commission shall consist of the State Chief Information Commissioner and “such number of State Information Commissioners, not exceeding ten, as may be deemed necessary”.

Under Section 12(3), the President appoints the CIC and the Information Commissioners on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet Minister (now it is Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily) nominated by the Prime Minister.

Similarly, Section 15(3) provides that the State CIC and the State Information Commissioners shall be appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and a Cabinet Minister nominated by the Chief Minister.

The Act requires that the CIC and the Information Commissioners, both at the Centre and in the States, shall be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance. More important, they should not be Members of Parliament or State legislatures, hold any other office of profit, be connected with any political party, carry on any business, or pursue any profession.

The Act does not lay down any procedure for inviting and processing nominations. According to activists, it is the duty of the Department of Personnel Training (DoPT) to frame rules under Section 27 of the Act to lay down such procedures. But the DoPT has not made any rules so far, since it would make the appointment process transparent and less arbitrary, and perhaps curtail its discretion in the matter.

Documents obtained by the Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF), a non-governmental organisation(NGO) championing the cause of RTI activists, from the DoPT and the PMO have revealed that the DoPT has been exercising undue influence on the process of selection by forwarding only select names for consideration and endorsement by the three-member selection committee. As a result, the committee has never had to apply its mind to the merits of the proposed appointees or even consider the names of other applicants.

The committee selects names as per the agenda note prepared by the DoPT. The DoPT has no power to reject any name before it is considered by the committee. But it has been abusing its power to prepare the agenda note by filtering the names of applicants for its consideration.

The PCRF has found that the individuals whose names figured on the agenda note and were finally selected had never applied for the posts, and nor had they ever been recommended by anyone.

The series of meetings held by the committee only confirm that the DoPT has been playing this farce without anyone questioning it. In its first meeting on October 5, 2005, the DoPT put up only five names to the committee, which cleared all the five. Records, however, show that 15 persons had applied for the job before the meeting was scheduled, and none of them figured in the agenda note.

In its next meeting, on August 27, 2008, the DoPT put up six names, and the committee cleared four of them. They were Annapurna Dixit, M.L. Sharma, S.N. Mishra and Shailesh Gandhi. Before this meeting, the PMO and the DoPT received applications from or recommendations for two journalists, Sudhanshu Ranjan and Ravi Shankar Singh, and a medical practitioner, Krishna Kabir Anthony. However, the agenda note prepared by the DoPT did not contain their names.

The note was prepared by S.K. Sarkar, the then Joint Secretary in the DoPT. He included the name of his own boss, S.N. Mishra, and the names of Annapurna Dixit, Ashok K. Mohapatra, R.B. Shreekumar, M.L. Sharma and Shailesh Gandhi. Shailesh Gandhi's name was proposed by several RTI activists through an open letter to the government, but they wonder how the other names cropped up. None of these persons had applied for the posts of Information Commissioners, nor had their names been recommended by anyone. Had they filed their applications or been recommended, the records would have carried their applications or the recommendation letters, Magsaysay Award winner Arvind Kejriwal, one of the founders of the PCRF, says.

Activists feel someone in the DoPT may have called up these persons and asked them to forward their curriculum vitae. They do not question the merits of these persons who made it to the DoPT's agenda list but only want an explanation from the DoPT as to why it contacted only these people and not other worthy persons who might have been recommended by others.

Some of the questions that rankle with RTI activists are: How were Ravi Shankar Singh, Sudhanshu Ranjan and Krishna Kabir Anthony found unfit and not even put up to the selection committee? Who did their assessment and on what basis? And, who decided that the committee need not consider these names?

According to the activists, the DoPT is supposed to act merely as a secretariat to the committee. It has no powers to select or reject anyone. On April 6, 2009, before the general election, the committee held a meeting to select Omita Paul, whose name was the only one put up by the DoPT.

According to Kejriwal, Omita Paul was then adviser to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and the United Progressive Alliance government probably wanted to accommodate her in the CIC as it was not hopeful of returning to power. The Joint Secretary, in his notings, warned that the model code of conduct was in operation and permission from the Election Commission would be required. But no permission was sought to hold the committee meeting.

Omita Paul joined the CIC on May 13. She resigned from the CIC on June 26, soon after the UPA returned to power, and rejoined Mukherjee's team. Appointment of persons without a serious commitment to RTI shows that the committee looks at the post of Information Commissioner as temporary abodes for the government's favourite bureaucrats, who might be about to retire. The committee held another meeting on August 25, 2009. There were 14 applicants. Of these, only one, Sushma Singh, was included in the agenda note. Sushma Singh was Secretary, Information and Broadcasting, and her name was recommended by the Minister of State, Anand Sharma, to the Prime Minister. Of the remaining 13, the CIC Wajahat Habibullah recommended nine, including the human rights activist Maja Daruwala and the journalist Suman Dubey. Sudhanshu Ranjan's name also figured among the applicants.

Activists ask why the DoPT chose only Sushma Singh to be included in the agenda note, and how three other persons, who were not among the applicants, figured in the agenda note. The committee chose two of the four names at this meeting.

Political appointment

The situation in the State Information Commissions is also of concern. In Andhra Pradesh, the State selection committee recently considered just one of the 14 applications for the post of State CIC – that of the Chief Minister's Principal Secretary, Jannat Hussain, as his was the only name put up in the agenda note.

N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Leader of the Opposition and a member of the committee, claimed that he had written a strong dissent note on the file, protesting against the selection, as it was not in accordance with the procedure, and his suggestion had not been sought by the government before it decided on Hussain for the post. Chandrababu Naidu hopes that the Governor will ask the State government to reconsider the decision.

In most States, the post of Information Commissioner is considered to be a political appointment. In Uttar Pradesh, the Mayawati government suspended the CIC appointed by the Mulayam Singh government on charges of corruption, although it did not take action against other Information Commissioners facing corruption charges.

 In Kerala, the committee recommended the name of CPI State committee member Sony B. Thengamam for the post. Activists are surprised that the committee recommended his candidature although the Act bars appointment of persons connected with political parties. The RTI Kerala Federation has objected to his nomination and has appealed to the Governor to reject it.

However, activists find that their ability to find answers through the RTI to questions that haunt them is limited because some of the Information Commissioners have ruled that the applicants can only seek to access information that is already available.

Within the CIC, opinion is divided about whether the applicants can ask questions. Wajahat Habibullah, according to Arvind Kejriwal, is of the view that applicants can ask questions, whereas others, including Shailesh Gandhi, discourage applicants from raising questions. The justification for the latter view is that an applicant cannot ask the government to create information.

While this issue is far from settled, some activists consider the Arunachal Pradesh Information Commissioner, Toko Anil, as a role model. Last year, Toko Anil issued a bailable arrest warrant against Jomnya Siram, the Assistant Principal Information Officer (APIO), Art and Culture, Naharlagun, for not responding to the commission's notice and ensuring compliance of his interim order. The police did not have to execute the warrant, as the APIO was present at the next hearing of the commission.

The APIC won the PCRF's award for the Best State Information Commission in 2009. It received a high Overall Public Satisfaction (OPS) of 85 per cent. This means that if 100 people approached the APIC, 85 of them got the information they were seeking, more than three times the national average of 26 per cent. The State also tops in getting its orders implemented. People got information regarding 91 per cent of the orders passed by the State Information Commission.

Activists demand more power for Lokayuktas

TNN, Jul 27, 2010,

NEW DELHI: Concerned over the recent trend of activists being targeted for exposing corrupt practices, civil society groups on Monday demanded that Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states be given more teeth. RTI activists also said that cases where people were being targeted for using the information law should be referred to the CBI for investigation.

Activists claimed that as many as eight people had died in the country in the last six months with vested interests trying to stop the use of RTI as a tool against corruption.

The demands are part of a petition sent to PM Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP president Nitin Gadkari and Gujarat CM Narender Modi. The move comes close on the heels of the brutal murder of RTI activist Amit Jethwa who was from Ahmedabad. Jethwa had filed a PIL relating to illegal mining in the Gir forests.

The letters signed by activists like Medha Patkar and NAC members Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander are critical of the existing systems. As a systemic change, the activists have demanded that selection of Lokayuktas and Lokpals be made transparent and the agencies be given powers to investigate politicians and bureaucrats without requiring permission from other agencies.

IIT-Kharagpur kept aside illegal quota for staff

Charu Sudan Kasturi, Hindustan Times ; New Delhi, July 26, 2010;

The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur was secretly — and illegally — keeping aside a discretionary admission quota for children of its teachers and staff for over four decades, admitting dozens of students to seats they failed to secure through the IIT-Joint Entrance Examination.

Documents accessed by HT using the RTI Act show the country’s oldest IIT — started in 1951 — blocked 25 per cent of its seats in popular five-year integrated science courses (up to M.Sc level) for handpicked nominees, even as students from the rest of India had to clear the IIT-JEE for admission.

IIT wards merely needed 60 per cent marks in their Class XII Board examination and should have appeared in the IIT-JEE to be eligible for the quota seats, doled out at the institute director’s discretion.

Between 2003 and 2005, those who got in through this illegal quota didn’t even need to appear for the entrance exam.

The secret quota was suspended in 2005, the year the RTI Act was launched, and was abandoned in 2006 under pressure from the Joint Admission Board of all IITs, which organises entrance examination.

“This was the most shameful chapter in the history of the IITs. I tried convincing colleagues to end the quota, but failed,” said a former IIT Kharagpur director who was in charge for several years when the quota was in place.

The IIT admitted 88 students through the secret quota bet-ween 1998 and 2005, including 50 in 2003 and 2004, documents reveal. The quota was never disclosed in admission brochures — unlike all other reservations for backward communities that the IITs have.

The beneficiaries of the secret quota include the children of Madhusudan Chakraborty, now the Director of IIT Bhubaneswar and VK Tewari, the organising chairman of the IIT-JEE in 2006. Chakraborty, who has also been deputy director of IIT Kharagpur, confirmed the discretionary quota to HT but argued: “Not only my son, the sons and daughters of many others in the faculty were also admitted through this quota.”

The IIT has not disclosed exactly when the quota was started, but minutes of an August 16, 1988 board of governors meeting reveal that the quota existed even before the IIT-JEE was started in the mid-1960s.

Should Goa church be brought under RTI ?

Hindustantimes;Indo-Asian News Service;Panaji, July 27, 2010;

Should the church in Goa be brought under the purview of the Right to Information Act? At present, the government says the decision is beyond its authority as the Vatican is a sovereign nation and it is not known if "its institution could be compelled to make their records open to public". A legislative panel has asked the state law department to study the possibility of bringing the office of the Archbishop patriarch of Goa, Daman and Diu within the ambit of the RTI Act within 15 days.

The department said in written reply to the panel: "The Vatican is recognised as a sovereign nation and the pope is the head of that nation. In that sense it is not known how its institution could be compelled to make their records open to public."

The report of the legislative ad hoc committee on law chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Francis D'Souza was tabled on Monday during the ongoing monsoon session of the Goa legislative assembly.

The D'Souza-led committee's decision to recommend the state law department to "make a comprehensive study" and "forward a detailed report to the committee within 15 days" follows a written suggestion by Antonia Michelle Abel.

Abel said that while the state department of law and the judiciary were covered under the RTI Act, the office of the Archbishop should also be treated in a similar manner.

"Archbishop patriarch of Goa, Daman and Diu, Father Filipe Nery Ferrao, ought to open a public information office for the Church laws (Canons) that he follows and respond to applications made under the RTI act for information on the Code of Canon law (legislative document of the Church)," Abel said in her suggestion to the ad hoc committee, which audits the functioning of various government departments and recommends measures to improve their functioning.

Abel in her formal communication to the legislative committee also said the office of the archbishop over the years had failed to formally convey to the pope about Goa's liberation from the Portuguese regime in 1961, which has resulted in a rather piquant situation.

"The Archbishop patriarch of Goa, Daman and Diu was bound to repeal the Portuguese constitution, laws, customs, culture and traditions and report to His Holiness the Pope to come under the constitution of India, Indian laws, customs, culture and traditions for the survival of the Catholic church in Goa," Abel said.

Goa has a population of 30 percent Christians, a majority of whom are Roman Catholics and owe allegiance to the Archbishop patriarch of Goa, Daman and Diu.

Help at hand to make RTI Act easier for common man

TNN, Jul 26, 2010,

LUCKNOW: People who wish to seek information using Right to Information (RTI) Act but do not know how to go about it have several helping hands available now. RTI activists opened a resource centre in Hazratganj last week to help RTI users. The applicants who are from outside Lucknow can approach the Centre for help. Especially when they want to know the status of their RTI applications pending with the government departments or with the State Information Commission (SIC).

The volunteers at the Centre will track the status of the applications and also inform the applicants about the same. The fee charged by the Centre is currently only Rs 10, and even this is optional. Inaugurated last week, it is too early to say how will the Centre fare. But the RTI helpline which was started few months back has started receiving calls from RTI users. "Most of them want to know simple things like how to write an application," said activist Urvashi Sharma.

People can call up at 8081898081 and seek answers to their queries on RTI. It could be anything from filing an application to finding answers to the doubts about the use of the Act. The helpline is not a toll-free number. It is functional between 8.00am to 10.00pm. Besides, it only answers the queries made in either Hindi or English. But more than the helpline number it is the online helpline (aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com) which is getting good response from people. "Sometimes we are unable to give a prompt response to people mailing their queries to us, but we make sure that we provide them the answers," said Sharma.

There is still very little awareness on the Act, though it has been there for the past four years in Uttar Pradesh. Creating awareness on the RTI Act has always been a prime concern and focus of the UP State Information Commission (UPSIC) as well. The concise version of the Act, a booklet popularly called `gutka', has been introduced by commission to explain nitty-gritties of the Act. It explains to the common man, how simple it is to file an RTI application. The booklet has been published in Hindi. More so as the entire Act is available in English, its translation in Hindi is more than needed for UP, where maximum applicants are Hindi-speaking folks.

Anyone can obtain the booklet from the office of the PIO of the commission or that of any of the information commissioners (ICs). The booklet is available free of cost. The commission had published quite a few of such booklets in the past, like ‘Prashnotri' which explained the procedures of disposal of an application and conditions under which a PIO can be fined.

Food grains rot in FCI godowns across India

Indo-Asian News Service;New Delhi, July 27, 2010;

Heaps of food grains are rotting in Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns across the country due to apathetic attitude of the authorities concerned, reveals a right to information (RTI) query. The finding shows that as on Jan 1 this year, 10,688 lakh tonnes of food grains were found damaged in FCI depots, enough to feed over six lakh people for over 10 years.

Between 1997 and 2007, 1.83 lakh tonnes of wheat, 6.33 lakh tonnes of rice, 2.20 lakh tonnes of paddy and 111 lakh tonnes of maize were damaged in different FCI godowns.

“The FCI godowns have enough space to store food grains properly. Yet the grains are rotting in open spaces on their premises while millions are starving. It's a national shame,” said Dev Ashish Bhattacharya, who filed the RTI application on January 6, 2010.

The storing capacity of covered godowns of FCI is around 256.64 lakh tonnes and the total stored stock is around 218.35 lakh tonnes.

This being the overall status, the region-wise data across the country show startling facts that the stocks in FCI covered depots are less as compared to their storage capacities.

In northern region, the total capacity of FCI's covered godowns is 127.48 lakh tonnes, while only 111.22 lakh tonnes of food grains are stored in the region.

In southern region, the total capacity of the covered godowns is 57.39 lakh tonnes while the total stock comes up to 54.24 lakh tonnes.

In the eastern region, the total covered godowns are 23.99 lakh tonnes and the stocks held is just 17.10 lakh tonnes.

In the northeast, 4.48 lakh tonnes can be stored but the available grains are 3.50 lakh tonnes.

The westen region statistics reveal that 43.30 lakh tonnes are the available total covered godowns capacity and the available stocks are just 32.29 lakh tonnes.

“FCI godowns have enough capacity to store large amounts of food grains. Why don't they stock the food grain and why there is a huge quantity of food grain damage? While lakhs of people are starving, the government should be squarely blamed for the mismanagement of foodstock,” said Bhattacharya.

RTI action shows VAT’s what at MG bus station

Express News Service : 27 Jul 2010;

HYDERABAD: Of the 114 shops on the premises of the Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, only two are registered with the department of sales tax. The scenario came to light after an RTI application was filed by one Ganji Srinivas Rao of the Lok Satta Party.

According to Section 17 (7) of the VAT Act, every commercial establishment having an annual income of over Rs 5 lakh should register as a turnover tax (TOT) dealer. If only the monthly licence fee to the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation is taken into account, which ranges from few thousands to Rs 2 lakh, about 40 shops come under the purview of VAT.

However, only two commercial shops are paying tax to the government. This has been going on for the last 16 years and neither have the shops bothered to pay nor officials gone about collecting tax. According to the RTC regional manager, 114 shops are functioning in the MGBS building.

“We wanted to bring to light how the exchequer is losing crores of revenue due to such practices,’’ said Ganji Srinivas. He further said, “If the government can ensure that all commercial establishments pay VAT, it would get more revenues. There is no need for a hike in VAT which has been increased from 12 percent to 14.5 percent, burdening the consumer further.”

Srinivas Rao first made an application to the Gowliguda circle on October 20, 2009 seeking the details. The commercial tax officer replied by saying the MGBS does not fall under its purview. He then made an application to the Afzalgunj circle where again there was no response. After the expiry of time period of 30 days for response, he went for an appeal. Again, he was told the MGBS was not under its purview and they were forwarding the application to the Gowliguda circle, under which it falls. This time, they were forced to divulge the information.

The RTI activist said, “If the situation at a bus station in the capital is like this, you can imagine the situation at bus stations across the state. It could not have happened without some kind of understanding between officials and politicians supporting the shops.’’

CIC wants RTI cell in each ministry

Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times;New Delhi, July 25, 2010;

If the government accepts Central Information Commission’s proposal to have a cell dedicated for Right To Information (RTI) in each ministry, getting a response might become easier. Instead of having one Public Information Officer (PIOs), ministries have designated PIOs for each section, thereby making filing an application under Right To Information a tedious process.

To overcome this problem, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah had proposed a model, where each ministry will have a cell committed to deal with all matters relating to RTI. The model will also suggest ways to improve efficiency of RTI cells already working in ministries such an Environment and Forests.

“All RTI applications will have to be filed with the cell, which will then be forward to the Public Information Officers concerned and will even send them reminders about by when the information has to be provided,” Habibullah told HT.

The cell will also act as an appellate authority for all RTI applications in the ministry.

The transparency watchdog’s proposed model would be similar to the one in United Kingdom, where a dedicated freedom of information office ensures that timely reply is given to each application. The office also decides what information can be put in public domain.

In India, the clog of secrecy is still maintained in a bid to retain bureaucratic power. Even four years after implementing the law, most government ministries have not voluntarily disclosed information as per the RTI law’s Section 4.

“Even simple information regarding procedures have not been disclosed,” said an information commissioner.

Habibullah believes that the RTI cell, whose structure

is yet to be finalised, can improve the government’s record on transparency.

“We will have to see how the cell works in practice. But, the idea is to make seeking information easier for the citizens,” he said.

The proposed RTI cell will be first be set up in ministries of Home Affairs, Finance, Railways, Human Resource Development, State Bank of India and the Delhi Development Authority.

Delhi HC amends rule to provide information under RTI

Sunday, July 25, 2010;

New Delhi: People seeking information from the Delhi high court under the transparency law can now get it throughout the working days and will not have to pay extra charges on account of urgency.

Taking into account the suggestions given by an RTI activist, the High Court has amended its rule and also made it possible to pay the fee towards providing information by way of Indian Postal Order, Demand Draft and Pay Order.

"This court has considered the errors cited by you in your letter in the rules and recommended amendments in the Delhi high court (RTI) Rules, 2006. The same has been notified...and published in the Delhi gazette," a letter communicated to the activist by the high court said.

Earlier RTI activist Anoop Prakash, in his letters to various high courts, has pointed out several rules framed by them under the transparency law which, according to him, were inconsistent with the Right to Information Act.

The Punjab and Haryana high court has already brought changes in its rules and permitted the information seekers to pay for it by way of Demand Drafts, Banker's Cheques and Indian Postal Orders, in addition to payment by cash.

"...the matter was considered by this court and it has been decided that application fee under high court of Punjab and Haryana Right to Information, Rules, 2007 be accepted by way of demand draft, bankers cheques and Indian Postal Orders," the letter communicated to the activist had said.

The activist, a fellow at the centre for civil society, had pointed out that the Delhi high court was levying "exorbitant charges" on each application for providing information besides accepting the fees only by way of cash.

He had said the mode of payment and the timing (11 am to 1 pm) for accepting application had virtually limited the scope of filing application, which was "inconsistent with the objects of the transparency law".

RTI whistleblowers under attack

Nagendar Sharma, Hindustan Times;New Delhi, July 25, 2010;

Two Right to Information (RTI) activists in Gujarat and Maharashtra had striking similarities. Both were fighting to expose corruption and both of them were murdered earlier this year despite having alerted the police about their lives were in danger.

Vishram Laxman Dodiya and Satish Shetty are among the eight whistleblowers who have lost their lives in 2010. The latest victim was the 33 year-old RTI activist, Amit Jethwa, shot dead outside the Gujarat High Court, Ahmedabad, on July 20.

Though the case of Jethwa has received widespread media attention, it has come to light that there have been 20 serious attacks on RTI activists across the country during the first seven months of this year alone. (We take a look at the lesser reported cases.)

The latest attacks have exposed the dangerous aspect of India's landmark transparency law, in less than five years since came into existence in October 2005.

Initially, the citizens and activists faced problems in obtaining information from the government departments in states and at the Centre.

The inconvenient information, which the bureaucracy and the political class wanted to be kept behind iron curtains, has finally started coming out. This, however, has led to a dangerous nexus between corrupt officials, politicians and the mafia, in a bid to stifle the voices of whistleblowers.

The national transparency watchdog, the Central Information Commission (CIC), has admitted that the situation was a cause for concern.

"The effect of RTI is surely visible. Those who don't want the information to come out are obviously resorting to very dangerous means. All of us should put out heads together to find a solution. Those seeking information under RTI can't be hounded," said the CIC chief, Wajahat Habibullah.

Surat-based small shopkeeper, Dodiya (50) lost his life on February 11 following his refusal to withdraw his RTI application seeking information on illegal electricity connections in the city.

Pune-based noted RTI activist, Shetty (38), refused to give up exposing land scams using RTI, despite repeated warnings to his family. He was murdered on January 13.

Activists in Surat recall that Dodiya was a poor man, with no formal education, who sold newspapers and books on a street pavement since many decades, but was widely respected for his habit of helping others.

"He sought information from a private power company, local corporation and the police about the illegal electricity connections in the city," said Deepak Patel of the Surat RTI forum.

He was asked to withdraw the RTI application, since these connections were allegedly for industrial units and illegal liquor manufacturing units, Patel said.

"On the day of his murder, Dodiya was called to the police station in the morning, and officials tried to persuade him to withdraw the RTI application throughout the day. On his refusal, he was shot dead on way back home that evening," his son said.

His family has alleged that Dodiya had informed top police officials of the city about the repeated threats to his life, but no protection was provided.

Shetty, who exposed many land scams in Maharashtra, was killed when he was on a morning walk.

A respected whistleblower, he shot into limelight after he exposed certain corrupt land deals in and around the country's first expressway, the Mumbai—Pune expressway, over a decade ago.

"He quit his studies after class X, since our family was passing through a bad time financially. It was the police harassment of our family, particularly the torture of our younger brother, which turned Satish into a social worker," Sandeep, his younger brother, stated in an e-mail sent to HT.

"RTI came as a big boost for Satish. The case that cost his life was about 1,800 acres of land having been acquired by a company through fraudulent means, and he was getting explosive information from the government records," said Sandeep, whom Satish ensured became an engineer.

Shetty, like Dodiya, had informed the police officials about the danger to his life.

"Satish was aware that he could be attacked or killed, he filed an application for protection with SP rural Pune police, but the protection was never given," said his brother.