State seeks amendment in RTI Act to appoint officiating CIC

Jasneet Bindra: Tue Aug 31 2010 ; Chandigarh:

Move follows request by SIC, who officiated as CIC for nearly 10 months

The Punjab government has sought an amendment to the RTI Act for appointment of officiating chief information commissioner (CIC).

The state has written to the Ministry of Personnel, Grievances and Pensions and the Ministry of Law and Justice, saying that amendment in the Act be carried out so that there is clarity regarding status, salary and allowances given to the officiating CIC.

At present, an officiating CIC is appointed through a routine executive order, which, besides being questionable in itself, creates complications regrading the status and remuneration, the state told both the ministries. However, in response to Punjab’s suggestion, Under-Secretary (RTI), Ministry of Personnel, Grievances and Pensions, R K Girdhar stated that the government was examining the suitability of an amendment.

The Punjab government took up the issue after state information commissioner (SIC) P K Verma, who officiated as the CIC for about ten months, stated that he was entitled to “salary, allowances and other terms and conditions of service laid down for the CIC under Section 16 of the RTI Act”.

He had written this in a letter dated, October 1, 2008, to the then secretary, IT, Punjab, Narinderjit Singh, in which he informed him that he has been officiating as the CIC since August 7, 2008.

When he got no response, he wrote to Punjab IT Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon in February 2009, asserting that even after five months, the orders of the government for his appointment have not been amended to allow his request based on the principle of “equal pay for equal work”.

The government then told Verma that his request could not be acceded to on the basis of a precedent set in case of acting chairman of the Human Rights Commission because in the RTI Act there was no provision for giving an SIC pay of a CIC, whereas in the Protection of Human Rights Act there was provision for appointment of an acting chairman.

However, Verma then clarified that there was no such provision in the Protection of Human Rights Act, too. “The absence of provision in the RTI Act cannot be given as a reason for not sanctioning me the pay and allowances of a CIC,” he wrote to the then Secretary, IT, in May 2009.

He added that accepting his request does not require an “enabling provision in the RTI Act, but only an executive decision based on equity and justice”.

Finally, after more than one and a half year of his raising the request, the government recently wrote to the Centre for an amendment.

Notably, Verma took over as officiating head of the information commission in August 2008, and the present CIC, R I Singh, joined on June 29, 2009, after retiring as the Chief Secretary of Punjab.

While the salary of the CIC comprises a fixed basic pay of Rs 90,000 plus allowances, all the SICs get basic pay of Rs 80,000 plus allowances. The functions of a CIC include general superintendence, direction and management of affairs of the commission and taking cognizance of appeals and complaints and their disposal, besides submission of annual report to the government, while an SIC takes cognizance of appeals and complaints and their disposal. Punjab has one of the biggest information commissions in the country with nine SICs and a CIC.

One link to RTI window

The Punjab government has started a one-stop link to all the department on its website to facilitate filing of RTI applications. Proactive disclosures, Acts, rules, notification, schemes and policies of the government, besides state and Central Acts and rules and district gazetteers have been put up on the website. A citizen can log on the government website www.punjabgovt.gov.in and click on the RTI link. The window that opens highlights a link www.punjabgovt.gov.in/punjabrti/index.html, which has required details of all the departments, making it easier for a citizen to file an RTI.

Courts should be proactive on RTIs

DNA ; Tuesday ; Aug 31, 2010 : Mumbai ;

When it comes to addressing the concerns of the common man, the higher courts generally come off smelling of roses. But not when it comes to the Right to Information Act (RTI). For one, the Supreme Court itself is fighting shy of disclosures and has appealed against a Delhi high court verdict in this regard despite warnings from former chief justices not to do so.

For another, courts are now proving to be drag on swift information disclosures under the Act, according to chief information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi.

The RTI Act is one of the best pieces of pro-citizen legislation we have seen. It empowers the individual against the politician-bureaucrat nexus. It allows the small man to question the actions of the big, whether it is about how money is spent on projects, or why they take inordinately long to complete. At the micro level, it enables the citizen to check the progress on things that matter to him: what’s happening to my ration card or passport application?

In the initial years, the Act had had a salutary effect. Fearing

exposure of their mistakes or incompetence, many officials made an effort to make sure that RTI submissions didn’t show them up short. Fear of the RTI also pressured many bureaucrats to do their jobs diligently. But now the empire has begun to strike back.

Some bureaucrats have now chosen to go to court to avoid having to disclose information. This has had the net effect of scuttling the intent of the RTI Act.

Given that India has some three crore pending cases in courts, the easiest option for a bureaucrat seeking to avoid a particular RTI application is to get a stay order. There is always a good chance that his case will disappear under the haystack of pending cases. Once the matter ends up in court, it falls upon the applicant to get a favourable order to send the RTI application back to the official for the information sought. This only increases the applicant’s burden.

There is no doubt that some RTI applications need to be examined by the courts on whether the information sought is within the jurisdiction of the Act. But they need to fast-track such applications, and, when necessary, come down heavily on bureaucrats whose intent was to delay things. Only by doing so will our judiciary be seen as being on the side of the ordinary citizen.

Are collapsible grille doors in elevators safe ?

Times of India ; Anil Singh ; Aug 31, 2010 ;

MUMBAI: Obsolete elevator technology, which still operates in the absence of updated rules, is responsible for Mankhurd schoolboy Jalaluddin Ansari losing his hand in a lift accident on Sunday.

The lift in which the accident took place has a collapsible grille door, which most elevator firms have phased out because of safety concerns. As Ansari's case shows, these lifts are unsafe for kids. But since there is no rule banning such lifts, they continue to be installed. "The Bombay Lifts Act is 71 years old while the Lift Rules are 52 years old,'' said RTI activist Mohammed Afzal, who has filed a PIL on the elevator safety issue.

Through the RTI Act, he found out that 35 people had died in lift accidents in the Mumbai-Pune belt between May 2002 and August 2009. Following his PIL, the state set up a panel on the safety of lifts in April this year. The committee has yet to submit its report.

Ansari, a Std VI student of Lotus Colony municipal Urdu school, lives in a cluster of seven-storey buildings on Ghatkopar-Mankhurd Link Road. These buildings were built five years ago for those who were displaced by MMRDA projects.

"No one can use the lift till 8.30 am as the same power connection is used to pump water,'' said Ansari's uncle, Abrar Quadri. At 8 am on Sunday, the lift was on the first floor and the door was closed. "Ansari tried to press the `door open' button by putting his hand through the grille. However, he pressed the fifth floor button and the lift started moving, dragging the boy with it,'' said Quadri, who is also the chairperson of the society.

As a result Ansari's left hand was severed. "The bone was exposed and flesh around it was hanging loose,'' said Quadri. Ansaris neighbours point out that lifts in similar resettlement colonies in Wadala and Antop Hill have safer doors.

According to R R Patil of Royal Elevators and president of the Elevator Association of Maharashtra, elevators with grilles allow better ventilation if the lift is stuck between two floors. In lifts where the metal door shuts, people who are trapped tend to panic. Patil added that the biggest problem is the absence of trained technicians. The lifts department sent its officials to inspect the elevator at Ansari's building on August 23. "It had been fixed just four days ago and technicians said it would take three to four days to function smoothly,'' said Quadri. The lift has been shut down after Sunday's accident.

Constitution Club stonewalls RTI queries on its functioning

New Delhi, Aug 30 (PTI)

The Constitution Club has stonewalled efforts to scrutinise its funding and functioning under the Right to Information Act saying it does not come under the ambit of the transparency law.

The Delhi-based Club has submitted before the Central Information Commission that it is not a public body but a "society" under the Societies Registration Act, hence not liable for responding to queries under the law.

"The Constitution Club is neither an institution constituted or established ''by or under'' the Constitution or by a central or state legislation.

"Also no notification has been passed by any appropriate government as yet and even if any such notification has been passed even then under sub-clause (d) of clause (h) of Section 2 of the RTI Act, the appropriate government can include an institution within the scope of public authority only it is owned, controlled or substantially financed, directly or indirectly funded by the appropriate government," it said.

The case relates to queries raised by transparency activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal who had sought to know from the Club information about funding, functioning and facilities availed by its members in a 45-point questionnaire.

He also sought to know if the Club gets funding from Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the extent of such funding.

When the club did not send any reply within the mandated 30-day period under the RTI Act, Agrawal filed a complaint with the Central Information Commission.

The Club manager Arvind Kumar submitted his reply in response to show cause notice issued by the Commission. He cited a number of cases of different High Courts and State Information Commissions to buttress his point.

The club membership comprises of sitting and former members of Parliament. It was constituted in 1947 for the benefit of the members of Indian Constituent Assembly and was registered under the Societies Registration Act in 2001. PTI ABS

City 13-yr-old raped, killed on school trip

Sandhya Nair, TNN, Aug 30, 2010 ;

MUMBAI: A sinister shroud covered the death of a 13-year-old student during a school trip in the Tungareshwar jungles in Vasai on Friday with post-mortem reports establishing rape. Police had initially registered a case of accidental death after her naked body was found floating in a river.

Vishwas Nangre Patil, superintendent of police, Thane (rural), confirmed the development. "We have sought an explanation from the doctors on the kind of sexual harassment the victim faced as borne out by the post-mortem. Based on that we will include the rape charge," said Patil.

Aishwarya Pawar, a Class VIII student of Holy Cross High School in Nirmal, Nalasopara (west), was part of a group of around 150 boys and girls who had gone to the Tungareshwar hills on Friday as part of a scouts and guides camp organised by the school. They were accompanied by four teachers.

At around 1.30 pm, when the teachers were taking a head count of the students, they found Aishwarya missing. After a search, they found her body 3 km inside the jungle floating in the river.

The police registered a case of accidental death on their report. But the post-mortem at the Vasai public health centre by a panel of three doctors established rape. According to sources, the victim had injury marks on her private parts and thighs.

Following this, police registered a case of murder and destruction of evidence, but did not add the rape charge, prompting Aishwarya's family to protest.

The victim's uncle, Surendra Pawar, a sub-inspector attached to the Meghwadi police station, along with her parents, has approached police bosses and also sought a copy of the post-mortem report under the Right to Information Act.

The police have begun investigations and are trying to ascertain how Aishwarya strayed into the jungles. They suspect she may have been raped and murdered by picnickers. They are also questioning the teachers who gave the drowning theory.

The police have stepped up vigil in and around the Tungareshwar hills, which is a popular destination for camping and trekking during the monsoons.

RTI activist found dead in M’rashtra

Deccan Herald ; Mumbai, Aug 29, 2010 ;

A whistleblower who had exposed corruption in PDS, foodgrain and fuel distribution in the Marathwada region using the Right to Information (RTI) Act was found dead in mysterious circumstances in Nanded, the home town of the Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.

The activist—43-year-old Ramdas Ghadegavkar— was a local Shiv Sena leader also involved in exposing corruption in PDS and other social activities. He had exposed the thriving sand mafia in the region through the RTI Act. His complaint had led the district administration to initiate action on the issue.

The Nanded police have have registered a case of "sudden death", after Ramdas' body was discovered late Friday night in Mondha area, the state police control here said on Sunday.

Preliminary post-mortem report revealed excess alcohol in his body, police said. His brother told the police that the RTI activist had left home around 8 am on Friday and never returned.

It is not clear whether the political rivalry or his RTI activities was behind the death. The police are investigating the matter.

Last month, an RTI activist Amit Jethwa from Gujarat was killed right in front of the Gujarat High Court for exposing illegal mining in the Gir forest. A BJP MP and his nephew from the area are suspects in the murder. Maharashtra itself tops in the killings of whistleblowers with five deaths, including that of Ramdas, this year alone. On the nation-wide scale, it would be the ninth killing of an RTI activist.

Two days on, no headway in RTI activist's death in Nanded

By Arif Shaikh ; Monday, Aug 30, 2010 ; Mumbai ;DNA ;

Two days after the suspected murder of Right to Information (RTI) activist Ramdas Patil Gadegaonkar, the Nanded police are still clueless about the killers. The body of Gadegaonkar, who took on the sand mafia and made them pay a huge penalty, was found under the Hingoli bridge here on Friday night.

The Shivajinagar police said they had registered a case but were yet to ascertain whether it was a case accidental death or one of murder. The post-mortem report has not brought out anything conclusive.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Shiv Sena workers  Gadegaonkar was Shiv Sena worker for a long time led by the party’s district president Hemant Patil met the superintendent of police, Nanded, Sandeep Karnik on

Sunday and submitted a memorandum demanding immediate arrest of those responsible for the death of the activist.

Gadegaonkar had recently started a massive movement against the sand mafia in Nanded. The district authorities had recently recovered a penalty of nearly Rs7 lakh from illegal operators in sand after being alerted by him.

Vijay Kumbhar, a Pune-based RTI activist, said, “Ramdas Gadegaonkar was not an RTI activist per se. He was a Shiv Sena member fighting on the issue of the sons of the soil. An old crusader, his fight centred around illegal encroachments, land acquisition and the activities of the sand mafia. He also took up corruption issues consistently.”

Shiv Sena district chief Hemant Patil on Sunday demanded that the case be handed over to CID. He said the Nanded police still was clueless as to who committed the murder.

Babus can take a call to make assets public

Chetan Chauhan ; Hindustan Times ; New Delhi ; August 29, 2010 ;

Top Indian bureaucrats will now have to inform the government whether they want people to know about their assets in a bid to improve transparency in governance. The Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the Department of Personnel and Training to ask every secretary whether information about their holdings can be disclosed under the Right To Information Act.

Each bureaucrat has to submit details about his or her assets to the government on a periodic basis. However, the information cannot be made public until the official authorises the declaration.

According to the law, only those contesting elections are required to submit details of their assets to the government at the time of filing nominations. Even election commissioners had refused to disclose their assets' details saying it is not mandatory under any law.

Some government functionaries, including a few municipal commissioners in Maharashtra and information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, have voluntarily declared their assets. They said it will promote transparency in government functioning.

Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, in an order said this week, said the property statements of individuals serving in government are part of government records and cannot be treated as held in confidence. As it is private information, prior approval of the officials, whose information is held, will have to be obtained before disclosing it, he said.

The CIC was hearing an appeal against the department by journalist Shyam Lal Yadav for not providing the information on assets of secretary-level officials of the government of India.

While setting aside the department's decision, the CIC said the department will have to issue notices to the secretary-level officials in the next five days on whether they have any reservation on disclosing their personal information. If the officials fail to respond to the notice within 10 days of receiving it, the information sought by Yadav will have to be provided.

32 babus, RTI activists angling for CIC post

Times of India ; Dipak Kumar Dash ; TNN, Aug 30, 2010 ;

NEW DELHI: From retired and serving babus to journalists to even RTI activists and academicians, everyone seems to be angling for the posts of chief information commissioner (CIC) and information commissioners (ICs). In a delicious irony, all the names have come out in an RTI reply.

Replying to an RTI plea filed by Mannish Bhatnagar, the department of personnel and training said 32 names were received for the posts of CIC and ICs since October 2009. While most of these were applications from those interested, there were recommendations from the PMO, a governor, and Cabinet and junior ministers. Half of them have applied for the post of CIC.

While the Tamil Nadu governor recommended Tajinder Singh Bedi, a bureaucrat, for the CIC's post, the PMO recommended one Ravi Sawney for this post. The name of a journalist was recommended by the minister of parliamentary affairs and water resources and the Patna MLA Dr Ashok Kumar.

Besides bureaucrats and social workers, entrepreneurs have also applied for this post. Former cop Kiran Bedi's name was recommended by Faridabad Congress Committee and Rashtrawadi Ulema-e-Hind.

Some of the bureaucrats who have applied for the IC's post include A K Jain, Nripendra Misra, Sachi Chaudhuri, A K Banerjee and S P Gaur. MoS for rural development has recommended the name of Deepankar Mukhopadhyay. Two prominent RTI activists Subhash Chandra Agrawal and Krishnaraj Rao also figure in the list.

A three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, leader of opposition and a central minister nominated by PM will select the CIC and ICs. While the CIC's post has to be filled by September-end, one post of IC is vacant and two members are about to retire.

Colour stickers to beat RTI !

TNN, Aug 29, 2010 ;

HYDERABAD: A steady rise in the awareness levels about the Right to Information Act (RTI) among the general public has forced babus to adopt the use of multi-coloured stick-notes (small glued sheets or post-its) on all files and petitions processed at the state secretariat. This way, there will neither be any record of favouritism shown to any issue nor evidence of any irregularity in the speedy clearance of a certain file as all the stickable notes can be removed in case of an RTI query, sources said.

As per government rules, all files have to contain relevant notings on the papers itself and not on a stick-note. "No file can be circulated without notings (observations) at various levels in the hierarchy. Of late, we are seeing files endorsed by some ministers or higher officials using the stick-note labels," an officer said.

This practice is common in revenue-generating departments like revenue, industries, information technology, municipal administration and urban development, roads and buildings, civil supplies and irrigation. These stick-notes are available in various colours like regular green, blue, yellow, purple and pink. They also use fluorescent colours of orange, yellow, green and pink for subtle differentiation.

Though these stickers do not form part of the business rules of the secretariat office manual, their use has definitely been on the higher side for the last couple of years. Historically, these multi-coloured stick-notes gained prominence in the early 1990s and reached their peak during the previous Congress regime, especially in the chief minister's office. Bureaucrats contend that there is nothing new in this. "When you are not clear about what to write or decide on an issue, a stick-note is used as a temporary measure. The ultimate decision has to be written clearly in any case," a bureaucrat explained.

Official sources said the multi-coloured stick-notes have specific purpose within each department, more so in the CM's office. " Colour coding indicates that a specific file is being perused by a particular minister\officer (obviously with a vested interest). A particular coloured stick-note label is affixed to the file so that it is not handled by anyone else," a mid-level bureaucrat revealed. However, the use of coloured pens for file notings has long been a practice followed by several disciplined officers, including the chief secretary. Their significance still holds lot of weight as any noting in black usually means negative, blue means neutral, green means clear and magenta means relaxation of rules.

Rather Sahab's RTI

GreaterKashmir.com (press release) ;SRINAGAR, MONDAY ; 30 AUGUST 2010 ;

Could you imagine that if someone tries to use his democratic right he will be roughed up. That may not happen anywhere else, but in Kashmir it does happen. I wonder what RTI Rather Sahab is talking about? We once tried and in return got treated like criminals. And the best part is that all this happened in his own assembly constituency,Shahnawaz Wani and Nazir Ahmed Ganai respond to the recent statement of Finance Minister which he made while reacting to PDP allegations .

This refers to the statement of Finance Minister Mr A R Rather while responding to the allegations made by Peoples Democratic Party regarding the CM's involvement in corruption and misappropriation of public money. Mr Rather in his press conference said that people can seek information about these allegations under Right to Information Act (RTI Act). I don't know whether the PDP's allegation is correct or fabricated but one thing i want to ask Mr Rather is that we also tried to use RTI to seek information regarding various works executed in his assembly constituency but unfortunately five of our friends were put behind the bars some months back. We were handcuffed and paraded in the Chadoora town as if we were some dreaded criminals. There are fabricated charges such as theft, loot arson etc which are still pending against us in the court. What was our sin ? We were trying to create awareness about RTI law in Rather sahib's assembly constituency but this was never liked by his party workers who feel they will be exposed. If the Government is really sincere about RTI where is the State Chief Information Commission (SCIC) ? It is nearly one and a half year now since the J&K RTI Act 2009 got enacted but the State Information Commission is still headless. There are hundreds of cases where people need to file complaints and appeals in the State Information Commission but where is this Commission ? I also want to ask Mr Rather how much money he has allotted for the RTI awareness in state by Finance Deptt ? Not a single penny has been spent on RTI awareness since this new Law was enacted in March 2009. This was revealed after some questions were asked by a Panthers' Party MLA during the last assembly session in Jammu. RTI is a toothless tiger in J&K and Government must not make any hue and cry about this any more.

Youth Net-ASU conduct public hearing under RTI

MorungExpress ; Kohima ; August 29 :

Social Audit/Public Hearing under Right to information Act was held Saturday at Kohima, organized by Angami Students’ Union (ASU) and Youth Net, funded by Government of Nagaland. A forerunner of the RTI movement in India and Magsaysay Awardee, Arvind Kejriwal of Parivatan, graced the day long programme. The chair of panel included Dr. Vinito Chishi, State Coordinator Nagaland Legislative Assembly forum for HIV, Mr. Achumbemo Kikon, former president NSF, Kzhrielevi Chusi, President, Angami Youth Organization and Neithonuo Sothu, legal advisor, Angami women organization. Member, Nagaland Information Commission, Dr. Kuhoi Zhimo attended the programme as Special Observer.

Panel of judges and participants
during the Social Audit/Public Hearing
under RTI for Naga Hospital
Authority Kohima on Saturday.

The co-operation of the Naga Hospital Authority Kohima, (NHAK) was evident by the presence the Managing Director, Medical Superintendent and Doctor in charge. It is reported to be the fifth public hearing for the Youth Net on four departments, Health & Family Welfare, Education, Power and Roads Bridges. ASU and Youth Net had checked and verified on documents related to NHAK two days earlier before the public hearing.

It was informed that three applications were submitted to NHAK, on General Management/Administration, Intensive Care Unit and Save a Life Pharmacy.

Youth Net and ASU on cross verification through social auditing and public hearing discovered that after NHAK has been given autonomous status by the State Government, district funds for the hospital had been stopped even though it continued to play the dual function of a District Hospital as well. The Youth Net and ASU, while checking the information received from the ICU department, wanted to know why the ICU at NHAK was charging more than or at par with the charges in the private run Hospitals, given that the set up had been sponsored fully by the NEC. Deputy Director, ICU, Dr Sentimeren Aonok responded with a statement that “it is a self sustaining unit, which generates income to pay its own staffs and for its own maintenance”.

The charges are fixed by the governing authority and it was also learnt that the patients at the ICU are provided with medicine at 50% to 100% discount. It was also learnt that good number of patients leave without clearing dues after signing a document with a guarantor and surprisingly, the patients on cross verification admitted in some cases. On the query on the reason for pending bills that amounted to 38 lakhs and free services of 10 lakhs, NAHK clarified that Legal Action is being planned against the defaulters. Doubtful discrepancies were also detected in the Save a Life Pharmacy. According to Youth Net and ASU, it was learnt that starting from March 2009 - March 2010 a sale of Rs.1.88 crore was made, out of which a profit of 27 lakhs was incurred.

Responding to the RTI Application on the profit margin earned from the medicines and surgical items, the concerned authority mentioned 16-18% profit for medicine sale proceeds and 20-25% for surgical items.

On consultation with experts, medicine profit percentage is found to be normal; however, experts differed with the 20-25% for surgical items. According to the pharmacist, for a huge institution like NHAK, Save a Life Pharmacy it cannot be less than 100% profit.

It was also learned that surgical items constitutes about 15% of the total sale proceeds daily. Therefore the overall profit percentage should not be less than 30%. As a result the profit shown as 27 lakhs is not more than half the actual profit.

The Officer In Charge informed the gathering that 2% discount is provided for all the general patients, 5-10% discount for all the cancer patients, which in the case of very expensive cancer medicines, the discount is provided even upto 32%. Towards this effect, Dr. Vinito Chishi opined that such discounts are needed for serving the suffering patients.

He further said that a proper uniform system should be in place so that there is no communication gap.

The general authority was queried on whether there is uniform yardstick applied to the poor patients/Below poverty line (BPL) on how to get free medical services, it was found that there is no such strict criteria, rather the management when reports come from the Doctors on the economic conditions of the patients they grant such free facility.

On proper cross verification, it was revealed that many Above Poverty Line (APL) patients also avail the same free service by putting pressure on the management.

Dr. Vinito, stressed on the need to be strict and to avoid the so called ‘VIP/VVIP’s unnecessary intervention’ especially when it comes to availing discounts and payment. The President AYO without mincing word said; “BPL should be BPL and Above Poverty Line should be APL” and felt that this trend should be stopped.

One very interesting aspect was discussed on the utilization of the NEC Fund of 4.55 crores. The NHA had diverted about 1.9 crores for other infrastructural component instead of buying the machineries. The reason was under the NEC fund, component for building was not there, whereas NHA was in dire need for rooms for the equipments, therefore it was diverted. However no written letter permission was obtained for the same, but only verbal assurance was made. The Managing Director clarified that there was no component in the NEC Fund for construction; however, he had asked the joint team of YouthNet and ASU to apply RTI application to the NEC on the matter.

Arvind Kejriwal summed up the session with suggestions that upholding the section of RTI Act, NHA can furnish such information in their website, so that through pro-active disclosure of information, the people of Nagaland are informed on Pending Bills, Minutes of Meetings of all the Governing Board sittings, Monthly receipt and expenditure statement, Procurement and disbursal of medicines and surgical instruments etc.

The meeting was attended by hundreds of people. People whom this correspondent talked to felt that such exercise in a democratic set up with the cooperation of the departments/public sectors should be conducted from time to time in the interest of all, especially the public who are the ‘main but ignorant stakeholders of the society’.

Orissa Govt to collect fine from officials who fails to implement RTI

Orissadiary ; Sunday, August 29, 2010 ; Bhubaneswar :

The Public Information Officers (PIOs) neglecting to provide informations as per the Right to Information Act will be held responsible and the fine will be collected from their salary. The Finance department has sent a circular in this respect to all administrative departments.

The Right to Information introduced in the state during the year 2005. After introduction of the Act , a responsible officer has been appointed as Public Information Officer to provide information to the public under the Act. As per the rules of the Act. The informations to be given to the applicant within 30days of apply. If he fails to do so, should intimate the matter to the applicant. If it is not under his control, should intimate to the higher officer.

If fails to give the required information within the stipulated period, has to provide compenisation to the applicant. As it has to be borne from the government funds due to negligency of the concerned IPO. It has to be collected from concerned officers. The state Information Commission has fixed fine in 226 cases. Out of which , the fine has been given in 137 cases. The drawing disbursement officers has been directed by the finance department to collect this amounts from the salary of the concerned officers.

Paradip : Sunday about 1.10pm all of sudden a cyclone hit Padadip. As per the report many trees has been damaged and many shops has been affected. Badapadia market has been destroyed. The vendors shops has been damaged. Many peoples are now sheltered in the open sky. Local legislature and Agriculture Minister Dr Damodar Rout has discussed with the Collector to provide them temporary shelter some where and to arrange for their food.

Khar hotel faces closure following residents’ RTI

Mumbai Mirror ; Geeta Desai ; Sunday, August 29, 2010 ;

After 10 non-cognisable complaints and four FIRs, tenants now found that the hotel did not have necessary permits; owners, however, say that the MTDC licence is enough

A hotel in Khar will have to shut shop after residents of the building in which it is located, and the local mohalla committee, with the help of an RTI, brought it to the notice of the authorities that it did not have the necessary permissions to operate.

Accordingly, on August 14, the police slapped a notice of closure on Hotel Red Palm Residency, under Section 81 of the Police Act.

Supported by Mohalla Committee Movement Trust (MCMT), the tenants of the society where the hotel is situated at Guru Gobind Singh Road in Khar (W), allege that it has been creating a nuisance ever since it came up in 2003.

One tenant, who owns a shop on the ground floor, was asked to evict, but refused. “We’ve been conducting our business since 1994.

The hotel owners even erected a boundary wall, leaving only 3-ft space. This blocked access to our shop,” said Sanjay Kothari.

The long-drawn battle with the hotel owners has seen 10 non-cognisable complaints and four FIRs recorded against hotel owner Sanjeev Chaddha by the residents.

The licence department of H-West Ward says it never issued any licence for the hotel to operate, and neither has the medical officer of health cleared it. The fire brigade too said that it had not issued an NOC.

When contacted, a lawyer of Sanjeev Chaddha, advocate Rajesh Sawant claimed that the hotel has all licences in place.

When asked about specific licences required for a hotel (lodging-boarding), Sawant said they have MTDC permission to operate four rooms (eight beds).

Elaborating, he said that MTDC considers eight beds as eight rooms, and hence the hotel does not require any BMC licences, nor does it require an NOC from the fire brigade. Even a police licence is not required,” he said.

When told that it was alleged that MTDC had cancelled the permissions in June, Sawant claimed that the same had been renewed in August.

However, Aftab Siddique, a member of MCMT said, “We have all the proof under RTI. They cannot run such a hotel without proper licences. Even the police have issued a notice of closure to the hotel.”

But Sawant countered Siddique’s argument. “We have replied to the police that Section 81 (1) under which the closure notice is served, cannot be applicable to us. We have an MTDC licence.”

Rosary has not submitted audit report since 2002, reveals RTI

Express News Service : Sat Aug 28 2010 ; Pune :

Ashok Bamboli, founder-president of the Pune City Parents’ Association (PCPA) today alleged at a press conference today that there is ‘no transparency in the working of the Rosary School.’

Bamboli said that being an unaided minority school, the institute is supposed to submit an audit account to the Charity Commissioner but the school has not submitted its audit since 2002.

“The school has been extracting all the benefits that a minority school is supposed to get from the government, be it in electricity or water bills. But the school has been ignoring the part where they have to submit an account to the Charity Commissioner. The school has not been submitting this acccount for the past eight years,” alleged Bamboli.

He said that he came to know of this with the help of a Right To Information(RTI) petition flied withthe information officer at the office of the Charity Commission. “Apart from Rosary, there are almost eight to ten schools that have not submitted their reports as well. I, as a member of the PCPA, demand that an enquiry be made into this matter,” he said.

Bamboli also said that out of the 180 unaided schools in the city, more than 40 schools have come together to form the PCPA. “I urge parents of other schools also to join us so that we have a common voice for all our grievances,” added Bamboli.

Govt mum on guv’s RTI queries

Anil Singh, TNN, Aug 28, 2010 ;

MUMBAI: In a case which shows how casually the state government treats the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the governor himself has not received any answer to his queries on the procedure for removal of state information commissioners. Six months and two reminders later, the first citizen of the state is still waiting for a reply from the state.

Governor K Sankaranarayanan had been petitioned by RTI users, dissatisfied with the orders of Chief Information Commissioner Suresh Joshi and some of the five state information commissioners, to take action against them under Rule 17 of the RTI Act, 2005.

This rule says that information commissioners can be removed from office only by order of the governor on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity after the Supreme Court, on a reference made to it by the governor, has on inquiry, reported that they ought on such ground be removed. There is no precedent to this.

Shrikant Deshpande of the governor's secretariat wrote to chief secretary J P Dange on March 6, saying that the governor "desires to have a clarification'' on the procedure for removal of information commissioners.

The correspondence between the governor and the state government was provided to Navi Mumbai activist Santosh Shukla in reply to his RTI query to the governor about the number and nature of complaints against information commissioners, including Joshi.

The RTI reply to Shukla said that these complaints had gone up from 11 in 2007 to 53 in 2009. This year, 61 complaints had been received till mid-August. The common grievance is that information commissioners do not implement the RTI Act properly. "For instance, hardly any public information officers have been penalized for deliberately hiding information,'' said activist G R Vora.

Although the government can appoint an eminent public personality knowledgeable about law, science and technology, journalism or administrative affairs as information commissioner, it prefers retired bureaucrats; five of the six commissioners are bureaucrats.

If an applicant is dissatisfied with the order of the information commissioner, he has no recourse but to approach the high court.

Cop fined '25K under RTI Act

Pinaki Das, TNN, Aug 28, 2010 ;

HOWRAH: A sub-inspector with Howrah Police has been slapped a fine of `25,000 under the Right to Information (RTI) Act for furnishing misleading information. The West Bengal Information Commission found A K Maity guilty of "falsehood" in his reply to an RTI application that sought details of a robbery case the officer had investigated.

"Maity's falsehood glaringly testifies his malafide intention in providing misleading information," the Commission said.

On May 7, 2005, some important documents and a mobile phone had been stolen from the apartment of ASI Mousumi Banerjee in the complex inside Howrah police station. Chandan Chatterjee, who lives next to the police compound, was an eyewitness.The ASI, then posted in Golabari, lodged a complaint and Maity was given the case. In an alleged bid to hush up the case, Maity filed a final report before Howrah's chief judicial magistrate on December 31, 2005, stating no evidence was found in the complaint.

The clinching evidence was a document in which the IO records his meeting with Chatterjee on January 3, 2006 to get his account of the incident three days after submitting the final report.

Now, your RTI complaint is sure to be registered

TNN, Aug 28, 2010 ;

LUCKNOW: In order to provide respite to applicants, the Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission (UPSIC) has taken a positive step. The complaints made by the applicants will be heard in the commission in all instances.

The chief information commissioner (CIC), UP, has issued an order in this regard saying that complaints made at the commission by applicants be examined and registered under section 18 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, for further action on them. The CIC has also directed information commissioners (ICs) that notice be sent to the public information officer (PIO) of the department, against which the complaint has been made.

The RTI applicants whose complaints were not heard and sent to the departments as first appeals were facing delay and difficulties. The CIC, therefore, has issued an order saying that PIO should be asked by the commission to provide information to the applicant within the specified time.

And if the officer is unable to provide the information within the specified time period then the applicant should be informed about it. Besides, the order also says applicant should be given a reason by the PIO for delay in providing the information.

When contacted, ICs agreed that in most cases complaints are heard. And in certain cases if complaints are sent back as first appeals to the department, it is done only after hearing has taken place. Commission cannot refuse to hear complaints as that is provided under the Act, was the common opinion. On the other hand, RTI activists are of the opinion that in some cases, UPSIC was not accepting complaints under section 18 of the Right To Information Act. On the contrary, complaints sent to the commission by applicants were being converted into first appeal under section 19(1) of the Act. The appeal was then sent to the first appeals authority of the department and the complaint was disposed of in first hearing.

"Applicants were a harassed lot due to this," said activist, Urvashi Sharma.

In case, first appeals authority did not respond to the appeal, applicants had no option but to move second appeal to the commission and wait for hearing.

The activists had taken up the issue with UPSIC, the governor and the chief ministers' office. The commission finally has taken note of the activists' complaint and issued the order. It has therefore, been made compulsory that complaints of applicants be heard.

When knowledge is power

Deccan Herald ; Saturday 28 August 2010 ;

Mamta Jaitly meets the women of Vijaypura, a tiny hamlet in Rajasthan, who are using the RTI Act to transform their lives

It was from the state of Rajasthan that the Right to Information (RTI) movement emerged as an idea that went on to draw national attention. But few panchayats (local self-government village bodies) in the state have used the RTI to change the lives of people as effectively as Vijaypura in Rajsamand district.

Vijaypura has emerged victorious on two fronts. It has been able to implement the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) with a certain degree of transparency, accountability and efficiency, rarely witnessed elsewhere. It has also been able to help many single women living in extreme penury to derive monetary benefits from the food and social security schemes.

The credit for Vijaypura’s success should rightly go to the dynamic young Kaluram Salvi, who decided to use the RTI Act to ensure that people got their entitlements. It helped, of course, that Salvi was a full-time member with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), the organisation that began the RTI movement in India.

Significantly, although Kaluram is a Dalit and was entitled to a reserved seat, he stood for the sarpanch’s post from a general seat with just Rs 700 for campaign funds. Salvi’s integrity was the key to his electoral victory. He also promised the community that, if he won, all the information relating to the panchayat will be made available to its members.

Kaluram kept his word. One of the first things he did after he became sarpanch was to put up boards all over the panchayat that encourages the villagers to come forward and utilise the benefits of the RTI Act.

Women’s equality was an important principle for Kaluram. He advocated women sitting on par with men on the hathai — a raised common platform where public meetings usually take place. He began this practice first in his own village of Narayan ka Bida.

Though women were reluctant initially, it was Maani Bai (70), who finally broke the old tradition. Maani Bai called out to each of the women in the village by name and invited them to join her. This symbolic move was the beginning of a campaign to mobilise the women of Vijaypura to participate in panchayat activities.

When the women of Keeton ka Badiya complained that their ration dealer did not open his shop on time or provide rations on time, Kaluram promptly sent him a notice asking him to be present at the panchayat’s meeting. When the dealer refused to accept the notice, he was ordered to pay up a fine of Rs 200 for contempt of the gram panchayat’s orders under Section 62 of the Panchayati Raj Act. The dealer had no option but to fall in line.

Thus began the reformation process of the public distribution system in Vijaypura. Kaluram encouraged women in his panchayat to use the RTI Act against ration dealers if people did not get their rations on time. The impact of the move was instant and extremely effective.

Today, Kaluram is no longer the sarpanch. His wife Rukmani has taken over the responsibilities. But the flow of RTI applications has not diminished in any way. At least 40 women have used the RTI Act to get their entitlements. Take the case of Patasi Devi (60), who lives in Cheta Aasan village. This widow was not given wheat from the ration shop until a few months ago. Kaluram suggetsed that she write to the local ration dealer, Ashok Jain, under the RTI Act. Since then, Patasi has been receiving 25 kilos of wheat as she is on the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list.

Sahu Bai, who lives in the same village as Patasi Devi, has benefitted from the RTI Act. Since her name is on the BPL list, ever since she applied for information under the RTI Act, she has been getting 25 kilos of wheat every month.

Teju and Dakhu Bai are widows living in Narayanji ka Bida village in Vijaypura. Dakhu Bai was once married to Netaram, while Teju happened to be his elder brother’s wife. After his elder brother’s death, Netaram took Teju under his wing (symbolically, with an offering of bangles) and thereby she too acquired the status of his wife. After Netaram’s death, they received a widow’s pension just once. After making an application under the RTI Act, the payment process was resumed. Today, they dearly hold on to the documents, which are carefully preserved.

Champa, the wife of the late Goma Bagariya, lives in Kamli Ghat in the same panchayat. She is an elderly woman. After applying for a pension fund under the RTI Act, she has received a sum of Rs 2,250 as pension for the months of April, May and June 2010.

The RTI movement had emerged from this very soil. The MKSS, also based in Rajasthan’s Rajsamand district, had campaigned in this region on the slogan, ‘Hum Janenge, Hum Jiyenge’ (We Will Know, We Will Live). For the single and marginalised women of Vijaypura panchayat, it is nothing less than a lifeline.

Vijaypura is a long way from New York, USA, where world leaders will gather in September to mark the progress on the Millennium Development Goals. Yet, the effective way in which it used to change the lives of many women, could inspire others living in pockets of deprivation, neglect and corruption in other parts of the world.

Defence Minister to meet Captain Sumit Kohli's family

NDTV ; August 28, 2010 ;

New Delhi: Defence Minister AK Antony will meet Shaurya Chakra awardee Captain Sumit Kohli's family on Saturday.

The mystery behind Captain Sumit Kohli's death still remains unraveled. The Army's court of inquiry now says that Captain Kohli's death was a case of suicide.

However, the family doesn't believe in the inferences being provided by the Army. It has been raising several questions ever since the news of their son's death came out.

The Army didn't provide the Captain's family with any document pertaining to his death. The family had procured documents after filing an RTI application.

Now, the family that doesn't believe that its son could have committed suicide, looks forward to some breakthrough in the case after meeting the Defence Minister.

Are we waiting for another landslide ?

Mid-Day ; Vinod Kumar Menon ; MUMBAI : 28-8-2010 ;

RTI query reveals state sitting on findings of survey which could possibly prevent landslides

Yet another person made it to the cold statistics of people dead in landslides. All this, even as a report that could have possibly prevented it, awaits action.

Only last week, a 16-year-old died and two people were injured as a major portion of a hill caved in at Sakinaka.

If only these hutments had been shifted, as was recommended after the Mumbai Slum Improvement Board carried out a survey in April this year.

The survey, across 25-assembly constituencies in the western and central suburbs, had revealed that over 20,000 hutments in 327 hilly areas are dangerous and need to be shifted urgently.

This report had been sent to the government for final consideration, but it is still awaiting the state nod.

This, despite a revelation under RTI that almost 231 people have lost their lives in landslides between 1992 and 2010.

Survey findings

According to RTI activist Anil Galgali, the BMC and the Mumbai Suburban Collectorate jointly carried out a survey of hutments and submitted findings in a report to the state Housing Ministry on April 17, 2010.

"As per the report, there are 327 hilly areas classified as dangerous of the 25 constituencies. Of the 20,038 huts in these areas, the authorities recommended shifting 9,657 huts on a priority basis," said Galgali. "The remaining could be protected by constructing retaining walls around the hills."

Galgali added that since 1995, an amount of Rs 157 crore has been spent on constructing retaining walls, but the government could not prevent natural disaster from claiming lives.

"I believe the state government, instead of spending crores of rupees constructing retaining walls, should shift slumdwellers to the 15,000 vacant MHADA tenements across the city," said Galgali.

Senior officials attached to the state Housing Department admitted to MiD DAY that they had received the report from the Mumbai Slum Improvement Board.

The official clarified that the funds for constructing the retaining walls for protection of slums (10,381) was to come from the District Planning Committee but because of non-availability of adequate funds, the process of finding ways to increase the fund flow is still being worked out.

Encroachments

Another problem is the challenge that involves shifting of nearly 9,657 slums to rehabilitation tenements. Firstly, land needs to be procured from private parties or departments like BMC, MMRDA, MIDC to construct such rehabilitation tenements and only once they agree the construction work could commence.

Moreover, the biggest challenge for the government is to ensure that the plot housing vacated slums is not encroached upon again and various mechanisms will need to be put in place to prevent any further encroachment.

This will involve roping in the Forest Department and ensure they plant trees on these plots. It will not only ensure that there is no encroachment on the plots, but will also prevent soil erosion and, in turn, landslides.

Planning needed

"The Slum Improvement Board has submitted its report in which it has presented a dimension of the problem and possible solution," said State Housing Secretary Sitaram Kunte.

It needs to be evaluated and a time management strategy planned out for its implementation. For this, we first require the approval from various agencies."

Lives lost

Year    Deaths     Injured

2005      73           25

2009      11          13

2010      12

Amendment in RTI Act

Press Information Bureau ; Thursday, August 26, 2010 ;

Proposal for amendment of RTI Act is under consideration in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions. The proposal under consideration includes, inter-alia, amendment to enlarge the scope of suo-motu disclosure, to discourage frivolous or vexatious representations, to modify the provision about disclosure of cabinet papers, to safeguard the sensitivity of the office of the Chief Justice of India, to provide for constitution of Benches of the Commission and to incorporate a new section empowering the Commission to make regulations. Amendments, if any, will be made after consultation with stakeholders.

This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Only 33 pc urban Indians know about RTI: Chavan

Express news service : Thu Aug 26 2010 ; New Delhi:

Stating that only 33 per cent of the urban population knew about the Right to Information Act, the government on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that steps were afoot to increase awareness about the law.

“Government instituted a study in 2009 which found that awareness level about the RTI Act is low. Only 33 per cent of people in urban areas were aware of the Act till 2008-09,”Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chavan said in response to a question by SP’s Ghanshyam Anuragi during Question Hour

The government, Chavan said, was taking steps to increase awareness among people through radio,television and other media. Besides,more Assistant Public Information Officers were being appointed,including in post offices, to make RTI more accessible to people, he added.

On the recent killings of RTI activists, Chavan said the Centre had written to chief ministers to provide protection to activists whenever they sought it. The government is also working on further strengthening and expanding scope of the RTI Act. An Act would also be introduced to protect whistleblowers.

On complaints that the RTI Act was not being implemented properly, Chavan said it was being implemented by the Centre as well as the states. “We are providing information that we maintain at the Centre.The five lakh applications that we have disposed of with 95 per cent favourable disposal pertain only to the Central government information,” Chavan said, adding that states had to implement the law as per the statute formulated by the Centre.

Asked if the Act had helped reduce corruption, Chavan said, “There is no specific study that we have carried out to assess the impact of the Act on reducing corruption because it is very difficult.”

Replying to a question by BJP’s Ramesh Bais about options available to an RTI applicant if officials do not provide information, Chavan said that under Section 19 of the Act, there was a provision for penalty which may be imposed by the State Information Commission or the Central Information Commission if the information is not given within a specified period. “This is being implemented, people are being punished if the information is not given in time,” he said.

GSIC serves notice on GCA over refusal to furnish info under RTI

TNN, Aug 27, 2010,

PANAJI: The Goa State Information Commission has issued a notice to Goa Cricket Association (GCA) to appear before it in connection with a case of its refusal to furnish information sought under the Right to Information Act.

The GCA secretary has been asked to appear before the commission on September 3 at 10.30am.

As reported earlier, following an application filed by social activist Aires Rodrigues for information under RTI act on fees paid to their former lawyer Subhodh Kantak, the present advocate general, GCA took the stand that it doesn't come under the purview of RTI Act on the grounds that GCA has not received any financial or other assistance from the Goa government or sports Authority of Goa (SAG).

Disputing this, Rodrigues submitted documentary proof to the commission to the effect that the Goa government has granted a 99 year lease to GCA of land admeasuring 1,30,328 sq m at Tivim for the construction of a cricket stadium at a nominal rent of ` 50,000 per year.

Besides, it was also brought to the noticeof the commission that GCA is a member of the general body of SAG and governing council of SAG.

He also pointed out that the Goa government had in the official gazette dated 8 July 2010 notified that all sports organizations and state sports associations recognized by SAG would be covered under the RTI Act and were required to furnish information sought.

Rodrigues in his complaint has further stated that SAG had also granted GCA financial assistance of ` 50 lakh in the year 2000 and that though the principle amount was repaid in 2003, the interest amounting to ` 10, 33, 042 was not repaid.

Interestingly, when he raised the issue, GCA promptly paid the interest amount of ` 10,33,042 to SAG. However the SAG has directed GCA to pay within seven days, an amount of ` 8.40 lakh as interest on the interest amount for the period from 2003-2010.

Civil servants' assets not confidential: CIC

TNN, Aug 27, 2010,

NEW DELHI: Rejecting the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) contention that property statements filed by civil servants should not be disclosed, chief information commissioner ( CIC) Wajahat Habibullah on Thursday said these were not confidential information and can be disclosed after taking the views of concerned officials as per the provisions of the RTI Act.

"It is clear that the property statements are statements regarding private individuals serving in government and (they) become part of Government records," he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

Habibullah said these records cannot be treated as information held "in confidence" by the government. He said these records come in the category of "personal information" the disclosure of which could amount to invasion of privacy and would attract section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.

There are 10 exemption clauses provided under the section 8(1) of the RTI Act, which exempt disclosure of different categories of information. Section 8(1)(j) exempts personal information from disclosure unless larger public interest is demonstrated by the RTI applicant.

The case relates to an RTI application filed by Shyam Lal Yadav where he sought details of property statements filed by bureaucrats and their relatives.

Habibullah said in cases where information of personal nature is sought, section 11 (1) of the RTI Act also applies.

As per the provision, it is appropriate to make such disclosure after reference to officials about whom information has been sought.

"Issue notice to third parties within five working days of receipt of this decision notice and proceed to disclose the information sought by appellant Shyam Lal Yadav, if no viable objection based on exemption under section 8(1) is received within 10 days of the date of issue of such notice," he said.

Whistleblower bill in Lok Sabha

New Delhi, Aug 26, DHNS:

The Centre on Thursday introduced in the Lok Sabha a landmark bill to safeguard whistleblowers, who report corruption or abuse of power and discretion by a public servant.

The Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosures Bill 2010 seeks to set up a regular mechanism to encourage whistleblowers to expose corruptions by public servants or commission of a criminal offence.

The government moved the Bill just a few weeks after a Right to Information (RTI) activist Amit Jethwa was murdered for exposing illegal mining in Gir Sanctuary in Gujarat allegedly by a ruling BJP MLA and his family. The bill provides for safeguards against victimisation of persons reporting corruption by public servants and punishment for revealing identity of complainants, negligently or with mala fide intention. It also seeks to lay down a procedure to inquire or cause to inquire into disclosures by the whistleblowers.

It seeks to bring within its ambit disclosures about corruptions by employees of the Central or State Government or any corporation established by or under any Central or State Act as well as government companies, societies or local authorities owned or controlled by the Central or State Government.

Introducing the bill, Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, said that the Government had earlier issued a resolution on April 21, 2004, authorising the Central Vigilance Commission as designated agency to receive written complaints from whistleblowers. It also provided for the protection to the whistleblowers from harassment and keeping their identity concealed.

“It has been felt that the persons who report the corruption or willful misuse of power or willful misuse of discretion, which causes demonstrable loss to the Government or commission of a criminal offence by a public servant need statutory protection as protection given to them by the Resolution of the Government of India would not suffice,” said Chavan.

Civic body to go online with data on licences

sharvaripatwa ; Fri Aug 27 2010 ; Mumbai :

Soon, finding out if the neighbouring shop or hotel is legal will just be a click away. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is going online with the data on licensed shops, hospitals, hotels and other establishments on its website.

“We plan to display licences for the common public to see. The aim is to make the information, which can be otherwise sought under RTI, accessible to all,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Aseem Gupta.

“The information on all the licensed shops, establishments will be displayed within a week, whereas the information on hospitals, hotels and maternity homes will take about 15 days,” Gupta said. “As the BMC is making all the information public, if a shop is illegal, it will be easier for a citizen to inform the authorities concerned,” said a senior official.

The city has about 4.8 lakh shops and establishments registered with the BMC. These include, shops, commercial establishments, residential hotels, restaurants and eateries and theaters. The website will continuously provide updates on the renewed licences and the new ones given by the civic body.

The civic body had started the facility of providing death and birth certificates online two years back. Introduced under BMCs e-governance, the plan failed to take off. After being functional for a year, the facility was put on hold. According to an official with the IT department, about 1,000 requests were received for obtaining certificates during the year. “The facility received poor response as the certificates were delivered through courier service which created confusion,” said G T Ambe, Chief Health Officer.

“Now we have got in-principle approval for using digitised signature system by the Centre and will be able to implement this technology soon,” said Ambe adding, “We have put in the request to our IT department for the same.”

Meanwhile, the BMC is also planning to offer registration and renewal of licenses for shops and establishments within the next three months. “We are planning to introduce renewal of licences for buildings and factories in the second phase which might take about six months,” said Y S Mhangadhe, deputy director, IT Department.

CVC asks HRD to furnish dossier on deemed universities

Akshaya Mukul ; TNN, Aug 27, 2010 ;

NEW DELHI: Finally, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has got going on the deemed university mess. It has raised the most fundamental question about the experts -- sent by University Grants Commission (UGC) -- who had recommended deemed university status to higher educational institutions.

CVC has asked the HRD ministry to furnish details about the manner in which UGC constituted its expert committee.

It has sought clarifications whether the decision to set up the expert committee was taken by an individual or was the collective one by the panel.

CVC wants to know about the number of deemed universities that have been set up in the past five years, and names of the people who were frequently involved in the expert committee as well as names of all those who were part of it.

CVC sources said the commission had written to the ministry nearly three months ago and only now the ministry has forwarded the query to UGC.

On the basis of UGC's reply, the ministry will forward the details to CVC. Sources in UGC confirmed receiving the CVC query. "It could be the basis of a comprehensive inquiry on the setting up of deemed universities," a CVC source said.

The fact that the objectivity of expert committee could be questionable since the entire cost of travel allowance/dearness allowance of the expert committee was not borne by UGC but by the respective institutes that were inspected by the panel members. UGC has stated this while replying to an RTI query by the TOI correspondent.

Besides, expert committee's expenses being borne by respective institutes and not UGC weakens the case of deemed universities in the Supreme Court. Lawyers, who are pleading for the deemed universities, have been arguing that the view of UGC's expert committee should be considered final, and it has more legal bearing than the review committee set up by the HRD ministry.

Deemed universities have been arguing that the ministry's review committee that looked into their functioning and found 44 of them to be unsuitable is illegal. They claim that under the UGC Act deemed universities were set up on the basis of the report of its expert committee, and, consequently, the `deemed' status can only be revoked by UGC.

RTI unearths unlawful teacher appointment in Sundernagar Sanskrit College

HimVani ; 27-8-2010 ;

Shimla: It seems that corruption’s pulse has finally been caught with the hands of RTI and this act is seemingly producing instant results when it comes to unearthing foul things. This was the case when a teacher lost his job to RTI, as he was given the job in violation of set norms.

The PTA committee of Sanskrit College, Sundernagar, had appointed a teacher even though he did not meet the requirements set for the post. This might have never come out in the open, but Gyan Sharma, a resident of Sundernagar, procured information about the legitimacy of appointing the said ‘jyotish acharya’, through an RTI application. He had inquired whether the person appointed was eligible for the post or no, whether he fulfills the rules laid out by UGC or not and whether the post was advertised for or not.

And, there it was, the committee declared the appointment as cancelled and said that though the post was not advertised for, the candidate fulfills all the conditions with one year experience to back him. The committee also said that though the candidate has not completed M.Phil, he has already submitted the thesis for the same. However, surprisingly, all the explanations given do not justify the appointment, as the person to be able to appointed in Sankrit college needs to have completed Acharya in the concerned subject with at least 55 per cent.

In addition to this, the candidate should have qualified either NET, SET or should have completed PHD and the candidate in question has none except for a Masters degree. It is even more surprising that with the kind of information at hand, the college has explained this appointment as clean and lawful. But, with everything known and the appointment standing as canceled, it seems that a sham has been finally unearthed. Gyan Sharma has scoffed at the explanation given by the college and has said that if the appointment was not done by violating the norms, then why did the college cancel the appointment. He has also said that there have been number of scams in the college, which he promises to uncover with the help of RTI.

Will Assam Government protect RTI activist

Assam Times ; Ranjan K Baruah ; 26 August, 2010 ;

The Right to Information act has helped many people from different parts of the state to seek information from various government departments. But it’s ironical that even in a democratic country one has to face many challenges when good initiatives are being initiated. The Right to Information act has revealed many interesting stories from different parts of the country after the act was implemented.

Though social activists have used it and revealed many abnormalities in the departments instead some of the activists are being threatened after using RTI for seeking information. On the other the tragedy is that so far 7 RTI activists have been killed this year in different parts of the country. Activists who have used faced many problems and it is now important for the state government to protect them at any cost.

There have been many abnormalities in the distribution of foods in different parts of the country including the state of Assam. The Public Distribution System has not been strengthened as a result of which there has been corruption in the cooperatives or others associated with foods. Right to Food campaign has to be organized by civil society organization as there have been abnormalities in the state of Assam. The recent arrest of Ex Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh in connection with PDS scam shows that there might be more players associated with it.

Organizations or individuals who are working for the Right to Food have been using RTI for getting the information. In this regard many activists have faced challenges and threatening from different source from time to time. ‘I am trying to find out information of the beneficiaries under APL and BPL category by using RTI but now it has bought many challenges as my case is still pending and I have to take bail’, said Sanjit Das , an RTI activist from Ghogra village of Dhekiajuli Block in Sonitpur district. He has been disturbed by people for whom he had to move from place to place. Sanjeet Das is associated with Swaraj , a people organisation working for the people in some parts of Sonitopur District, he got bail on May 29.

Mr. Das filed an application under RTI demanding the list of beneficiaries of commodities distributed under the PDS on September 22 last year in his locality. On October 27 last year he received a reply from the Deputy Director of Supplies stating that he had to pay Rs 6,000 to get the information. Not understanding why he had to pay this amount, he made an appeal to the Deputy Commissioner. Instead of getting justice he was beaten up by some of the agents under PDS in police station which shows corruption is rampant in the state of Assam in various stages.

Now it has become interesting whether Mr. Sanjeet Das will get justice and all necessary information or some of the corrupted people will be behind him and foil his democratic movement.

"The activist and peoples movement is the product of state government failures to hold peoples sentiments, its no different whether governments exist or not, the people would survive without them”, said Saito Basumatary of People Rights Forum a network of civil society organization working on Right to Food Campaign in the north east. He added that there is no wrong when the activist challenges the government democratically, they are not taking arms against them, the government do not have to invite them to the mainstream as activists are very much part of the mainstream and yet they are threatened by the state agents and mafias.

Misuse of RTI Act

PIB ; Wednesday, August 25, 2010 ;

Report about cases of frivolous and vexatious use of the Right to Information Act, 2005 have come to the notice of the Government.

As a result of implementation of the Right to Information Act, a number of applications for information and appeals are being received by public authorities. It has increased the work of the officers who have been designated as Public Information Officer, Appellate Authority and Other officers whose help is sought by the Public Information Officer in dealing with the RTI applications and appeals.

The work is being managed within the existing human resources. Offices are being encouraged to put as much information as possible in the public domain so that the number of applications asking for information get reduced.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Shri Prithviraj Chavan in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Tribals use RTI Act to fight land sharks

HYDERABAD : TNN, Aug 26, 2010 ;

The Right to Information (RTI) Act finally seems to be serving its purpose: empowering citizens with information which they can use to demand justice.

Reeling under an attack on their houses, a group of 13 displaced tribal families from remote Bhadrachalam used the RTI Act to find out the status of the land on which they had constructed their huts a year ago. Armed with this information, they have now knocked the doors of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) seeking heavy compensation from people who rendered them homeless earlier this month.

The tribals had lived in the heart of Bhadrachalam on a grazing land for one year before they were forced out. They were told they were encroachers and were harassed for many days to vacate the area. The matter reached no point of return on August 17 and 18 when a group of people, allegedly led by the local police, destroyed all the 13 huts where the tribal families lived. "This is when the tribals, who had so far only heard of the RTI Act approached the mandal revenue office (MRO) there and got information on the status of the land which was categorised as agency (government) land," said K Murali, state secretary of Human Rights Forum, Hyderabad. Murali is representing the tribals in the case before SHRC.

"Since then (the attack) we do not have a place to live in," said T Krishna Rao, a daily wage earner whose house was demolished in the drive. Rao filed the petition before SHRC on August 19 after the group got the facts of the case clear by seeking information from the MRO.

"It was through the RTI query did we find that the land we lived on was classified as agency land thereby giving us legal right to occupy it. We have demanded a compensation from those who destroyed our homes and have also asked for our homes to be re-built," said the petitioner. Rights activists note that by virtue of being 'agency' area, tribals have the right to construct temporary accommodations and reside there.

The commission, after conducting a hearing of the case recently, asked the district collector, Khammam, to submit a detailed report by September 20. The commission has sought details of the attack on the houses of the tribal families and also the estimate of the damage done to their belongings.

Boycotted meeting as information on candidates was not given: Jayalalithaa

THE HINDU : Chennai, August 25, 2010 ;

AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said that it would be illegal to appoint a new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) without providing information to her about the background of the candidates for the post, arguing that as the member of the search committee she had the right to know the details.

AIADMK General Secretary
 J. Jayalalithaa

In a statement here Ms. Jayalalithaa said there was no truth in Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s allegation that she refused to cooperate with the selection committee.

“On the contrary I had plans to attend the meeting fixed to select the CIC,” she said adding that she would have attended the meeting and expressed her opinion if she had been given the details.

“But the Chief Minister wanted me to sign on the dotted line without raising any question. I cannot offer this kind of cooperation,” she said.

Ms Jayalalithaa said he wanted the background details of the proposed candidates for the post because some social organisations and RTI activists had brought to her notice the “far-from-satisfactory” functioning of the State Information Commission and wanted transparent procedures for the selection.

“So I sent a letter to the government seeking the bio-data of qualified candidates. But I was told that the details would be given at the meeting on August 23,” she said and recalled her second letter to the government.

In that letter she had said it would be unfair to deny her access to the information when the Chief Minister and another minister nominated by him for the select committee had complete access.

The government, however, had justified its stand on the ground that in 2005 when the AIADMK government convened a similar meeting to select CIC, the details of the candidates were not sent to anyone else.

Ms Jayalalithaa had written yet another letter pointing out the leader of the opposition in 2005 did not seek any details. “If he had sought information about the candidates the government would have furnished them. Besides RTI activists did not raise any doubts during my regime,” she said.

Ms Jayalalithaa said she could not nod her head in favour of the government without analysing the question whether the prospective candidate was qualified for the job for the next five years and whether he would fulfil the expectations of the people and rule of law.

As regards the Chief Minister’s contention that it had been her practice to boycott the meeting convened by the state government to discuss important such as Cauvery Water Dispute and Sri Lankan Tamil issue, she said her party attended the meeting convened to discuss reservation for Arundathiyars, Chennai Airport Expansion and Cauvery Water Dispute.

She said she had explained her stand on sand quarrying. The AIADMK boycotted the meeting to discuss the Sri Lanka Tamil issue because it had come to a conclusion that it was nothing but a farce.

Notice to govt for withholding info on Mathur panel

JAIPUR : TNN, Aug 26, 2010 ;

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday issued notices to principal secretary, chief minister's office, state information commission (SIC), public information office ( PIO) department of personnel among others, seeking explanation for not providing information under the RTI Act regarding the constitution of Justice N N Mathur commission, formed to inquire into the alleged charges of corruption during Vasundhara Raje regime.

Justice Mahesh Chandra Sharma directed additional advocate general Nasir Ali Naqvi to seek instructions from the CMO in this regard and apprise the court on August 30 about the delay in implementing the directives of SIC to provide the information sought by petitioner Krishan Murari Lal Asthana under the RTI Act, 2005.

Asthana in his application in July 2009 had sought the reasons from the state government to assign only the inquiry of year 2004-2008 to Mathur commission and not of any previous year as also to give all the complaints received from the public regarding corruption etc during 2004 to 2008.

It is noteworthy after the intervention of high court, the SIC on May 6 this year directed the department of personnel to seek information from the chief minister's office (CMO) and disclose the reasons for picking 2004-2008 for investigation of alleged corruption charges by Justice N N Mathur commission as also to make public the notings and internal correspondance between the governor and the chief minister as also other information sought within three weeks. However, the department of personnel informed the petitioner that CMO is holding the records concerning Mathur commission and as such the information is being delayed.

"We told the court the state government took only one month after coming to power to constitute Justice Mathur commission based on evidence of corruption and alleged complaints available on record but failed to supply the same records and parts thereof for more than a year and still the same is not being supplied despite orders of state information commission. The high court took a serious note of this fact also that the guilty officers has not been penalized under the RTI Act," said counsel for petitioner Abhinav Sharma.

The court will again take up the matter on August 30 and look into the response filed by the state to the petition.

‘We want to enlarge the scope of the Act'

VENKITESH RAMAKRISHNAN ; Frontline ; Volume 27 - Issue 18 : Aug. 28-Sep. 10, 2010;

Interview with Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Department of Personnel and Training.Prithviraj Chavan: “Ministry is trying to sensitise different sections of society about how the RTI Act functions."

PRITHVIRAJ CHAVAN, Minister of State for Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), asserts that reports about the Union government wanting to introduce restrictive provisions in the Right to Information Act are highly exaggerated. According to him, the government is only trying to improve and strengthen the scope of the Act, and in the process it discussed the issue of file notings. “But some people made it appear as though the Ministry had moved far ahead and later backtracked bowing to pressure from some activists. Even the Constitution gets amended, and that is in the best interests of the nation.” One should have the same perspective about the RTI Act too, he told Frontline in an interview. Excerpts:

The RTI Act has been rated as an important initiative in the functioning of Indian democracy. Still, there have been a series of attacks on RTI activists in different parts of the country. As many as nine activists have been killed this year alone. How does the DoPT, which is the main Ministry driving the RTI, perceive these attacks?

We have seen newspaper reports attributing certain murders as that of RTI activists who were engaged in exposing corruption and other faults. The information we have been able to collect so far has been that in 2010 there have been eight or nine murders of people seeking information under the RTI Act. There are some cases where people have filed FIRs, too. The Ministry perceives this as a serious matter and is trying to sensitise different sections of society about how the RTI Act functions and also to protect information-seekers.

At the policy level, the Ministry is also in the process of enacting another piece of legislation, which is popularly called the Whistleblowers Act. There is already a Whistleblower Resolution. But now we are trying to give it a formal shape and legislate it so that the identity of those who disclose information on corruption and other malpractices is protected in a statutory sense.

What will be the broad parameters of the Whistleblowers Protection Act ?

It would not be right for me to disclose the details at this point of time. I can only say that the government is keen to make sure that there is adequate protection for those who give confidential information on wrongdoing. The Central Vigilance Commission will be the authority to which a person can disclose information. And it will be mandatory for the Central Information Commission to protect the identity of the individual, if he so demands. The Bill will soon be introduced in Parliament and I hope it soon becomes an Act. Then it will go to the standing committee. The moment it is introduced, I intend to put it on the website.

Coming back to the attacks on RTI activists, there is also the perception that a politician-mafia-bureaucrat nexus is in operation behind most of them.

If you look at history, you will see that anybody who has tried to expose corruption has been attacked by vested interests. It is not a new phenomenon. The RTI Act is mainly being used to expose corruption and there is a possibility that it could have provoked some vested interests. The main thing to be done is to sensitise people about the nature of complaints as also about protection. As for the nexus you are talking about, I do not think there can be broad generalisations. One may have to look at cases specifically and decide. Whether a case has happened because of a nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and the mafia – it is premature for me to come to any conclusion without the actual trial being conducted. But it is important that the guilty are brought to book.

There is a perception that the governments at the Centre and in the States have not responded in a proactive or positive manner to protect RTI activists. There have been complaints against various State governments of false cases being filed against RTI activists who are the victims. What is your comment?

I think there will be two practical sides to this question. We certainly do expect the law enforcement machinery to protect a person seeking information under the RTI Act. When he or she is threatened, it is the duty of the State government to ensure that he/she is provided adequate protection. There is little doubt that governments have to be proactive and provide protection to people, who fall in the category of what you call “activists”, who keep on seeking information and thereby create a fear of exposing corruption.

But at the same time, one should be able to distinguish between really aggrieved persons who want to know about the decision-making process in a particular case from an activist whose profession is to keep looking for “nuisance activities”. But I entirely agree that we need to protect genuine people who seek protection. From the Union Ministry's side, I intend to write to all the Chief Ministers emphasising the issue of protection.

But the Union government's move to amend the RTI Act and dilute some of its provisions is seen as a move towards a less open regime.

All this talk about the Union government wanting to bring restrictive provisions in the RTI Act is a highly exaggerated insinuation. It is one of the landmark achievements of the United Progressive Alliance government. Why should it try to diminish it? The government is trying to improve and strengthen the scope of the Act and in the process it discussed the issue of file notings, too. But some people made it appear as though the Ministry had moved far ahead and later backtracked bowing to pressure from some activists. Many publications, including yours, pursued this line.

See, in an ideal world there will be no need for an RTI Act. In an ideal world the government will be so proactive in giving information to the citizens that they will get it without asking for it. Ultimately, that must be the goal. From our side what we are doing now is to put more and more ideas in the public domain, even without a specific query for it.

Of course, we have to draw a line between privacy and open government. The primary thing is to strengthen the RTI Act. But to say that there should be no amendments is unrealistic. Even the Constitution gets amended and that is done in the best interests of the nation.

One should have the same perspective about the RTI Act, too. If the issues can be addressed without any change in the Act, we have no problem at all. There are situations where some issues are on the table and need to be addressed. That's all that we are saying.

What can be done without any need for amendment can be done so, but what needs amendment should not be overlooked. We have an open mind on this. We are open to suggestions in this regard.

What is your overall view of the five years of RTI, say from a historical perspective, in terms of overall pluses and minuses, deficiencies and strengths ?

It has been a highly empowering move. The UPA government is very proud of it. It has helped hundreds of people gain access to information they would have otherwise not got and improved their lives. But it does not mean that it is foolproof or perfect.

For example, the RTI Act, as it exists today has no provisions to stipulate what would be the alternative arrangement if the position of the Chief Information Commissioner suddenly becomes vacant. We also need to close some legal and economic loopholes.

There are some intelligence agencies that are exempted. Why should the entire intelligence be exempted? Why should personnel matters like promotions and service matters not be open? There is also the issue of judicial independence. We are looking at situations in other countries. We want to have an open debate on them. We will try to make sure that whatever is necessary is done. So we are trying to enlarge the scope of what can be disclosed.

At the level of larger politics and social development, the RTI Act needs to evolve a new culture of transparency in terms of governance. It‘s not just about seeking information or exposing corruption, but about giving people power in terms of policymaking and the general functioning of the government. How far have the first five years of the Act been able to bring about this culture ?

The main thing is that the awareness about the RTI Act is not as good as we would like it to be. Large parts of rural India have not yet understood the import of this Act and hence are not able to make use of it properly. The question is, how well do people understand the functioning of the government and governance?

It is about the understanding of the higher concepts of governance and independence, power and responsibility. These are difficult concepts to understand. So we have to necessarily think about those people who are not even literate and make efforts to empower them.

We have evolved several programmes to do this, involving the use of the audio-visual media, for an information campaign. There is a programme to make RTI available on telephone. These are moving ahead steadily. All that I would do is to implore the media not to sensationalise matters at this juncture.