NSEએ પોતાની માહિતી જાહેર કરવી જોઈએ : CIC

Business Bhaskar; Monday, November 29, 2010,

સેબી દ્વારા પોતાની સમક્ષ રજુ કરવામાં આવેલી દલીલોને પારદર્શી સમિતિ દ્વારા ફગાવી દેવાઈ હતી

બ્રોકરેજ કંપની દ્વારા એનએસઈ ઉપર કરવામાં આવેલા આક્ષેપો અને તે અંગે એનએસઈ ઉપર કરવામાં આવેલી તપાસની જાહેરાત એનએસઈએ જાહેર કરવી જોઈએ તેમ સેન્ટ્રલ ઇન્ફર્મેશન કમિશન (સીઆઈસી)એ સેબીને જણાવ્યું હતું.

સેબી દ્વારા પોતાની સમક્ષ રજુ કરવામાં આવેલી દલીલોને પારદર્શી સમિતિ દ્વારા ફગાવી દેવામાં આવી હતી. સેબી દ્વારા એવી દલીલ કરવામાં આવી હતી કે જો આ પ્રકારની માહિતી જાહેર કરવામાં આવશે તો તેના દ્વારા કરવામાં આવી રહેલી તપાસની આડે ઘણા અવરોધો આવશે.

ડિસેમ્બર ૨૦૦૮માં એસએમસી ગ્લોબલ સિકયોરિટઝિ લિ. દ્વારા તેના દ્વારા ચલાવવામાં આવી રહેલા એફઓ સેગ્મેન્ટમાં એનએસઈ તરફથી તપાસ કરીને તેનાં સંચાલનને મંજુરી આપવામાં આવી હતી જેના સંદર્ભે સ્વાતિ માયેકર દ્વારા આ અંગેની માહિતી આપવામાં આવી હતી જેના સંદર્ભે સીઆઈસી દ્વારા આ સૂચન કરવામાં આવ્યું હતું.

સેબી દ્વારા ઉપરોકત આરટીઆઈના સંદર્ભમાં જણાવવામાં આવ્યું હતું કે એસએમસીની તપાસમાં અને તેના દ્વારા આપવામાં આવેલા જવાબ ઉપરથી કરવામાં આવેલાં અવલોકનોને એક્સ્ચેન્જની ડિસિપ્લિનરી એકશન કમિટી (ડીએસી) સમક્ષ રજુ કરવામાં આવ્યાં હતાં, જેના ઉપરથી ડીએસીએ એવો આદેશ આપ્યો હતો કે એસએમસીનું ઓડિટ સઘન રીતે એસએમસીના બાહ્ય સ્વતંત્ર ઓડિટર પાસે કરાવવામાં આવે.

જોકે બજાર નિયમનકારીએ એનએસઈ દ્વારા ક્યા પ્રકારની અને કેવી તપાસ કરવામાં આવી હતી તે અંગે કોઈ જ પ્રકારની માહિતી આપી નહોતી તેમજ એક્સ્ચેન્જ દ્વારા ઓડિટમાં શું જાણવા મળ્યું તે અંગેની પણ કોઈ જ પ્રકારની માહિતી આપવામાં આવી નહોતી.

Adarsh files went missing 4 months back

Ahmedabad Mirror; Preety Acharya and Abhijit Sathe; Tue, Nov 30, 2010,

But the Urban Development Department filed a police complaint only yesterday and that too under pressure from the CBI

As all hell broke loose on Saturday over a crucial file containing important notings of bureaucrats and ministers on the controversial Adarsh Housing Society going missing, it was a tad late in the day to raise an alarm.

The First Information Report (FIR) filed at the Marine Drive Police Station by G M Bajape, section head, Urban Development Department, clearly states that the file containing the notings, that could get several babus and ministers in trouble, went missing “three to four months back.”

When Bajape was asked why wasn't a police complaint registered then, he said his seniors were informed about the missing file, but no instructions were issued to report the matter to the cops.

Mumbai Mirror on Saturday had exclusive access to the FIR and it states that the Urban Development Department in July-August, in response to an RTI, had reported that file no. 154 had been misplaced. The FIR also states that while the officials managed to locate the file a fortnight later, a notesheet attached to it, which carried all the notings of babus and political leaders, and four more pages – nos 15, 97, 99, 279 – were missing.

However, this again may not be the whole truth.

Give your memories a jog. Reports around Adarsh began appearing in newspapers towards the end of 2009. Mumbai Mirror carried one such report in December 2009 (Ex-environment minister owns flat in building under CRZ scanner) and another in February 2010 (VIP building goes off the record, February 26, 2010).

The second report of February, 2010 was about an Adarsh file going missing. Only this time the file had been misplaced by the babus in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

There you are. Just as the lies on which Adarsh was raised began getting exposed, files or important pages in them pertaining to the housing society began disappearing.

So, while the Urban Development Department told the Marine Drive police on Saturday that the Adarsh file went missing three-four months back, it could have disappeared much before that.

In fact, the Urban Development Department would have conveniently forgotten the missing documents if the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had not forced it to file a police complaint.

The disappearance of the notesheet and other papers was noticed first by the CBI almost two weeks ago, when the agency initiated preliminary inquiry into the scandal and acquired Adarsh papers from Mantralaya.

Sources in Mantralaya said CBI authorities alerted them about the missing documents. “They asked us to provide the notesheet, but when we could not find it, they took up the matter with the top bureaucracy. One of the reasons why top CBI officials met Chief Secretary J P Dange was to apprise him of the missing notesheet and to request him to provide it at the soonest,” an senior official from the Urban Development Department said.

When the department told them the files could not be located, the CBI asked them to file a police complaint.

What was inside the file?

According to reliable Mantralaya sources, the file whose notesheet is missing, deals with three issues pertaining to Adarsh. One, the alleged fake no-objection certificate (NOC) granted to the society by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). Two, change of reservation of the land on which the society has come up. And three, allotting a portion of a road to the society.

The MoEF recently clarified that it did not issue any no-objection certificate to the Adarsh CHS. The dereservation of Captain Pethe Marg to give the society more land can also get a lot of people into trouble. The road was dereserved and turned into residential land. As a result, the 60-metre-road suddenly narrows near the society and expands again beyond.

Late on Saturday evening, the Crime Branch took over the investigations into the missing files.

The Marine Drive police have already asked the Urban Development Department to submit a copy of the file from which the documents went missing. The department has also been asked to deposit the Urban Development Department’s noting register, which will have details of all the people who had access to the missing file in the last six months.

Not the first time files have gone missing

Case 1: A year ago, the Education department lodged a police complaint alleging that someone had forged signatures of the then Education Minister Vasant Purke on an issue pertaining to government funds. Police concluded that the job was done carefully and was only possible by an insider or someone who had an access to government files.

Case 2: When the new Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan recently asked for a particular file from the Public Distribution System (PDS) department, the entire department when into a tizzy. At first, officials could not locate the file. After a frenzied search for nearly six hours, the file was finally located and then delivered to the CM’s office.

The aforementioned cases suggest the Friday’s case of disappearance of crucial papers related to Adarsh CHS is not a first at Mantralaya.

Mantralaya is a maze of departments, sections and desks, accommodating nearly over a lakh files pertaining to functioning of the state. Although there is a chain of hierarchy to supervise working of Mantralaya employees, there is no system for safe keeping of files.

As the clock strikes five, the employees make a beeline to leave their work place. They leave behind heaps of files, caring little to put them back in cupboards assigned to them. One or two employees, who have extra load of work stay back, so do mischief makers, who then have uncontrolled access to Mantralaya papers.

Sources said it is easy for an outsider to access such files, and for a few hundred rupees, even insiders will help you. Documents related to government schemes, contracts, orders etc, are most popular.

Information commission raps DISH over incomplete RTI reply

Express News Service: Nov 29, 2010,

Vadodara The Gujarat Information Commission has ordered the Department of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) to furnish complete information to an Right To Information (RTI) query filed two-and-a-half years ago, in the wake of last week’s blast at a chemical factory in Nandesari.

The applicant had demanded the status of hazardous chemical manufacturing units in Vadodara, Panchmahals, Anand and Kheda districts of central Gujarat through the application.

Coming down sharply for not providing the information to the Vadodara-based labour activist, Jagadish Patel, the GIC in an order dated November 11, 2010, asked DISH to furnish the status of the hazardous units.

Patel had, in the application filed on June 4, 2008, sought information about health facilities extended to the workers, details of the 25 listed hazardous process under the Gujarat Factories Act, and working hours, among others. But DISH just provided him with a list of the industries, which manufacture hazardous products, while skipping rest of the 16 questions.

Dissatisfied with the attitude of the department, Patel made an appeal to the appelate authority of GIC on July 11, 2008. But the Information Commission said the replies filed by DISH were sufficient. Patel then made fresh application to GIC on October 10, 2008. Later, a hearing was conducted at GIC for Patel’s specific queries (1367/2008/2009), in which officials from DISH were summoned. It was only on June 4, 2010, that DISH officials provided him with the district-wise break up of hazardous industries, while questions about the health facilities and check ups of the workers as per Chapter 4 (A) of Schedule 1 of Gujarat Industrial Safety Act, were not furnished.

A senior DISH official said on condition of anonymity that even though health-check ups are done in some industries, no records about the workers are maintained, especially in the silica manufacturing units. The RTI reply from DISH meanwhile states, 751 hazardous units in Vadodara district, 187 hazardous units in Panchmahals, 28 units in Anand and 20 units in Kheda district.

Meanwhile, fire officials from Nandesari and Vadodara Municipal Corporation said two more fires reported were from the K-Dac company on Saturday.

GMCH should clean its mindset of cobwebs, says CIC

Express News Service: Tue Nov 30 2010,

Chandigarh : The Central Information Commission (CIC) has taken a serious note of the alleged attempts made by the incharge of the Genetic Centre of Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, for considering seeking information under the Right to Information Act as a ‘disturbing activity’.

In a scathing judgment dated November 15, Information Commissioner Deepak Sandhu has stated that the Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology at GMCH, who is the incharge of the Genetic Centre, ‘is required to clean mindset of cobwebs so as to allow the light cast by this unique legislation to illuminate her thinking’.

The judgment was given after an appeal was filed by Dr Rakesh Sehgal. Dr Sehgal, in an application submitted under RTI on May 20, 2009, had sought information pertaining to vigilance inquiries and any other inquiries conducted against any faculty member or Medical Superintendent of GMCH during the past 10 years including the present Director-Principal.

Dr Sehgal had desired to have information in a particular format, a sample of which he provided in his RTI application. Not receiving a response, he preferred appeal dated June 26, 2009 before the first Appellate Authority which also was not adjudicated upon. Consequently the applicant preferred complaint before the Commission.

The matter was heard on November 15. During the hearing Dr Sehgal provided a copy of a letter written by the incharge of the Genetic Centre of GMCH addressed to PGI Director.

The letter had identified seeking information under the RTI Act as ‘negative activities’ and described as being “equivalent to making a serious offence against the decorum of the Institute”.

Taking note of this, Sandhu stated, “The Commission through this order wishes to disabuse her of this erroneous interpretation of the RTI Act where in her view seeking information regarding an area not related to his (the appellant’s) field of research and not to his institution is considered “disturbing activities”

Asbestosis victims plan hunger strike

TNN, Nov 30, 2010,

JAIPUR: Having failed to open any door for themselves, a group of alleged asbestosis victims from Jhadole in Udaipur are preparing to go on a hunger strike in front of the sub-divisional magistrate's (SDM) office from Wednesday.

The victims are demanding that the medical test done on them by the National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Ahmedabad, last year be made available to them.

The NIOH had done a test on about 166 persons from Jhadole and Devgarh to ascertain whether they are afflicted with asbestosis. These persons have been working in asbestos mines long before the mining of asbestos was banned in the country. But while the doctors who had conducted the tests have published research papers confirming asbestosis on at least 93 persons, none of them have been personally given the test report even after they had applied for it under RTI.

A group of 10 persons from this group had approached the SDM's office seeking permission for staging the strike but they had to leave the office after officials demanded proof from them of the fact that a test for asbestosis was indeed conducted on them by the NIOH.

"We shall be forwarding the necessary documents and medical reports for conforming that they were checked by NIOH after which they will be going on a hunger strike," said Rana Sengupta of the Mines Labour Protection Campaign (MLPC). The MLPC has been helping these people get their test reports as to get compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act these labourers will have to show such a certificate from the NIOH.

The NIOH had conducted tests on 163 persons, including 56 females. "But in the meantime 18 persons have died and we don't know if they were from amongst those who were ascertained to be positive or are from the others," Sengupta said.

The NIOH itself has got entangled into a peculiar situation with one of the researchers who had conducted the rest retiring and the other resigning from his post. In their absence the institute is unable to give the workers their test results.

"The only option left to us is to take to the streets hoping that the government would initiate some steps to help us get the results. There has to be an answer to the test results and the workers must know it fast so as to take preventive steps if necessary. Else death would be the only answer for them," Sengupta said.

Tata petition raises question of two conflicting rights

The Hindu; Vidya Subrahmaniam; November 30, 2010,

Case involves larger citizenry's right to know and the individual's right to privacy

Did Outlook weekly and Open magazine violate the privacy rights of individual citizens when they placed in the public domain hundreds of conversations that corporate lobbyist Niira Radia held with industry heads, journalists, bureaucrats, public servants and ministers?

The question becomes relevant in the context of a petition filed in the Supreme Court on Monday by Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata claiming infringement of privacy on account of the release of a portion of his conversations with Ms. Radia. The wiretaps were ordered in 2008 and 2009 as part of an Income Tax surveillance on Ms. Radia, who at that time represented both the Tata Group and the Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani group.

The tapes were appended to a Public Interest Litigation petition that lawyer Prashant Bhushan filed in the Supreme Court seeking a probe into the 2G spectrum scam. Last week, the tapes found their way into the pages of the two magazines, from where they were picked up by countless other publications as well as Internet sites.

At the heart of the debate are two conflicting rights. The larger citizenry's right to know and the individual's right to privacy. Speaking to The Hindu on Monday, Mr. Bhushan said he would contest any injunction on the publication and dissemination of the tapes sought by the industrialist. Those representing Mr. Tata refused to go on record but said the tapes, portions of which were “of a purely personal nature,” ought to have been used only for the purpose for which they were intended by the government, and their subsequent leak seriously injured Mr. Tata's image and reputation and constituted a violation of his privacy.

Mr. Bhushan disputed this saying privacy concerns were peripheral to the core issue of national interest. The tapes revealed the subversion of the key pillars of the state the executive, Parliament and the judiciary by a powerful coterie with its own vested interests: “In this case the citizen's right to know completely overrides the individual's right to privacy.”

According to Mr. Bhushan, the imperatives of transparency were supreme and he cited the enactment of The Right to Information Act on the premise that the “right to know” was a fundamental right within the meaning of the right to free speech. He said even though the RTI Act prescribed a set of exemptions to the release of information, it also allowed the exemptions to be waived in the “public interest.”

“In a situation where every institution has been compromised, where there is illegality and wheeling and dealing across the board, people have a right to know what is going on.”

Mr. Bhushan also argued that no case could be made out against those who had leaked the tapes. Far from it, it was the right and duty of public officials to disclose information and act as whistleblowers. “If the IT department or the Central Vigilance Commission is engaged in a cover-up, then it becomes the duty of the official in the department to bring this to the knowledge of citizens provided the disclosure does not impinge on national security.”

Weighing in on the side of privacy, the former Additional Solicitor-General, K.T.S. Tulsi, said tapping of telephones even by the government was permissible only in the rarest of rare cases affecting the sovereignty and integrity of the nation, and economic offences did not count among them: “If the IT department is allowed to tap every telephonic conversation, then this will be the starting point of investigation in every case and there will be no personal freedom.”

Mr. Tulsi said if the government was allowed a free run in this matter, “it will be easy for the ruling party to trump up charges against political opponents and then order indiscriminate tapping of conversations.” His counter to the RTI argument was a 1997 Supreme Court ruling holding the “right to privacy” to be a part of the right to “life” and “personal liberty,” enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution.

There were four broad points made on behalf of Mr. Tata and other individuals featured in the conversations. First, the government's own limited power to order wiretaps must be treated as an emergency power subject to scrutiny and revision by courts. Secondly, even in the rare situation where tapping was resorted to, it had to be done by an established legal procedure. Three, the privacy of individuals at the other end of the conversations had to be protected at all times. And finally, the public interest was not an undefined, overarching space under which blanket permission could be sought for tapping conversations.

BJP demands criminal probe into SEZ land allotments

TNN, Nov 30, 2010,

PANAJI: Following the recent order by the high court of Bombay at Goa that the Goa Industrial Development Corporation's (GIDC) land allotments for special economic zones (SEZ) in the state were illegal, the BJP on Monday demanded a criminal investigation into the entire allocation process and action against the guilty.

Besides, the public accounts committee (PAC) headed by Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar will scrutinize the report of the Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) dated March 31, 2008 - which has referred to the land allotments - and submit its findings to the Goa legislative assembly which will convene in March 2011 or earlier. The PAC will begin scrutiny on December 15 and has declared that its report will "come out with exact names" and some recommendations.

Announcing this at a joint press statement, BJP state president Laximikant Parsenkar and Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar waved documents obtained under the RTI which they said proved that then-industries minister Luizinho Faleiro had directed the GIDC to allot land to Meditab Specialities at Keri and that then-chief minister Pratapsingh Rane had endorsed the move.

"It is not enough to say that the high court has scrapped land allotments and that we have got our land back. It was a criminal conspiracy involving over 100 crore. The guilty must be exposed and justice dealt to them," Parsekar said.

Parsekar took aim at Pratapsingh Rane, Luizinho Faleiro and GIDC chairman and Quepem MLA Chandrakant Kavlekar for going ahead with the land allotment process even as Parrikar said, "The GIDC is primarily responsible. But it wouldn't have had the courage to allot such large plots of land without directions from the government."

The Opposition leader said that the CAG report is currently with the PAC. "The PAC is the highest authority in the Parliamentary system to look into frauds. After the report comes out, our case will be stronger. If the government does not accept and act on the PAC's report, the BJP will pursue the matter strongly," Parrikar said.

He emphasized that the PAC comprises legislators from both the BJP as well as the Congress and said that the report will not be prejudiced.

"My job is to nail the culprits and take things to their logical conclusion. I promise you a very clear report which will be presented to the House in March 2011. The report could be ready by January itself," Parrikar said.

At least in the case of land allotment to Meditab Specialities at Keri, the BJP leaders claimed they had documentary proof. "Documents obtained under the Right to Infomation (RTI) Act show that the industries minister (Faleiro) directed the GIDC under section 16 of the GIDC Act to allot land to Meditab. This was endorsed by the chief minister (Rane), who marked it directly to the GIDC's managing director instead of to the industries secretary. Who is guilty will come out when we go into the files in detail."

Parrikar said that the PAC is a statutory body which can summon a minister or a chief minister to depose before it under oath. The PAC, based on its findings, can make various recommendations including the demand for a CBI inquiry, he said.

Impeachment of ‘corrupt’ Allahabad judges sought

DNA; Deepak Gidwani; Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Supreme Court has virtually opened the Pandora’s box with its caustic comments about corruption and nepotism in Allahabad high court. A Lucknow-based social activist has now filed a writ petition in the Lucknow bench of the court seeking impeachment of judges facing charges of corruption and nepotism.

The petition follows a recent Supreme Court order in which it had observed “something is rotten” in Allahabad high court. The order was delivered by justice Markandey Katju and justice Gyan Sudha Mishra in special leave petition (civil) no. 31797 of 2010 (Raza Khan vs UP Sunni Central Waqf Board & another).

“The credibility, credentials, respect and honour of the entire judiciary has been sadly and badly damaged by what the Supreme Court has said in its landmark judgment,” said the petitioner, Nutan Thakur, convenor of the National RTI Forum. The Union of India, ministry of law and justice, the Supreme Court and the chief justice of the Allahabad high court have been made respondents in the petition, she said.

The petition asks for “suitable legal and constitutional actions” against all those recalcitrant, accused and alleged judges of the high court of Allahabad based on whose conduct the Supreme Court openly stated with much chagrin and contempt that something is rotten in this high court.

She has made specific reference to the case of justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta high court who faces charges of corruption and misconduct. Justice KG Balakrishnan, the then CJI had written to the prime minister recommending that proceedings be initiated for removal of Sen.

The writ petition requests that there is a need to initiate suitable inquiries against all such judges of the high court of Allahabad about whom the above-mentioned judgment notes that “a lot of complaints are coming against certain judges of the Allahabad high court relating to their integrity”, and against whom it has been said that “some judges have their kith and kin practising in the same court, and within a few years of starting practice the sons or relations of the judge become multi-millionaires, have huge bank balances, luxurious cars, huge houses and are enjoying a luxurious life”.

The apex court has also said, “There are other serious complaints against some judges of the high court,” the petition states.

It also underlines an immediate need to initiate impeachment proceedings against all such accused judges of the Allahabad high court against whom inquiries go on to prove charges of corruption, misconduct and nepotism, and to initiate criminal proceedings against all judges against whom these charges are suitably substantiated.

The petition says stringent action should be taken against the high court judge against whom the Supreme Court specifically mentioned that “the above two ex-parte interim orders of the single judge of the Allahabad High Court were clearly passed on extraneous considerations”.

The petition also requests for proceedings to stop pension and other post-retirement benefits to all such retired judges of the high court on whom charges of corrupt practices and nepotism are corroborated and established.

“If such steps are not taken, the credibility of the Allahabad high court, one of the oldest and most respected high courts, would be lost forever,” Nutan Thakur said.

Meanwhile, the RTI activist has asked public information officer of the Supreme Court under the RTI act to provide details about complaints against the judges and the inquiry initiated.

CMO does not keep records of complaints filed

Bhanu Pratap Singh, TNN, Nov 30, 2010,

JAIPUR: There's some strange news for the vigilant citizens who believe the chief minister's office (CMO) follows their complaints against corruption religiously. The CMO maintains no permanent record of the complaints received or action taken on them. In fact, it destroys such documents with the change of government.

So, if a citizen wants to know the fate of his complaint that yielded no results, the CMO is in no position to tell what went wrong, leave alone fix accountability of the government officials for the inaction.

The admission was made by the CMO itself in response to a query made under the right to information (RTI) Act by a Jaipur resident, Sanjay Sharma. The resident sent a series of complaints to the CMO in 2008 and 2009 seeking probe and action against bureaucrats allegedly involved in land grabbing in Jaipur, officials responsible for benefiting liquor barons whose excise duties running into crores of rupees were ignored for years and those responsible for withholding public utility projects for which financial sanctions had already been made.

When nothing seemed to happen against the accused, Sharma moved an application under the RTI Act seeking details of the actions taken by the CMO on his complaints. On November 10, the ministerial secretariat sent a reply to Sharma and the Rajasthan information commission whose intervention only could get the response that the CMO was unable to tell whatever happened to the complaints. And the queer reason quoted in secretariat communiqué was: "The CMO is not an administrative department that keeps permanent records of the received documents/ letters." The deputy secretary in the CMO who was instructed to look for the information sought by Sharma, concluded in his inquiry report that complaints received in the CMO were simply forwarded to the department concerned for "action as demanded (by the complainant)". The department concerned then sends its remarks, based on which the CMO gives directions for "necessary action as per law".

What has surprised the RTI activists is the CMO's cold declaration that "as per the general tradition" these documents were destroyed with the change of government. The communiqué reasons, "Since the complaint (by Sharma) was made during the tenure of the previous government, it is not possible to have the related records in the CMO now".

Shocked at the reply, Sharma said, "Under what provision the CMO has been destroying these documents. Every complaint/letter/application received by the CMO becomes a public document, which cannot be erased arbitrarily." The resident said, "It's like the CMO shirking any accountability. Will the government officials now take the common man seriously after learning that the CMO maintains no records of the complaints received by it, even if action has been ordered on them?"

Delhi Police criticised by CIC for 'absurd' state of affairs

Press Trust Of India; New Delhi, November 29, 2010

Delhi Police has received flak from a Central Information Commissioner for its failure to provide for over two years the viscera report of a patient whose kin had moved the Delhi Medical Council alleging death due to negligence by doctors at a private hospital. In a strongly-worded order recently, the CIC termed the act of Delhi Police sitting over the viscera report as an "absurd" state of affairs.

The report was not given even after 30 months whereas the same could be completed in three months, the Commissioner noted. The Delhi Medical Council had expressed its helplessness in acting against the doctors before the Central Information Commission saying that despite its repeated attempts during last 30 months, the report has not been provided to them.

"The Commission would like to comment that it is an absurd state of affairs that viscera report has not been supplied for over two and half years and endless efforts are being made in this regard.

The Delhi Medical Council has been pursuing this matter with Delhi Police and Delhi Government without success," Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi observed during the hearing. The Public Information Officer of DMC said normally it should not take more than three months for them to get the report. "In the instant case over 30 months have already elapsed and yet the viscera report has not been given inspite of repeated reminders.

Such inefficient practices are fertile ground for complete wrongdoing to go scot-free," Gandhi said. The case relates to K K Sharma whose wife had died at Batra Hospital here due to alleged medical negligence. Sharma had filed a complaint in June 2008 before the Director General Health Services.

The Directorate forwarded the complaint to Delhi Medical Council which formed a disciplinary committee to look into it but to reach to any conclusion final postmortem and viscera reports were needed. Seeing no action, Sharma filed an RTI application seeking details on his wife's death at Batra Hospital, the doctors' role and the post-mortem report.

The Council informed him "viscera analysis including medical records of Batra Hospital be provided to the office of Delhi Medical Council as the examination of the same are essential for determining the issue of medical negligence and in absence of the said documents, the Delhi Medical Council is unable to proceed in this matter."

The Commission also could not order any action in the case saying, "it has not been possible for disciplinary committee to conclude the matter. Hence the PIO is unable to inform the appellant about the final outcome."

The state of India

Kevin Lobo; Monday, November 29, 2010

The Absent State reveals how bad governance has led to our country fighting with itself

Co-written with Rahul Pandita, the duo has dug deep into the Naxal issue, the Kashmir issue and the Northeast issue. With the help of facts, figures and anecdotes, they have uncovered probably the worst example of bad governance in the country. Mishra stops for a chat.

How did the book come about ?

There was a small snippet in a newspaper, which caught my journalistic eye. I filed an RTI application seeking the distribution of funds in tension-ridden areas. I didn't really expect a reply but some one in Delhi painstakingly put together a report on how much funds have been allocated and how much has been used.

I realised that a major chunk of money has just disappeared or someone is just not doing anything with the money.

I roped in young writer, Rahul Pandita and it took us three years, visiting places in Jharkhand, Jammu and the Northeast. It could have been a page one story for a newspaper, but I wanted to do more with it. There was so much in this story that could not be told through a newspaper.

Was it a challenge to stay objective while being bombarded with stories against the government ?

When you write a book, you have a point of view and explore that with facts. I haven't really taken on the government, we have laid down a story of how an absent government has escalated a situation that could have been tackled easily, if it was taken care of earlier on.

You have gone through forests, like your book states, even the government does not dare enter. Did you get into any trouble ?

You can't enter these areas if you don't go through the proper channels. For example, if you are entering a forest where Naxals are present, you have sent word before. The driver has to keep honking through your journey, letting them know that it is a friendly car and not cops passing through.

There was this one time where we were supposed to meet Naxal leaders in a village. But for some reason they got delayed. We had to decide to either stay the night or let go of the meeting. There is a thin line between being a brave journalist and bravado. We decided to leave.

The Northeast is largely ignored. Why did dedicated you dedicate just a couple of pages to it ?

The problems in the Northeast form enough material for another book. And I am planning to do that in the future. I wanted to write a book that fits into the standard size of a novel. We thought that academicians will be the only ones who will buy it, but it’s surprising to find college kids asking us for copies on Facebook.

सोनिया गांधी के धर्म की जानकारी मांगने संबंधी अपील खारिज

Prabhat khabar ; Nov 29 , 2010

चंडीगढ़ः पंजाब और हरियाणा उच्च न्यायालय ने संप्रग अध्यक्ष सोनिया गांधी और उनके बच्चों के ‘धर्म और आस्था’ के बारे में आरटीआई अधिनियम के तहत जानकारी मांगने संबंधी अपील को यह कहते हुए खारिज कर दिया कि याचिकाकर्ता उनकी निजता का उल्लंघन करने का प्रयास कर रहा है.

न्यायमूर्ति मुकुल मुद्गल और न्यायमूर्ति रंजन गोगोई की खंडपीठ ने केंद्रीय सूचना आयोग के फ़ैसले को कायम रखते हुए कहा, इस बात के सबूत हैं कि याचिकाकर्ता इन व्यक्ति‍यों की निजता में दखल देने की कोशिश कर रहा है, जबकि वे सार्वजनिक तौर पर जानी-मानी हस्तियां हैं और यह सूचनाएं सार्वजनिक नहीं की जा सकतीं.

हरियाणा के पूर्व डीजीपी पी सी वाधवा ने सूचना के अधिकार के तहत सोनिया गांधी और उनके बच्चों द्वारा पिछली जनगणना के दौरान बताये गये अपने ‘धर्म और आस्था’ के बारे में केंद्रीय लोक सूचना अधिकारी (सीपीआईओ) से जानकारी मांगी थी. सीपीआईओ ने वाधवा का आवेदन खारिज कर दिया था, जिसके बाद उन्होंने केंद्रीय सूचना आयोग का दरवाजा खटखटाया था. आयोग ने भी इस आवेदन को खारिज कर दिया था. उच्च न्यायालय ने इस बात को कायम रखा कि याचिकाकर्ता ने जो जानकारी मांगी है, वह गोपनीय है.

PSHRC told about blood wastage at civil hospital

TNN, Nov 25, 2010, LUDHIANA:

Lord Mahavir Civil Hospital wasted 458 units of blood during 2008 and 2009, stated RTI activist Arvind Sharma in a letter to Punjab State Human Rights Commission. He has sought action from the commission as the blood had stayed in the hospital storage for longer than the expiry period and got wasted as a result.

He said the blood had to be dumped in the drain. He got hold of this data through an RTI query. In 2008, civil hospital wasted 357 units of blood and in 2009, 101 units went unused. Arvind Sharma said that if we get 2010's data from the hospital, everybody would be shocked.

"In 2008, many people died of dengue in the city. Even then, blood as wasted because of lacklustre attitude of the health department officials. Civil hospital has four refrigerators and can store up to 1,000 units of blood. It has refused blood to the lot of people in the city." He demanded a detailed inquiry from the commission against the guilty officers.

CIC Drive to Dispose of RTI Cases

PIB:The Central Information Commission (CIC) has launched a special drive to dispose of the cases which are more than three months old. About 55 percent cases before CIC as on 30.9.2010 were three months old and about 8 per cent more than six months old.
This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs Shri V. Narayanasamy in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

Mystery of the missing jacket remains unsolved

Mid Day; Mumbai : Police tell court Karkare's bullet-proof vest was not stolen, and add that no further investigation is possible
The story of Hemant Karkare's missing bullet-proof vest concluded last week after Mumbai police filed a 'C' summary report stating that no further investigation was possible in the case.This is a second setback for those fighting the case against Mumbai police after the Bombay High Court also dismissed the case of faulty bullet-proof vest purchase.After then Anti-Terrorism Squad Chief Hemant Karkare was killed in the terror attack, the bullet-proof vest that he was wearing when he got shot, was reported missing.
This was discovered only after Karkare's wife Kavita had filed an RTI asking about the vest's whereabouts. Subsequently she alleged a conspiracy behind the disappearance of the vest by the police department. RTI activist Santosh Daundkar, one of the litigants, has now declared that he will approach the Supreme Court to challenge both the cases.
Vest case
Daundkar also filed a complaint in the Mazgaon court to probe the missing vest matter. Hearing the complaint, Mazgaon Metropolitan Magistrate R K Malabade ordered the Mumbai police to investigate the matter. The court had also ordered police to register an FIR and find out how and when the vest went missing.But the case seems to have hit a roadblock after the police submitted the 'C' summary report to the court. The report stated that the vest had gone missing and was not stolen. The FIR registered in the matter has also been withdrawn.The police report filed in court states that vest is missing not stolen. We will look into the matter after discussing with seniors," said Daundkar.Earlier, Daundkar had also filed a PIL in the Bombay High Court seeking action against erring police officers for inducting defective bullet-proof vests into the police force and asked for a probe by an independent agency into the matter.
His claim was that the bullet-proof vest was a vital piece of evidence in the backdrop of allegations that it was defective, which led to Karkare's death.Noted lawyer and former IPS officer Y P Singh, who is also one of the litigants, added, "I will go in Supreme Court next week against Bombay High Court order."

RTI query seeks details on appointment of HC judges

TNN, Nov 26, 2010, CHENNAI: An advocates forum has filed an application under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, seeking to know from the Madras high court authorities whether any steps had been taken to appoint qualified candidates from unrepresented, under-represented and weaker sections of the society' as judges of the court.The RTI plea, submitted by advocate K Balu, president of the Advocates Forum for Social Justice, listed 13 queries pertaining to the process of appointment of judges to the high court. With nine of the sanctioned 60 posts lying vacant, the high court top brass is currently sifting through a big list of eligible candidates for appointment as judges.

The query sought particulars and names of advocates belonging to under-represented and weaker sections of society who were considered for selection as judges. In other queries, Balu sought to know as to how many advocates had submitted their bio-data for being considered for the appointment.

The RTI application also wanted to know whether the selection involved analysis of comparative merits and ability of the candidates or they were selected on the basis of personal choice of judges in the collegium. It also wanted to know whether any norms and guidelines were adopted by the higher judiciary to ascertain the suitability of the shortlisted candidates.

Does the high court have any mechanism to verify the antecedents of prospective candidates, it asked, adding whether any pre-verification was done by involving police and intelligence agencies. It also wanted to know as to how may sitting judges were close or blood relatives of retired judges of the court.

Before listing the queries, Balu also stated that the appointment process should be transparent and the advocate fraternity and associations of advocates should be given an opportunity to discuss the capacity and quality of the candidates. Pointing out that even for grant of senior advocate status the prospective candidates' names are placed before the full court of all judges for comments and voting, Balu said such a consultation does not take place for the appointment of judges. A pre-appointment discussion of candidature is necessary in view of the fact that impeachment is the only available mechanism to remove judges once they are appointed and made permanent, he added.

Shetty murder: court rejects Dabhade bail plea

Express News Service: Thu Nov 25 2010,

Pune : Additional sessions judge D R Mahajan on Tuesday rejected an interim anticipatory bail plea of Vijay Dabhade in Satish Shetty murder case. Dabhade had filed two bail pleas earlier. Dabhade had first filed a bail application after his arrest in January, but the court had rejected it. He later applied for anticipatory bail on medical grounds. Additional Sessions Judge U S Thakare granted him bail in August on medical grounds. Dhabhade had to undergo a hernia operation.

Shetty, an RTI activist, had found out that Dabhade’s buildings were on the land belonging to the Railways, and he ran a campaign against him. The CBI had taken over the case in June followed by Sandip Shetty’s demand for a CBI probe. Shetty was murdered in January this year.

‘Rs' selection process challenged in High Cout

Harish V Nair; Hindustan Times; New Delhi, November 23, 2010,

Four months after it was approved, the new symbol for the Indian Rupee, designed by IIT-ian Uday Kumar, is back in news for different reasons.

An RTI activist has moved Delhi High Court challenging the selection process and the public competition organised by the finance ministry to choose the symbol, terming it “full of discrepancies” and “flawed”.

The petition, filed by Rakesh Kumar, who participated in the competition, names the finance ministry and Usha Thorat, chairman of jury in the Indian Rupee Symbol Selection Committee, as respondents.

The matter is to be taken up by the court soon.

The Centre’s defence counsel Jatan Singh denied all the charges and said complete transparency had been followed in the selection procedure. He said there were 2,696 entries of which 226 were short-listed. Five made it to the final rounds and the website was updated regularly with all details.

He said the process that had started in February last year culminated after the Union Cabinet selected the entry by Uday Kumar in July 2010.

In his petition, Rakesh Kumar claims the selection process was in utter violation of the prescribed finance ministry guidelines of ‘public competition’.

He alleged that winner Uday Kumar had submitted four designs against the maximum two allowed, and the chosen selection is just an imitation of the symbols for the Yen and the Euro. “Participants were told the symbol should be in the Indian national language script”, he contended.

Shortage of manpower hits city police force

Kunal Purohit; Mumbai, November 23, 2010

Two years after the 26/11 terror attacks, the city police continue to grapple with the problem of staff shortage.

A recent right to information (RTI) query filed by activist Raja Bunch has revealed that the city’s 90 police stations have glaring vacancies.

Nearly 52% of the posts are vacant at the police sub-inspectors (PSI) level. Similarly, at the assistant police inspectors (API) level, 36% posts are vacant while 18% of posts for police constables are also vacant.

Apart from the obvious burden that such vacancies might create on lower-rung officials, senior officials admit that the consequences go beyond work. “Apart from being demoralised, discontent brews among policemen and most of the times it comes out on civilians. Plus, many policemen suffer from stress-induced ailments,” a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Another senior official, posted with the local arms division, said: “There is lack of political will to improve the condition of the police force.

Also, the state lacks adequate and properly-equipped training schools. Hence, even if recruitment is stepped up, where do we get them trained?”

The Cuffe Parade police station, under whose jurisdiction the 10 terrorists had landed on November 26, 2008, has a sanctioned strength of six APIs, but only three posts are filled. Out of the 19 sanctioned PSI, the station has only six. The cyber crime investigation cell, having a sanctioned strength of 17 PSIs, has merely five sub-inspectors.

Officials say efforts are being made to fill the vacancies. Sanjeev Dayal commissioner of police, said, “There are bound to be vacancies in the force since there haven’t been any recruitments in the past few years. However, things are looking up now since the MPSC recruitments are on in full swing. I’m told that 1,000 officers are being trained at the police academy. Things will improve soon.”

Are citizens of Mumbai really safe: NGO

DNA; Richa Taneja; Thursday, November 25, 2010,

Raising questions over the safety of citizens in the metropolis, a city-based NGO said the financial capital witnessed one murder and one rape in every two days in last two years.

As per the data procured by the NGO, Praja Foundation through an RTI application, from April 2008 to March 2010, every month 560 cases of thefts, 362 car stolen cases, 241 house-break-ins, 19 murders and 15 rapes were registered in all 89 police stations across the city.

According to 2001 Census, the city population is 2.02 crores. It means only one policemen is available for 1280 persons.

“It is two years since the city witnessed the worst terror attack. We expected that the city would be more secured after the worst terror strike” says Nitai Mehta, Managing Trustee of Praja Foundation.

The NGO has also announced the launch of signature campaign for citizens’ security and reforms in police force. The petition with signatures of citizens would be submitted to home minister RR Patil highlighting the crimes, Mehta said.

CVC widens its probe into Games corruption

Hindustan Times; New Delhi , November 25, 2010,

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is investigating 18 new projects related to alleged irregularities in organising the Commonwealth Games 2010, including fraud in the sale of Games tickets.

The CVC had earlier said it was probing at least 22 Games-related construction and procurement works carried out by different government agencies for alleged financial irregularities.

In reply to a RTI application, the CVC said installation of fitness equipment, appointment of placement broker and manipulation of tenders floated by different government, civic and construction agencies were also being looked into.

The commission is also looking into the allegations made by an official of an infrastructure firm against CWG Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi for accepting money.

"The issue relating to allegation against Kalmadi and others for hiring various equipments, including tread mills, at costlier rates than their total cost, was sent to the CVO (chief vigilance officer) of the ministry of youth affairs and sports for necessary action at their end," the CVC said.

The CVC has also sent a complaint alleging Amit Mittal, chairman and managing director, A2Z Infra Services Pvt Ltd, of paying money to Kalmadi to get the contract.

A report has also been sought over the appointment of RK Sacheti, former joint director general of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

The commission has sought a report from the sports ministry on the issue relating to the firm promising to procure sponsorship for the event worth R470 crore but procuring only worth R125 crore and the OC agreeing to give commission on that sponsorship.

Two cases related to up-gradation of streetlights in the Capital by MCD and contracts given to London based firms for Queen's Baton relay is being investigated by the CBI.

The CVC is also looking into favouritism to private parties in tenders for various projects.

23 dists in Andhra prone to women trafficking

Dipak Kumar Dash, TNN, Nov 24, 2010,

NEW DELHI: At least 23 districts in Andhra Pradesh are prone to women trafficking, with the coastal district of West Godavari topping the list.

According to an RTI reply, Srikulam, Vizianagaram, Vishakhapatnam, East Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Praksham, Nellore and Kadappa are some of the districts, which are prone to trafficking. It has also come to light that most of the villages, falling under Guntur district, have been identified as vulnerable areas by various agencies running pilot projects to curb with the menace.

"I filed the RTI with the Andhra government to find out what the state is doing for preventing this after a reply from Central government disclosed that most of the sex workers operating in various metros belong to the state. It had also revealed that women from Andhra are joining the trade because of sheer poverty," said Ved Pal, an activist.

RTI reveals FCI's apathy in storing foodgrains

Rupashree Nanda; CNN-IBN; Nov 23, 2010,

New Delhi: An RTI filed by CNN-IBN has revealed Food Corporation of India's (FCI) unscientific food storage policy that lead to rotting of 67 thousand metric tonnes of foodgrains. The grains rotted despite crores of rupees having been spent on open storage spaces instead of godowns.

The rotted grains were almost one third of India's food reserves. They were dumped in the open and wasted. But the government called it the "indigenous" method of storing foodgrains.

But after India lost around 67,000 metric tonnes of foodgrain, there is a U-turn in policy.

letter dated August 30, 2010 from the Food Ministry to the FCI now available to CNN-IBN says, "The Minister (referring to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar) feels that after recent experiences of damage to foodgrains kept in uncovered storage, construction of new plinths, or platforms for outdoor storage, should be discouraged."

So what took Sharad Pawar so long?

But it was shockingly shortsighted policy. In 2009, the FCI created 4 lakh metric tonnes of open storage space spending Rs 14 crore. in 2010 too, it will spend Rs 4 crore on open storage for another 1.2 lakh metric tons. But during the same period it has invested in covered storage that will house just 0.6 lakh metric tons.

Even as FCI went on building open storage, its own internal correspondence kept raising red flags about the method. Even as doubts grew about open storage, the FCI had yet another bizarre idea.

So severe was the space crunch that FCI was actively looking at storing foodgrain uncovered, on unused roads.

Between the FCI and the Government there was no clear thinking or concern on how to preserve precious foodgrain in a country of a billion people more than half of whom are starving.

Decisions are easily changed inside government files, but it plays havoc on the ground, putting the country's food reserves at a huge risk.

Avadi health facility lacking in basic amenities

R. Sujatha ; The Hindu; November 23, 2010,

Patients await their turn at the
CGHD health care centre in Avadi.

The Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) facility at the Heavy Vehicles Factory campus in Avadi is the nearest for hundreds of beneficiaries even in far-off places such as Poonamallee, Tiruvallur and Arakkonam. The dispensary was established in 2006 to cater to around 13,000 beneficiaries but lacks basic facilities and doctors.

Until a year ago, it had three doctors but now there is only one doctor and a specialist visits once a week. To reduce the burden on the doctors, only 100 patients are issued tokens a day. Previously, 350 patients used to come to the facility every day.

As a result, elderly patients, many of whom suffer from heart problems, diabetes and other chronic ailments, have to leave home as early as 5 a.m. to reach the health centre by 7 a.m. Since priority is accorded to those who are in service, the patients have to wait sometimes until noon to see the specialist. “They issue tokens to see the doctor. If we are late, then we must come back another day,” said C.Murugan.

Patients requiring further treatment are referred to CGHS hospitals in K.K. Nagar or Anna Nagar.

Consumer activist and resident of Pattabiram T. Sadagopan's queries under the Right to Information Act in this regard elicited the information that the Chief Medical Officer at the Avadi facility had been directed to ascertain the funds required for constructing a new building, including a laboratory. However, work on the building is yet to commence, says B. Gajapathy, secretary of the Ordnance Factories and Allied Establishment Pensioners' Association.

Noting that the response obtained under RTI stated that the proposal for the new building should be given by September this year or else the request for funds would not be entertained, Mr.Sadagopan said little was known about the status of the project.

According to the members of the Pensioners' Association, no effort seemed to have been made in this direction though the Heavy Vehicles Factory had allotted 4,000 sq.ft of land for the purpose

Site largesse extends to staff, too

Satish Shile, Bangalore, Nov 22, DHNS:

CM gave a BDA plot to the wife of priest who performs pooja for him;

Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa made prime land allotments to not only his relatives but also his office staff.

Surekha Sangappa of Bookanakere in Mandya where Yeddyurappa was born has been bestowed with a 60X40 site at JP Nagar 8th Phase. She is closely related to one of chief minister’s sons-in-law.

A BDA site measuring 60X40 sqft costs about Rs 5.20 lakh but it is worth crores of rupees in the real estate market.

What’s intriguing is that a list of BDA site allottees obtained under the Right To Information Act by this newspaper does not mention who Sangappa is or the criterion under which she was granted the residential plot.

In yet another case, T Rajashekhar, a temporary staffer at Yeddyurappa’s home office, has been sanctioned a BDA site at HSR Layout II Phase. Rajashekhar, a retired high school headmaster, is from Shiralakoppa in Shikaripura represented by the chief minister in the Assembly. Yeddyurappa appointed him a PRO on contract basis. His son is a television journalist.

Since his ascendancy to power, Yeddyurappa has allotted 191 BDA sites under the G category. The list obtained from the BDA does not have any information about the beneficiaries. One of the beneficiaries on the list is said to be the wife a priest who performs pooja daily at the chief minister’s residence.

The BDA list includes his son B Y Raghavendra, his sister B S Premamma, his nephew S C Ashok, and a close relative, M Deepa. However, after the BJP central leadership pulled up the chief minister for his overt nepotism in allotting sites, most of his kin surrendered the sites.

The Bangalore Development Authority allots sites to only those who don’t possess any property in the capital. But Raghavendra was allotted a site despite him owning a flat and other non-residential properties in Bangalore.

But in recent times, it has been a practice among the chief ministers to allot sites to people’s representatives.

B M Shivakumar, an RTI activist who gleaned information about the chief minister allotting sites to his kith and kin, said there was no rule in the BDA Act that stipulated that sites should be given to people’s representatives. Under the discretionary quota of the chief minister, sites can be allotted only to eminent personalities who have made significant contribution to society.

“While MLAs and MPs get sites in prime locations, those who have been waiting for years are given sites on the city outskirts. Even if they secure a site, they end up paying a higher price than those who get sites under the G category. The government should scrap this category,” he said.

PMO 'silent' on sale of shares to foreign firms

India Today; New Delhi; November 22, 2010

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may have maintained in his affidavit filed before the Supreme Court that there was no delay in initiating action on letters sent by Subramanian Swamy. But his office maintained silence on the fact that the finance ministry had concurred with the department of telecommunication's ( DoT) justification of Unitech Wireless and Swan Telecom's controversial sale of shares to foreign companies for huge profits.

The two companies were among those granted licenses by the telecom ministry even though they did not meet the eligibility criteria.

A December 15, 2009 internal note sent by the DoT to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said: "The DoT has received the response from Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd and Unitech Wireless that the investment brought in by their strategic partners would be used for rolling out services. This could enhance their capital base keeping the absolute share holding of the promoters intact." " The finance ministry has also concurred that it is a case of dilution of equity and not sale of equity to promoters", it said.

In what was evidently a damage control exercise, the note added that the DoT was considering a proposal to prevent the promoters of unified access service ( UAS) licensee companies from selling equity for three years to stop fly-by-night operators.

Swan and Unitech, after being awarded UAS licences, had sold their stakes to foreign companies Etisalat and Telenor. The CAG had indicted these companies for submitting false certificates regarding their financial health.

The documents also reveal that crucial information was withheld by the PMO. Amit Agarwal, a director in the PMO, admitted in response to an RTI application that " there has apparently been some misfiling of the set of papers." RTI activist Subhash Agarwal had sought information from the PMO on the issue of CBI raids at the DoT. V. Vidyawati, a director in the PMO who filed the affidavit on the PM's behalf, has remained silent on this issue.

Angry SC-Govt exchange over choice of CVC

Bhadra Sinha; Hindustan Times; New Delhi, November 22, 2010

A fresh confrontation appeared to be brewing on Monday between the UPA government and the Supreme Court over the appointment of the central vigilance commissioner PJ Thomas.

Thomas took over as the CVC in August this year.

The court questioned the suitability of Thomas for the post considering he still had a criminal case lodged against him, while the Accountant General, appearing on behalf of the government insisted that 'impeccable credentials' were not a prerequisite for selection to any position, and many judges would fail the test if similar yardstick was used to measure them.

The court was hearing a PIL on the suitability of Thomas functioning as the CVC when he still had a criminal case lodged against him. The case was lodged in 2000 when he was a senior official in Kerala.

It was HT that first revealed, using information obtained through an RTI application, that a case against Thomas relating to the import of palmolein when he was food secretary had never been quashed.

"Wouldn’t it be embarrassing for the CVC to function if people question his power to investigate a complaint as he is himself an accused in a criminal case?" a bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia asked.

"If it (impeccable integrity) becomes a criterion, all judical appointments would become subject to it. Similarly it would become a criterion for every constitutional appointment," retorted G E Vahanvati, Attorney General. The court’s main concern was how the CVC state wing would probe the case honestly with Thomas being the CVC. The state vigilance department is the prosecuting agency in the palmolein case.

Vahanvati was told to reply to the queries in two weeks.

Vahanvati submitted before the court that all the procedures required to appoint a CVC were followed in Thomas’s case. According to him the senior bureaucrat was rated as an outstanding officer when he was promoted from state to Centre.

Before Thomas was appointed as CVC on September 7, this year, he was secretary in the Telecom Ministry. The petitioners have alleged his role in the 2G spectrum scam too. Thomas’s appointment was despite the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha objecting to it.

"The Prime Minister and the home minister recommended Thomas’s name despite the fact that Leader of the Opposition objected to it. So, the Leader of Opposition was forced to record her dissent. Hence, her presence was rendered meaningless in the appointment,” the petition alleges.

Govt ‘robbing’ farmers to help firms

Devidas Deshpande; Pune Mirror; Monday, November 22, 2010,

RTI plea reveals water ministry has diverted water from 43 dams to SEZs and big cities, violating provisions of water resources law. Government is pushing amendment to the law to validate their excesses, activists allege

Even as water scarcity continues to haunt the state despite sufficient rainfall, activists are crying hoarse over what they claim is water theft by the state government.

The activists say the government is diverting water meant for agricultural purposes to industries.

The objectionable ordinance

The Government of Maharashtra, under the initiative of Water Resources Ministry, passed an ordinance on September 17, 2010. The protesters claim that the ordinance is meant to legalise past inequitable decisions to take away water rights of farmers and give them to industries and big cities.

The said ordinance is in the process of being turned into law when the state legislature opens for its winter session in Nagpur on December 1.

The opposition

According to Bharat Patankar, who is leading the charge against the ordinance, the Higher Power Committee (HPC) under the leadership of the Water Minister has diverted a huge amount of irrigation water for non-irrigation use in the past five years.

The HPC was constituted vide a Government Resolution in 2003 and was authorised to distribute water. Water resources minister was the chairman of HPC and it had six ministers as its members.

Data collected under Right to Information (RTI) Act shows that water from 43 dams in the state has been diverted in this way. These decisions contradict the provision of ‘water entitlements to every farmer’ under the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) Act, 2005.

Various organisations have opposed these decisions by HPC and also challenged them in the courts and before MWRRA. But to escape from judicial review and people’s opposition, the Water Ministry has decided to amend the

MWRRA law and legalise all its decisions, the activists are alleging.

Sachin Warghade, from Resources and Livelihoods Group, Prayas Pune, said, “As per the MWRRA Act, farmers have the first right to the water. Over three lakh hectares of land under cultivation has been affected because of this illegal diversion of water. For example, water in Hetwane dam in Ratnagiri district was diverted to SEZ.

We filed a petition against this and similarly, B T Deshmukh filed a petition in the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court in another such case. This piled up pressure on HPC and to evade legal action, the ordinance was issued, which is being turned into a law.”

The activists have appealed to CM Prithviraj Chavan’s new cabinet, stating they will protest the passing of the bill. Senior leader N D Patil will participate in the protests along with Patankar, Ulka Mahajan and Surekha Dalvi. They are also demanding abolition of HPC.

The RTI effect

The protesters used RTI to unearth the data on the amount of water diverted from agricultural use to industrial purpose. The data, given from the minutes of the HPC’s meetings, showed that 2,885 million cubic metres (MCM) water from 43 dams was diverted for non-irrigation purposes.

Activists say the actual amount of water being diverted is much more. Data from RTI also showed that the state agriculture minister, who is supposed to represent farmers, was absent in 69 per cent of the HPC meetings, out of total 25. While the committee had six ministers as members, only two attended the six meetings.

The minutes of the meetings show that MWRRA Act was not mentioned for even a single time.

Dhariwal okayed Khasa Kothi flyover: JDA

TNN, Nov 23, 2010,

JAIPUR: Jaipur Development Authority, in response to an RTI application, has stated the decision to have a flyover at Khasa Kothi crossroads was taken during the previous tenure of UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal. Out of a total expenditure of Rs 19.24 crore utilised for construction of the disputed structure, Rs 15.67 crore disbursal was approved by Dhariwal.

The RTI application was moved by counsel for hotel Country Inn. In his application, the counsel asked the JDA to clarify as to when JDA's decision was taken to construct the flyover and in which direction.

The JDA stated, "The flyover was proposed in 1999 for the first time and consultant M/s Span Consultant was appointed. Wherein two proposal were given namely proposal-I and proposal-II. There was no other direction of flyover except from Polo Victory to Railway station for which exercise was undertaken. The project report of both proposals had proposed the direction from Polo Victory to railway station. The only difference was the stretch (length) of the flyover. The JDA, after due application of mind and discussions with technical experts, opted for proposal-II."

It further stated the feasibility report was submitted by M/s Span Consultant in December 1999 whereas the work was handed to them on June 9, 1999. The proposal was approved by the JDA commissioner on December 25, 2004 and the approval of construction of flyover was granted by the UDH minister on January 3, 2005 but the work was stayed due to the interim orders of high court in a writ petition.

JDA has further stated, "The decision to have Khasa Kothi flyover came in two parts one in 1999 when the decision to have the flyover was taken followed by calling for the feasibility report and the other by policy decision dated 25-12-2004 & 3-1-2005, respectively by JDC and chairman (UDH minister) JDA to initiate work of construction."

Data on RTI query tows a different tale

Dinesh Thite; DNA: November 22, 2010,

Pune: The traffic police claim that around 12 two-wheelers are 'lifted' per day per towing vehicle in the city, contrary to popular belief that scores of two-wheelers are picked up by each vehicle every day for wrong parking.

Right to Information (RTI) activist and Sajag Nagrik Manch (SNM) president Vivek Velankar had recently sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, on the numbers of towing vehicles hired and errant two-wheelers lifted by the traffic department from January to September 2010.

Velankar expressed surprise over the significantly low number of two-wheelers reported to be towed away. He has demanded that the traffic department in-charge, DCP Manoj Patil, clarify on the issue.

Public information officer (PIO) and assistant police commissioner, KC Lavange, in a reply to Velankar, said 77,243 vehicles were lifted by 30 towing vehicles in the nine months from January to September 2010.Velankar and another RTI activist, Vishwas Sahastrbuddhe, in a letter to Patil, said a towing vehicle owner gets Rs50 per two-wheeler lifted. If 12 vehicles are lifted in a vehicle, its owner gets Rs600 daily. If one deducts the expenses such as salaries of his employees, fuel consumed and maintenance of the vehicle the tempo owner hardly gets anything. It is a loss-making business.

When contacted, Patil told DNA he could not comment on the issue, but action could be taken if a specific complaint is made to him.

Earlier, action was taken against such errant towing vehicle owners.

Gujarat RTI activists meet, voice angst against SICs

DNA; Kinjal Desai; Monday, November 22, 2010,

In a bid to provide a platform to RTI activists to air their grievances, a public hearing was organised at the Mehandi Nawab Jang Hall in Paldi on Sunday. A decision was also taken regarding providing monetary assistance to deceased Amit Jethava's family.

RTI activist Bharatsinh Zala said, "Activists from Gujarat, Mumbai and Delhi arrived at a consensus that the Gujarat government should provide Rs10 lakh as monetary assistance to Jethava's family. We also want the government to realise that the state information commissioner's (SICs) negligence in providing timely information to RTI applicants has resulted in a loss of nearly Rs2 crore to the state."

The RTI award committee of Gujarat organised the public hearing where they discussed the role of information commissioners and also expressed their anguish over the absence of SICs at public hearings.

However, Zala said, "Mallika Sarabhai, a jury member of the RTI award committee, got agitated members to cool down." He added that she promised to meet the SICs in a couple of days time, and based on this, one more public hearing with the SICs will be arranged. Even after that, if the SICs turn a deaf ear to their pleas, they will carry out a demonstration.

Vinod Pandya, another RTI activist, said, "Gujarat information commissioners are pass only 100 orders in a month, whereas the Central information commissioner in New Delhi passes 1,000 orders per month." He added, "At this rate, things are never going to improve. For the January-August 2010 period, 7,100 appeals and complaints are pending. Three information commissioners, in eight months, have passed only 2,386 orders."

The committee received around 450 forms claiming that Gujarat information commissioners neglected their pleas and RTI applications. The SICs are either unable to take action or are deliberately ignoring the guilty, as a result of which, RTI activists are being forced to run from pillar to post. Through this public meeting, activists wanted higher government authorities to take action against the defaulters (i.e. SICs).

Activists complained that today, SICs are running a business under the name of the RTI Act. RTI cases have turned into labour court cases. Over 1,500 cases are pending with no hearing having been conducted. Activists have requested the government to frame a law under CrPC to take action against SICs who neglect cases and hearings and don't provide information to activists and the common people.

Citing an example, activists said that if an information commissioner in New Delhi does not provide information, the Central information commissioner issues a warrant against him to provide data within 10 days. "Why can't such steps be followed in Gujarat?" asked RTI activists in unison.

Raja rate of growth: Assets jump 170% in a yr

Express news service: Tue Nov 23 2010,

New Delhi : Before he became Telecom Minister in UPA-II, DMK MP A Raja had cash and assets worth Rs 71 lakh, which included shares and fixed deposits worth Rs 8.52 lakh. Less than a year into his second term as Union Minister, his investment in shares and fixed deposits had jumped by nearly 170 per cent, to over Rs 23 lakh.

In his affidavit to the Election Commission while filing his nomination from the Nilgiris (reserved) constituency in Tamil Nadu, Raja, who was recently forced to resign from the Cabinet due to his alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam, had disclosed having paid tax of Rs 1.83 lakh on his income for the year 2008-09.

However, his annual property and income returns provided by the Prime Minister’s Office in response to an RTI application filed by Subhash C Agrawal shows that while in 2008-09, Raja invested Rs 8.52 lakh in shares and his wife Rs 3.04 lakh, for the year ending March 31, 2010, their investments had shot up. His wife’s investments also showed an increase of Rs 6 lakh.

While assets of all ministers rose in the last one year, Defence Minister A K Antony was the odd man out, with his assets showing a dip the cash in his two bank accounts dwindled from Rs 1.8 lakh to a little over Rs 84,000.

The information was revealed after much dilly-dallying by the PMO, which earlier refused to part with details of ministers’ assets on the plea that these were held by the PM under a “fiduciary relationship” and were exempted from disclosure under the RTI.

The CIC asked the PMO to take permission of both Houses of Parliament before making the information public, and Parliament cleared the same saying no permission was required for disclosure.

According to information provided to Agrawal, Raja had bought shares of 19 companies, including many PSUs, IT companies and airlines.

Among the richest ministers in UPA II is Gwalior MP and Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose assets showed an increase from Rs 22.7 crore in 2009 to Rs 24 crore this year.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s movable and immovable properties showed a marginal increase from Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.10 crore. The other crorepatis include Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal.

The assets of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram also showed a marginal growth, up from Rs 10.3 crore to Rs 10.4 crore this year. He also took an advance of Rs 3.5 lakh.

Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, whose declared assets were just Rs 6.7 Lakh last year, showed some growth in her bank balance, with properties and cash of about Rs 10 lakh.

MC has no record of its building's ownership: RTI

Nidhi Singhi, TNN, Nov 22, 2010,

LUDHIANA: The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation ( LMC) has no documentary proof to establish that the Zone D building belongs to it. This is what the MC's building branch has replied to a query by a city resident under the Right to Information Act. According to the building branch they do not have any kind of record about the MC's Zone D building.

A city resident and RTI activist, Kuldeep Singh Khaira, had asked a few details about the MC's Zone D building, including plot number, popular name of the building, name of the owner, date and number of sanction of site plan and certificate, total area covered, number of basements, permissible height of the building, minimum parking area, name, address and class of registered architect/building designer to occupy building in pursuant of Section 272 of the Punjab Municipal Act, 1976.

Interestingly, even the building plan had not been approved by the assistant town planner as it had does not bear his sign. In the site plan of the area certified by the assistant town planner, too, the building is still considered as a part of green belt. The building branch had stated in its reply that the records that had been demanded were with the bridges and road (B&R) department so they should provide the information.

XEN (projects) HS Khosa, who had been directed to provide information, gave details which could be seen in the building. He had also failed to provide any kind of evidence to prove that the MC had fulfilled all the norms of building by-laws.

The technical details like plot number, date and number of sanction of site plan and certificate had been refused by the XEN (projects) citing that the information was associated with the town planners. The building branch had already refused from having any information about the building then things become automatically clear.

When contacted, senior town planner BS Brar said that the record was available with the B&R department and they would provide the information.

RTI અરજીઓના ભરાવા અને પેનલ્ટી નહીં વસૂલવા સામે રોષ

(પ્રતિનિધિ દ્વારા) અમદાવાદ, રવિવાર;Gujarat Samachar; 22-Nov.-2010, Monday

ગુજરાતમાં રાઈટ ટુ ઈન્ફરમેશન હેઠળ આવતી અરજીઓનો ઝડપી નિકાલ નહીં થતાં બે-ત્રણ વર્ષ સુધી અરજીઓ ચાલે તેટલો ભરાવો થઈ ગયો છે, ઉપરાંત બહુ જ ઓછા કેસોમાં પેનલ્ટી ચૂકવવાના ઓર્ડર થાય છે. આરટીઆઈ અરજકર્તાઓએ આ સંદર્ભમાં ભારે રોષ ઠાલવ્યો છે.આરટીઆઈ અરજકર્તાઓ દ્વારા રવિવારે અમદાવાદમાં યોજેલા સંમેલનમાં એવું જાહેર થયું હતું કે, જાન્યુઆરી ૧૦થી ઓગસ્ટ- ૧૦ સુધીમાં થયેલી, માહિતી માગતી અરજીઓ પૈકી ૭૧૦૦ ફરિયાદો પેન્ડિંગ છે, આ ગાળામાં રાજ્યમાં ત્રણ માહિતી કમિશનરો હોવા છતાં માત્ર ૨૩૮૬ અરજીઓમાં હુકમો થયાં હતા, મતલબ કે કમિશનરદીઠ મહિને માત્ર ૧૦૦ અરજીઓનો નિકાલ થઈ રહ્યો છે. આવી રીતે ઢીલાશથી તંત્ર ચાલે તો બે-ત્રણ વર્ષેય અરજીઓનો નિકાલ ના થાય અને સમયસર માહિતી મેળવવાનો હેતુ માર્યો જાય એમ પણ જણાવાયું હતું કે, આ ૮ માસના ગાળામાં માત્ર ૧ ટકા કિસ્સામાં જ પેનલ્ટી લેવાઈ છે, જ્યારે બીજાં રાજ્યોમાં પેનલ્ટી વસૂલ કરવાનું ધોરણ ઘણું ઉંચું છે.સંમેલનમાં આરટીઆઈ અપીલકર્તાઓ વિનોદ પંડયા, ભરતસિંહ ઝાલા દ્વારા એવું પણ જણાવાયું હતું કે, ૨૦૦૯-૧૦માં ૧૬૩૧ કેસો આવ્યા હતા, જેમાં માત્ર ૬૯૭ કિસ્સામાં માહિતી આપવાના હુકમો થયા હતા અને ૬૯૩ અરજીઓ કોઈને કોઈ કારણ ઉભા કરીને રદ કરાઈ હતી. વાસ્તવમાં ૮૧૯ કિસ્સામાં પેનલ્ટી થઈ શકે તેવી હતી, છતાં તે અંગે હુકમો ના થયા, જેને કારણે સરકારી તિજોરીને ૨ કરોડનું નુકસાન ગયું હતું.

RTI ના ૮૧૯ કેસમાં પેનલ્ટી ન કરાતાં તંત્રને બે કરોડનું નુકસાન

Bhaskar News, Ahmedabad; Monday, November 22, 2010

વર્ષ ૨૦૧૦માં ઓગસ્ટ સુધીમાં ૧૬૩૧ કેસમાંથી ૮૧૯ કેસ પેનલ્ટીને લાયક હતા :
આરટીઆઇની સાર્વજનિક જનસુનાવણી યોજાઈ

રાઇટ ટૂ ઇન્ફર્મેશન (આરટીઆઇ-માહિતીનો અધિકાર)ના ૮૧૯ કેસો દંડ લાયક હોવા છતાં તેમાં પેનલ્ટી ન કરાતાં રાજ્ય સરકારને રૂપિયા બે કરોડનું નુકસાન થયું છે. રાજ્યના માહિતી કમિશનરોની શિથિલતા અને ટોચના અધિકારીને બચાવવાની વૃત્તિને કારણે આ સ્થિતિનું નિર્માણ થયું હોવાનું આરટીઆઇ એવોર્ડ કમિટીએ ચાલુ વર્ષે કરેલા ડેટા એનાલિસિસમાં સામે આવ્યું છે.

શહેરના મહેંદી નવાજ જંગ હોલ ખાતે આરટીઆઇની જાહેર જનસુનાવણી યોજાઇ હતી. જેમાં કમિટીએ વર્ષ ૨૦૧૦ના ઓગસ્ટ સુધીના કેસોના ડેટા એનાલિસીસમાં જણાવ્યું હતું કે, ચાલુ વર્ષમાં રાજ્ય માહિતીકમિશનરે ૧૬૩૧ કેસમાં જવાબ આપવા આદેશ કર્યો હતો. જો કે તેમાંથી ૮૧૯ કેસ એવા હતા જેમાં જે તે અધિકારીને માહિતી આપી ન હતી અથવા લાંબી રાહ જોવડાવ્યા બાદ આપી હતી જે દંડને પાત્ર હતી.

રાજ્યમાં આરટીઆઇ કરનારને જે અન્યાય થયો છે તેમના માટે યોજાયેલી આ સુનાવણીમાં ભારતમાં આરટીઆઇ કાયદો લાવનારામાંના એક અને રોમન મેગ્સેસ એવોર્ડ વિજેતા અરવિંદ કેજરીવાલ પણ હાજર રહ્યા હતા.

આરટીઆઇ એવોર્ડ કમિટી દ્વારા આયોજિત આ સુનાવણીમાં મુખ્ય માહિતી કમિશનર આર. એન. દાસ, જે. એન.શુક્લા અને નેત્રા ચિનોઇ હાજર રહી લોકોના જવાબ આપવાના હતા. જો કે તેઓ ગેરહાજર રહેતા લોકો નિરાશ થયા હતા અને કમિશનરોની હાય હાય બોલાવી હતી. સેમિનારમાં રાજ્યભરમાંથી અરજીનો ઓર્ડર થયો છતાં જવાબ ન મળ્યો હોય તેવા અનેક લોકો ભેગા થયા હતા.

આરટીઆઇ કરનારાને થાય છે હાસ્યાસ્પદ અને કડવા અનુભવો

રાજ્યમાં આરટીઆઇ કરતી વખતે કડવા અને હાસ્યાસ્પદ અનુભવ થયા હોય તેના અનેક જાગૃત નાગરિકો સેમિનારમાં ઉપસ્થિત હતા. જુનાગઢ જિલ્લાના માંગરોળના મોહંમદ હાસમ મહીડાએ કહ્યું હતું કે, ‘પોતે જે સ્કૂલમાં હતા તે એમએમડબલ્યુ શાળા પાસે ફંડ, શિક્ષકોની હાજરી, એલટીસીની માગણી કરી ત્યારે સ્કૂલસંચાલકોએ તેમને માહિતીને બદલે પૂંઠા મોકલ્યા હતા.

સાથે સાથે સ્કૂલે લખ્યું હતું કે ૯૨૨ પાનાં મોકલવામાં આવે છે.’ મોરબીથી આવેલા બીજીબહેન પરમારની એક અરજીને બે વર્ષ થયા છતાં જવાબ નથી મળ્યો. બીજીબહેને મહેન્દ્રનગરની પડતર જમનીમાં તેમનું મકાન પાડી દેવામાં આવ્યું તે અંગે અરજી કરી હતી.બનાસકાંઠાના ધાનેરાથી આવેલા ઇન્દ્રભાઇ તુંવરે જણાવ્યું હતું કે, ‘ ધાનેરામાં પૂર વખતે ૨૪૩ પરિવારને પ્લોટ આપવામાં આવ્યો તે વિશે અરજી કરી હતી. જો કે પાંચ મહિના થયા છતાં જવાબ નથી મળ્યો.

RTIના ૧૬૩૦ કેસોમાં માત્ર ૮ને દંડ

Ahmedabad; Sandesh, Gujarati Daily : Monday, November 22, 2010

ઔદ્યોગિક સહિત તમામ ક્ષેત્રમાં ગુજરાત હરણફાળ વિકાસ ભરી રહ્યું છે અને શિક્ષણથી માંડીને બિઝનેસમાં ગુજરાત નોંધપાત્ર સિદ્ધિ હાંસલ કરી રહ્યું છે તેવી સુફિયાણી વાતો કરવામાં આવી રહી છે. તે સંજોગોમાં વાયબ્રન્ટ ગુજરાતમાં પણ માહિતી અધિકારમાં ગુજરાતની કામગીરી ઘણી નબળી રહી છે. માહિતી અધિકાર આયોગ લોકોને સામાન્ય માહિતી અપાવવામાં પણ જાણે નિષ્ફળ રહ્યું છે. આરટીઆઇ એવોર્ડ કમિટીના મતે, છેલ્લા એક વર્ષમાં કુલ ૧૬૩૦ કેસોમાં માહિતી આયોગે માત્ર ૮ અરજીમાં જવાબદાર માહિતી અધિકારીને દંડ કર્યો હતો. પ્રથમવાર યોજાયેલી જાહેર સુનાવણીમાં માહિતી આયોગ કમિશનર ફરક્યા જ ન હતા, પરિણામે ઉશ્કેરાયેલા લોકોએ કમિશનરનો હુરિયો બોલાવીને વિરોધ પ્રર્દિશત કર્યો હતો.

અમદાવાદમાં પાલડી ખાતે મહેંદીનવાજ જંગ હોલમાં આરટીઆઇ એવોર્ડ કમિટી આયોજિત માહિતી અધિકાર હેઠળ અરજકર્તાઓની જાહેર સુનાવણી યોજાઇ હતી, જેમાં કમિટીના સભ્ય અરવિંદ કેજરીવાલે જણાવ્યું કે, દિલ્હી, ગોવા, પંજાબ અને હૈદરાબાદમાં કમિશનરની ઉપસ્થિતિમાં જાહેર સુનાવણી થાય છે જેથી લોકોને પડતી મુશ્કેલીનું નિરાકરણ થાય છે. દુર્ભાગ્ય છે કે, આ સુનાવણીમાં કમિશનર હાજર નથી. માહિતી આયોગ જ આવું કરશે તો કાયદાનો કોઇ અર્થ રહેશે નહીં. તેમણે એવો આક્ષેપ કર્યો હતો કે, માહિતીના કાયદાનો લોકો નહીં પણ જાહેર માહિતી અધિકારીઓ જ ઉલ્લંઘન કરી રહ્યાં છે. કમિટીના અન્ય સભ્ય વિનોદ પંડયાએ જણાવ્યું હતું કે, માહિતી અધિકારનો ઉપયોગ કરતાં લોકોને અટકાવી શકાશે નહીં. ભ્રષ્ટાચાર,ગેરરીતિઓને માહિતી અધિકારથી બહાર લાવી શકાશે. વર્ષ ૨૦૦૯-૧૦માં કુલ ૧૬૩૧ કેસોમાં આયોગે ૬૯૮ કેસોમાં માહિતી આપવાનો હુકમ કર્યો હતો. ૬૩૩ અરજીઓને ટેકનિકલ કારણોસર રદ કરી દીધી હતી. ૨૦૪ અરજીને પોતાના કાર્યક્ષેત્રમાં નથી તેમ કરીને પરત કરી દેવાઇ હતી. ૭૭૩ અરજીકર્તાઓને તો આયોગે સાંભળવાની તક સુદ્ધાં આપી નહીં. ૮૧૯ અરજીઓમાં તો જાહેર માહિતી અધિકારીઓ દોષિત હોવા છતાંયે આયોગે ઢીલું વલણ દાખવી કોઇ કાર્યવાહી જ કરી નહીં. દંડ ન કરવાને કારણે સરકા૨ને ૨ કરોડનું નુકસાન ભોગવવું પડયું છે. નોંધનીય છે કે, માહિતી ન આપવા બદલ અધિકારીને રૃ.૨૫૦થી ૨૫ હજાર સુધીનો દંડ થઇ શકે છે. આજે પણ અપીલ સહિત કુલ ૭૧૦૦ કેસો પેન્ડિંગ છે.

માહિતી આયોગ કમિશનર સુનાવણીમાં હાજર ન રહેતાં લોકોએ હાય રે, કમિશનર હાય હાયના સૂત્રોચ્ચાર કરીને હોલ ગજવી મૂક્યો હતો. અમદાવાદ સહિત રાજ્યભરમાંથી આવેલા લોકોને માહિતી અધિકાર હેઠળ અધિકારીઓ જવાબ આપતાં જ નથી. અરજીકર્તાને ધમકી આપવામાં આવે છે. માહિતી પણ અધૂરી આપવામાં આવે છે. એક વર્ષ સુધી જવાબ મળતાં નથી તેવી ફરિયાદો કરીને રોષ વ્યક્ત કર્યો હતો.

આરટીઆઇની કામગીરીમાં વાયબ્રન્ટ ગુજરાત ૧૮મા ક્રમે

અમદાવાદઃ ગુજરાતમાં માહિતી આયોગની કામગીરી સંતોષકારક નથી. એવોર્ડ કમિટીના સભ્યના મતે, દર વર્ષે માહિતી અધિકારની કામગીરી અંગે સમીક્ષા કરવામાં આવે છે અને દરેક રાજ્યનું રેન્કિંગ આપવામાં આવે છે. પરફોર્મન્સ ઓફ ઇન્ફર્મેશન કમિશનના મતે, આરટીઆઇમાં ગુજરાત ઘણું પાછળ રહ્યું છે. ભારતમાં માહિતી અધિકારની કામગીરીમાં ૧૮ ક્રમે રહ્યું છે. આ પરથી સાબિત થાય છે કે, ગુજરાતમાં માહિતી અધિકારનો કાયદો માત્ર કાગળ પર જ રહ્યો છે.

જૂનાગઢના શિક્ષકને પોસ્ટમાં માહિતીને બદલે પૂઠાં મળ્યાં

અમદાવાદ : જાહેર સુનાવણીમાં ભાગ લેવા આવેલા જૂનાગઢની એમ.એન.ડબલ્યુ હાઇસ્કૂલના નિવૃત્ત શિક્ષક હાસમભાઇ મહિડાએ માહિતી અધિકાર હેઠળ કર્મચારીઓ કેવી મજાક કરે છે તેનું ઉદાહરણ આપ્યું હતું. તેણે કહ્યું કે, શાળાના કૌભાંડના મામલે જિલ્લા શિક્ષણાધિકારી સમક્ષ અરજી કરીને માહિતી માંગી ત્યારે તેમણે રજિ.એડીથી પાર્સલ મોકીલેન ૪૧૯ નકલો મોકલી હોવાનું જણાવ્યું હતું પણ જ્યારે પાર્સલ ખોલ્યું તો તેમાંથી માત્ર પૂઠાં નીકળ્યાં હતાં.

સમારોહમાં તલવાર દર્શાવતા નેતાઓ વિરુદ્ધ આરટીઆઇ

અમદાવાદ : ભાજપ અને કાંગ્રેસના નેતાઓ જાહેરમાં તલવારનો ઉપયોગ કરતાં હોય છે, જેથી અમદાવાદના રહીશ અલ્પેશ ભાવસારે માહિતી અધિકાર હેઠળ એવી માહિતી માંગી હતી કે, જાહેર સ્થળોએ તલવાર જેવાં શસ્ત્રોનો ઉપયોગ કરતાં નેતાઓ પોલીસ કમિશનર પાસેથી મંજૂરી મેળવે છે ખરા. આ અંગે મ્યુનિસિપલ કોર્પોરેશન અને ગંાધીનગર જિલ્લા પોલીસ વડાને અરજી કરવામાં આવી હોવા છતાંયે એક વર્ષના અંતે કોઇ સાનુકૂળ પ્રત્યુત્તર મળી શક્યો નથી.