Teacher files FIR against school for PF.

DNA;Tuesday, May 31, 2011,

A teacher from a Kurla school filed an FIR against the school for not allowing her to take benefit of her provident fund service (PF) for which some amount of her salary was deducted every month.

Shaikh Gulnaz Bano filed an FIR against Al Barkaat Malik Muhammed Islam English School, where she was teaching from 2008 to 2011.

On May 20 the VB Nagar police station, Kurla registered an FIR under Section 406 (Criminal breach of trust), 420 (Cheating), 506 (ii) (Criminal intimidation with threat to cause death or grievous hurt). Since the day she had joined the school, she used to get varying amounts in hand, always less than the consolidated salary. “The school authorities did not provide me with the account number and on the contrary started harassing and threatening me,” Shaikh said.

However, the school on the other hand has denied all the charges. Imran AR Karnekar, Coordinator of the school, said, “These are all false allegations. The teacher never asked about her PF. She is doing this for media mileage.”

She also approached Forum for Fairness, an NGO. “The school website has stopped working immediately after an FIR was registered. We have also filed RTI to find related information against the school,” said Rajiv Patel, vice president of the NGO.

‘Amin coming in way of exposing VC’s corruption’

Ahmedabad Mirror;  Yogesh Avasthi; Tuesday, May 31, 2011,

Congress students’ wing, NSUI, says that Narhari Amin’s support of the vice chancellor has demotivated them; they launch anti-corruption campaign to oust Parimal Trivedi.

In an incident that exposes the dire state of Congress in Gujarat, the students’ wing of the party has initiated an agitation against the vice chancellor, but their biggest hurdle in exposing Gujarat University Vice Chancellor Parimal Trivedi’s scams is a veteran student politics expert who is a senior Congress leader !
The National Students Union of India (NSUI) which is keen to take on VC Parimal Trivedi and expose his illegal and corrupt practice says that it is unfortunate that former deputy chief minister and senior Congress leader Narhari Amin, who is a veteran in University politics, is not supporting the students but siding with the vice chancellor.
“This is highly demotivating for us,” NSUI leaders told Mirror. NSUI has launched a campaign againt VC Parimal Trivedi and sought his resignation on Monday. Led by NSUI’s state secretary Hardik Dodia and city chief Vishal Gurjar, a five-member team forcefully made their way into the vice chancellor’s chamber, shouting “VC chor chhe and VC brasht chhe (VC is a thief, he is corrupt)”.

In their raised pitch, they told Parimal Trivedi, “You are corrupt and you have been putting pressure on us through Congress leaders for the past three days, but we will not be cowed down and continue with our agitation. Even if any Congress leader is involved we won’t buckle. This is the students’ money and it should be utilised properly.” Trivedi maintained a stoic silence as NSUI students’ continued their vitriolic attack.
The members submitted a memorandum to the VC, listing a number of issues, ranging from the answerbook printing scam to people not getting information under RTI, from corruption in the construction of the convention centre and other university buildings to announcing new courses but not starting them.
Narhari Amin when asked what he had to say about the campaign against the VC, he said, “I have no clue about any such campaign by the NSUI.” Defending the VC, Amin said, “The process of the tender related to the printing of answer sheets is clean and there is no corruption. I will talk it out with the NSUI members about the same.”
Later, the NSUI members met the University Police Inspector S J Vaghasiya and submitted an application demanding action against the vice chancellor. After the NSUI members left, Trivedi called the university security officer Hukam Singh and blasted him for letting the members get into his chamber. “If it happens next time, you will be in trouble”, he told Singh.
Meanwhile, the vice chancellor ordered whitewashing of the walls across the university on Monday, a day after NSUI members painted it with anti-VC slogans.

Amin backed VC on these issues, says NSUI
NSUI has alleged their own party leader, former deputy chief minister and education minister Narhari Amin, is the VC’s vocal supporter. Instead of supporting the Congress, according to NSUI, Amin openly endorses the wrongs of the VC. Here is a short list of issues which the NSUI says are instances where Amin supported Trivedi.

·       In 2005, the VC had appointed his wife as a M Ed college lecturer. Congress leaders kept mum on the issue despite a case being filed at the Gujarat High Court.

·       To benefit a printing press, the VC gave an answer sheet printing order to it. The government’s fact-finding committee too said their was corruption in the deal.

·       The university bought 400 computers with UGC grant meant for some other purpose. Besides the computers were bought despite surplus computers on the campus.

·       The initial budget of the university convention centre was Rs 7 crore. However, the VC has spent Rs 40 crore till now and construction is incomplete.

·       In an arbitary decision, the university printing press was shut down and printing jobs doled out to private firms without any transparent process.

·       In the past four years, the number of students taking admission to GU has decreased by 70,000. However, the expenditure has gone up by Rs 17 crore.

·       New B Com, BBA colleges were started last year despite no demand for it and given to people who did not have the infrastructure to run them.

·     The VC has charged development fees from some colleges, but there is no uniformity in the fees.

'Ongoing probe no excuse to deny info'

Times of India; Viju BViju B.; Tue,31 May 2011,

MUMBAI: The Central Information Commission (CIC), in an order, said that investigation agencies cannot withhold details merely on the grounds that a case is being probed.
Central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi passed this order while hearing an appeal against the public information officer (PIO) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The PIO had refused to give out information about a chargesheet filed against Reliance Industries Ltd by the CBI in a call re-routing case filed five years ago.
The appellant, D C Srivastava, had sought to know why the names of some corporate bigwigs were not included in the chargesheet and whether the opinion of CBI director (prosecution) was taken before excluding their names.
The PIO, in response, said that the CBI had decided to prosecute only certain directors and the reasons for not prosecuting the others were on record. "However, disclosing such information would provide clues to other persons accused in the said case by which they would be able to argue why they should also not be charged,'' the PIO said.
The PIO also said that the disclosure of the reason for non-exclusion of some names was exempted under Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act.
When the case came up for hearing, Gandhi noted that the the CIC noted that merely because the process of investigation or prosecution of offenders was continuing, public information stipulated under Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act is not attracted. "It must be clearly established by the
"PIO must establish that the disclosure of information would impede the process of investigation or prosecution of offenders''. Gandhi in his order said.
"Section 8 of the Act should not be interpreted in manner as to shadow the very right itself. Under Section 8, exemption from releasing information is granted if it would impede the process of investigation or the prosecution of offenders. It is apparent that the mere existence of an investigation process cannot be a ground for refusal of information; the authority withholding information must show satisfactory reasons as to why the release of such information would hamper the investigation process," Gandhi said.
In his order, Gandhi said, right to information is a fundamental right of the citizens.
"The RTI Act was enacted with the spirit of ensuring transparency.
It is clearly laid down in the RTI Act that the onus of proving that a denial of a request for information was justified is on the PIO who denies the request. Therefore, while denying a request for information under the RTI Act, the PIO must have cogent reasons for doing so which must necessarily come within the purview of Sections 8 and 9 of the RTI Act.
The PIO is directed to provide the information as available on record on before 20 June 2011 free of cost.''

Del. HC to decide whether RTI is applicable to DIAL, stays CIC order.

Law et al. News; New Delhi; Hary M. Pillai; Tue,31 May 2011,

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) today obtained a stay from the High Court of Delhi against an order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) which had held DIAL to be a public authority. Justice S. Muralidhar after hearing the arguments has stayed the order of the CIC for now. CIC had in its order directed DIAL to part with information and implement provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

DIAL had filed the writ petition before the High Court following the order of the CIC on 27 April 2011, which reasoned that since DIAL is performing quasi-governmental functions and its activities impact citizens’ daily life, it is a public authority and should implement the RTI Act.

The impugned order of CIC was given in an appeal filed by one SP Rathi, who had contended that his RTI application to DIAL had not resulted in any information being given to him. In this respect CIC had also held that SP Rathi had suffered due to denial of information and DIAL was directed to pay him compensation.

CIC had also observed that by way of an old decision (in Lt. Col. Heble’s appeal) of the commission, DIAL had been held as a public authority, and therefore it cannot deny information sought.

DIAL had contended that concerning the order passed in Lt. Col. Heble’s appeal, DIAL had filed for recall of that order. It was alleged by DIAL in Rathi’s appeal that after hearing the matter the CIC had not recalled the order of January 17 nor passed any other order and as such the matter was sub-judice.

GPS installation issue now under RTI scanner.

Times of India; Tue,31 May 2011,

NEW DELHI: The issue of installation of GPS devices in autorickshaws refuses to die down. Now, a day before the government starts its drive to install the devices, a deluge of RTI queries on the government's decision to scrap the call-on-demand facility has stumped the transport department.
Sources in the department say that hundreds of RTI queries have come in since the announcement of the scrapping of the call-on-demand facility from the GPS device to be installed in autorickshaws. Said a senior official, "The perception seems to be that the government has succumbed to the pressures of the auto unions." The transport department had announced call-on-demand service on the lines of radio taxi when auto and taxi fares were revised in June 2010. The department had proposed to set up a call centre where people could call and book an auto. The call centre would have traced the auto nearest to the place from where the call had come and would have asked the auto driver to pick the passenger.
However, with the government initially keeping the price of the device at Rs 15,000, the auto unions had threatened to go on strike, claiming the price was too high. While the government agreed to bring down the price by half of the GPS device, the call-on-demand facility was axed from the features being offered. Interestingly, despite the climb-down by the government, auto unions are still unwilling to shell out the money. Now, the offer of payment in installments of Rs 625, which includes the monthly maintenance charges, to some of the auto drivers is being asked to be extended to all three-wheeler rickshaws (TSRs), say unions.
That's not the only problem. Sources say that the uncertainty over the installation has hit the company which was to install the devices as well. Said a senior government official, "The company had agreed to install the devices, which are quite expensive, on the basis of payment in instalments. But now, with the government also asking for a bank guarantee, the company seems to have developed cold feet." Sources said that the company had reportedly refused to go ahead with the project, citing inability to bear losses if the project doesn't take off. Government officials however, say that discussions are on with the company to ensure that the project gets underway by the deadline.
According to estimates, an autorickshaw runs a minimum of 200km a day. Last year, when the government had raised TSR fares, 50 paise was earmarked for the GPS device. Based on this, for every 200km run daily, the autorickshaw owner makes Rs 100 extra every day (Rs 3,000 a month and Rs 36,000 a year). He has to however, pay only Rs 7,500 a year for the GPS.

Staff crunch hampers work at state info panels.

Hindustan Times; Prajakta Chavan; Mumbai, May 31, 2011,

The severe manpower shortage is not restricted only to the Mantralaya. Other crucial state departments too have reported staff crunch.

This paucity of staff is hampering work, more importantly disbursal of information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. A petition filed by city resident Mohammed Afzal under the RTI Act revealed that the Maharashtra State Information Commission is facing severe shortage of manpower, around 35%.

According to the information, the state traffic police needs 17% more personnel while the state transport department requires 27% more people than its current staff strength.

The sanctioned staff strength in each of the eight state information commission (SIC) offices in Maharashtra is 18. However, six posts are currently vacant in each of the SIC offices; some of the divisional information commission offices have more than 10 vacancies.

The Nashik Division of the information commission, which was started in October 2010, is 70% short-staffed, as 11 out of 18 posts are vacant. Other two divisions Amravati and Greater Mumbai closely follow Nashik, with eight and nine vacancies, respectively. “More than 10,000 RTI appeals are pending with the state information commission because of staff crunch. With increasing awareness about RTI, there has been a considerable rise in the number of such appeals. However, such appeals are either unattended or disbursal of information under the RTI is delayed due to poor staff strength,” said Afzal. He added, “Hearings in RTI matters are either pending or those that take place are not recorded due to paucity of staff.”

When the HT contacted the Maharashtra State General Administrative Department (GAD), which recruits staff for the Mantralaya and other state departments, under secretary of the GAD, Suchita Mahadik, said, “We have given them more than 50% of their required staff strength. Now they have to form their own recruitment rules to deal with shortage of staff.”

The chief information commissioner Vilas Patil said, “As per the Right to Information Section 15(6), the state government shall provide the staff to the information commissioner and chief commissioner. If we had to carry out recruitmen on our own, we should have been informed. Why is the GAD shying away from its responsibility now.”

RTI implementation in Nepal;

Himalayan Times; Kathmandu, Nepal; ANANDA RAJ POKHAREL;  May 30, 2011,

Right to information is a new concept to Nepal. It is argued that major impetus to transparency has been the growth of democracy. The credit goes to multi-lateral donor agencies to set up transparency regimes in South Asia. However, in Europe, environment protection movement generated the concept of transparency and accountability in governance.
Right to information is the pulse and lifeblood of democracy. The effectiveness of democracy depends on the level of transparency, responsiveness and accountability of the government. Transparency breeds fairness, legitimacy and makes the government more accountable to the people. Democracy demands open society and free flow of information and ensures easy access of public in seeking or receiving information without any bureaucratic hassles. Markets can function best when the transactions are open and public. The government process and performance would be best when they are observable, measurable, answerable, verifiable and transparent.
With the dawn of multiparty system in Nepal, the constitution of 1990, guaranteed the freedom of expression, press and right to information and recognized them as the fundamental right of the citizens. Similarly, the Interim Constitution has also incorporated the right to information as the fundamental right of the Nepalese citizens.
In 2007, the Right to Information (RTI) Act was passed by the parliament, and National Information Commission was established to enforce RTI Act effectively. The main responsibilities of National information Commission are protection promotion and implementation obligations assigned by RTI Act.
The main features of the RTI Act are proactive disclosure, information updating, period and procedures of releasing information, provision of compensation and protection of whistleblowers. Since three years, NIC has been conducting sensitized programs like trainers-training, public awareness seminars, publishing booklets and brushers.
Information is a public asset and source of knowledge. Nevertheless, the record keeping system in Nepal is traditional. The records are packed in sacks or just stacked. Efforts to improve record-keeping have been undertaken by various ministries on their own initiatives, not as a part of systematic and co-coordinated drive to facilitate information access. In Nepal, the demand sides of information, in comparison to India and Bangladesh are very low, and supply sides of information are limited. An entrenched culture of secrecy, high level of illiteracy, difficult geography, political instability, poor record-keeping and lack of central nodal agency are the major challenges to implement RTI Act.
A culture of secrecy is deeply rooted within the Nepalese civil service. It is because Civil Service Act and rules both prohibit civil servants from releasing information to any unauthorized person. The primary reason for maintaining secrecy is to cover up incompetence, inefficiency and wrong-doings.
RTI Act is considered as one of the effective tools to translate into practice the basic theories and assumptions of good governance. The public bodies publish half-yearly and annual progress reports, but their quality and contents are poor. Furthermore, these reports are also not available to the public. On the other hand, NIC is unable to expand its activities at the grass roots level because of the lack of resources.
The civil society, political parties and the media should plan an active role in creating the demand side of the Right to Information, because it is a modern tool to promote SMART governance. SMART government means simple, more accountable, responsive and transparent government.
RTI can generate powerful synergy to mobilize local resources and breeds vertical accountability. It also creates participatory opportunities, transparency and generates accountability to establish modern democratic society and SMART government.
At this crucial juncture of history, implementing RTI is a great challenge because it demands more robust and popular base of political support. It also requires encouragement, monitoring policies, strategic plan, standard operating procedures and public support. To meet these purposes, a central nodal agency is essential to coordinate different public bodies to implement RTI effectively. Besides these, central nodal agency should enforce its internal structures in various areas such as proactive publication, information management, proceeding of requests and training to information officers.The effectiveness of RTI implementation depends upon the political will and implementation capabilities of the government.
RTI-oriented human resources, culture of openness, use of information technology for record-keeping and dissemination of information through proactive discloser methods and political support may create a transparent and open society. Rays of transparency will kill germs of corruption irregularities, favoritism, and red tapism.

RTI: Pathetic state of implementation.

Times of India; May 30, 2011,

JAIPUR: For a government harping on transparency and accountability, a glance through the websites of various departments brings to the fore the pathetic state of the implementation of the RTI Act. Incidentally, it was Rajasthan that laid the foundation for this law.
A survey by the Suchna Evum Rozgar Ka Adhikar Abhiyan, based on the websites of 64 government departments, shows that there are at least 17 departments that do not have a public information officer (PIO) or an appellate authority either at the office level or at the department level. Apart from this there are seven other departments that do not have PIOs or an appellate authority at the office level though they have such posts at the department level.
The survey reveals that out of the 52 departments just 30 have PIOs and 26 have an appellate authority at the office level. There are 12 departments that do not require to have such posts at the office level. At the department level, out of the 64 departments 46 have PIOs and 40 have appellate authorities.
According to Section 4 and 5 of the Act not only does every office have to have a PIO and an appellate authority but their names must also be displayed prominently outside the offices so that any new comer can approach them for information.
Among the government departments that do not have a PIO or an appellate authority at any level, and hence are the least transparent, are archaeology and museum, CM's relief fund, board of technical education, directorate of evaluation organisation, directorate of literacy and continuing education, directorates of watershed development and soil conservation, general administration and cabinet secretariat, excise, medical education, medical health and family welfare, Rajasthan police, redressal of public grievances, science and technology, technical education, tourism, urban development and housing and the geographical information system.
"This is absolutely pathetic. The Act had made it mandatory that every department and office should have a PIO within 120 days of the implementation of the RTI Act but now it is close to six years and still there are so many departments that have these offices vacant," says Kamal Tak of the Abhiyan.
The Abhiyan has also written a letter to the principal secretary of the administrative reforms department bringing to light the anomalies and has urged him to take immediate action.

Woman seeks justice after her stir in US is tagged as suicide.

Times of India; C Unnikrishnan; May 30, 2011,

MUMBAI: Forty-four-year-old Jyoti Ghag's life changed for the worse on October 1, 2009 when policemen landed at her Washington home to prevent her from 'committing suicide'. For Jyoti, who was to go on hunger strike at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in Washington DC the next day, demanding a probe into her father's death, this visit by cops came as a rude shock. She had never spoken of suicide in her communication informing the Indian Embassy about her protest.
Jyoti will be under surveillance till 2015 by the US security. She has now moved the Bombay high court demanding an apology and compensation from the Union government. The high court has sought a reply from the government.
A resident of Thane, Jyoti moved to the US after her marriage to Manik Rane, Microsoft's director of health solution programme in 1987. She stays with her three children.
Jyoti's father, Atmaram Ghag, died in 2003. She claimed that his death was due to the fact that her relatives had kept him house-bound for 17 months over a property dispute and did not allow him to move out. She said the police did not investigate her complaints.
In July 2009, Jyoti sent an e-mail to an Indian ministry of external affairs (MEA) official in the US asking his assistance to probe his father's death. On August 19, 2009, she sent another mail informing about a peaceful protest on Gandhi Jayanti.
She continued sending emails and at times she received replies. On September 29, 2009, she received an e-mail from Sanjay Sinha, an MEA official in the US, saying they would forward her e-mails and supporting documents to the Indian government for necessary action.
However, on October 1 night, police officials of the Sheriff of King County visited her and interrogated her. "They said they received a written communication about the suicide from Indian government officials. Soon, US Homeland Security Department officials visited my residence and questioned me," she said.
Jyoti then wrote to MEA officials on October 2, 2009, giving them details of the questioning. She complained to the Prime Minister's office and in March 2010, it was forwarded to the MEA for necessary action.
"I even filed an RTI query to obtain documents that led to the US police taking action against me, but the Indian government turned it down," she said.
Jyoti said that there is always a fear when she is under observation. "My son will complete his education and move out. His social security number will always mention this incident," she said. Jyoti said that approaching court was the only option left as no authority was willing to help her.

Over 100 'traditional' drugs found unsuitable for humans sold openly in India.

India Today; Neetu Chandra; New Delhi, May 30, 2011,

It's shocking, but true. Hundreds of popular ayurvedic, homoeopathic and Unani medicines, which have been declared as either "unfit for human consumption", or have otherwise failed to pass essential quality tests for becoming eligible to be exported, are being freely sold in medical stores in Delhi and elsewhere.

Even more shockingly, these drugs have been certified unsafe by a government testing lab. But the Delhi government authority responsible for ensuring compliance with the rules on the part of manufacturers and sellers - the drug control department - professes to be unaware of the practice! "We have no information of such a practice. We will look into the matter seriously," said Ravi Kant, drug controller of Delhi AYUSH (ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy), department of the ministry of health and family welfare.

Nevertheless, scores of such formulations, which have failed to meet the export quality test, are doing brisk business in Delhi drugstores.

According to documents available, over 100 medicines failed to pass quality tests due to "substandard" quality, presence of heavy metals, or prohibited drugs and/or prescription allopathic drugs in alleged "herbal" medicines, are all being openly sold in the market.

Such prohibited content can have adverse and serious effects on the human body on consumption, health experts confirmed.

For instance, 'Missile Power' capsules and 'Xtra Power' capsules, tested at the government of India's Pharmacopoeial Laboratory for Indian Medicine in Ghaziabad, were found to contain Sildenafil Citrate, the chemical in prescription drug Viagra.

This is not allowed in Ayurveda products, but both were found to be readily available in medical stores visited by this correspondent.

These capsules are consumed for enhancing sexual performance.

Even drugs meant for children were not spared. 'N Tone' syrup (a paediatric tonic for newborns) manufactured by On Ayurvedics, when tested, was found unfit for human consumption as it contained suspended particles.

The tonic is easily available on the internet and in homeopathic stores.

'Mrit Sanjivani Sura', medicinal syrup manufactured by Dabur India Limited, was found exceeding the legal limit of alcohol content, 16 per cent. The tested sample was found to contain 20.56 per cent alcohol.

Samples from other manufacturers of the same syrup, namely Leo Pharma and Rajan Ayurvedics, also failed to pass alcohol limit test. Woodland's medicated Gripe Water, manufactured by Tilak Pharmaceuticals Delhi, which claims to have 'soya seed', failed as there were no soya seeds in it.

While some like ' Panchskar churna' by Sahay Ayurvedic Pharma, failed as the composition and ingredients were not mentioned on the label, others like 'Doctor's Pudin Hara', manufactured by Bandish Chemicals, and Zinzoxin and Fenu Green by Bajaj Herbocare, failed because of prohibited substances, like Methanol, in them.

'Brahmi Vati' by Universal Medicaments, failed as it contained prohibited concentrations of heavy metals. The popular ayurveda medicine 'Rasayan Vati' was found to have exceeded the limit for Cadmium.

'Metascab' ointment was found exceeding limits of Lead and Arsenic, while Debbix tablets were found exceeding limits of lead and cadmium.

Homeopathic medicines Elixir Vita 8 manufactured by Welmans's Homeopathy Delhi and Gastrocin which are used in gastric disturbances, was found to contain alcohol in excess of permissible limits. Alfalfa Q for tiredness and fatigue also failed in alcohol content. Many homeopathic drugs were found in contravention of the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954, like Gro-T Tablet by Holistic Remedies, Bio force AG and Heightex.

According to the act, treatment for certain diseases cannot be offered through advertisements. These drugs were found claiming to offer treatment by mere consumption of these drugs.

The authorities only appear to be concerned about preventing such medicines from being exported, since overseas health regulations do not permit such formulations.

"We have strictly issued a circular that herbal medicines found with heavy metals would not be exported to other countries. There is no regulation to curb the practice in India. Other countries refused to accept the India-made Ayurveda medicines with metals," said a senior official with the department of drug controls for alternative medicine, AYUSH. The government has fixed the permissible limits of heavy metals in ayurveda and Unani medicines with only herbal ingredients, which are in line with World Health Organisation and US Food and Drugs Administration norms. These limits are 10 parts per million (ppm) for lead, 0.030 ppm for cadmium, 3.0 ppm for arsenic and 1 ppm for mercury.

The Centre, vide its order dated October 14, 2005, has made testing for heavy metals, namely arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium, mandatory for export purposes in respect of every batch of purely herbal ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicines by every licensee.

In view of the regulatory requirements of the importing country, the manufacturer is supposed to submit batch- wise testing reports from approved laboratories certifying that the medicines contains heavy metals within permissible limits.

Only after obtaining the certificate can manufacturers export these medicines to other countries. These tests reports were revealed in an RTI reply to Ramesh Verma an RTI activist. "Someone informed me about this rampant practice. I wanted to expose these manufactures so, I filed the RTI," said Verma.

"Drugs that attract the magic remedies acts are mostly the drugs that claim to increase masculine power. These are easily available in the market and are fooling people.

There should be a proper action against the concerned people," Dr P. N. Varma, former director, Central Council for Research in Homeopathy, said.

CIC directive to Law Ministry on RTI plea.

The Hindu; Sunday 29 May 2011,

“Furnish details on ASG's reply to show-cause notice”

The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Union Law Ministry to furnish details of the reply sent by Additional Solicitor-General A.S. Chandiok in response to a show-cause issued for his appearance in the Delhi High Court on behalf of the North Delhi Power Ltd. (NDPL), a private company.

Rights activist Subash Chandra Agrawal, on the basis of media reports about Mr. Chandiok's appearance for a private party and the show-cause issued to him, approached the Law Ministry seeking to know whether the ASG had sent his reply, and if so, to furnish the same. Further, during the farewell of Justice S.N. Aggarwal, a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court, who was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Mr. Chandiok had reportedly questioned the judges transfer policy and the Centre issued a show-cause to him and details were sought on this aspect also.

With the Law Ministry declining to give the details, the RTI activist approached the CIC, which directed the Ministry to provide, in four weeks, the following information to Mr. Agrawal copies of replies received from Mr. Chandiok to the two notices sent and the reply if any sent by the Ministry to these letters.

Vaccine-related deaths on the increase.

The Hindu; Aarti Dhar; Sunday 29 May 2011,

NEW DELHI: Vaccine-related deaths have shown an increase in the country since 2008, according to the information provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in response to an application filed under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

The total number of deaths reported due to adverse effects from immunisation (AEFI) from 2001 to 2007 was only 136, whereas it went up to 355 in the following three years.

The information has come in response to an RTI application filed by K.V. Babu of Kannur district in Kerala.

As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there were no AEFI deaths in 2001. There were six deaths reportedly after immunisation in 2002, which went up to 13 in 2003. As many as 23 children died following immunisation in 2004, 18 in 2005, 54 in 2006 and 32 in 2007. In 2008 alone, 111 AEFI deaths were reported. There was a marginal increase to 116 in the following year, and in 2010 there were 128 deaths.

“There seems to be some coincidence with the increase in the AEFI deaths and the period when the three major public sector undertakings at Kasauli, Coonoor and Chennai were closed,” Dr. Babu said.

The 103-year-old Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli, the 100-year-old Pasteur Institute of India (PII), Coonoor, and the 60-year-old BCG Vaccine Laboratory (BCGVL), Chennai, were shut down in January 2008 after their manufacturing licences were cancelled for not being compliant with “good manufacturing practices” as per the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. This had resulted in acute shortage of life-saving vaccines under the universal immunisation programme (UIP) as the bulk of vaccines for the programme was manufactured by these units.

Following the closure, the vaccines were procured from the private sector in addition to those supplied by the WHO.

According to the response of the Ministry, no AEFI death has been “attributed directly to vaccine'' as the cause of death. At one point of time a child is administered one or more than one vaccine and at times along with vaccine Vitamin A is also administered. Hence, the number of deaths vaccine wise cannot provided as there are (BCG, DPT, OPV, measles, TT and JE in select districts, Hepatitis B is also given in some districts). Many permutation and combination of these 8 antigens and Vitamin A syrup are also given.

The government's response to the number of AEFI deaths in 2010 said there were 48 ‘coincidental' deaths with Maharashtra topping with eight such deaths; two children (one each in Maharashtra and Delhi) died on injection reaction; two died of program error (one each in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra) and four had died of vaccine reaction.

As many as 72 deaths have been attributed to ‘unknown' cause. Again Maharashtra topped with 18, followed by Uttar Pradesh and seven in Andhra Pradesh.

“The surprise aspect is that deaths immediately after measles vaccination in Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh in 2010 have not been labelled as death due to vaccination,'' Dr. Babu said.

The Central team inquiring into the AEFI deaths in Lucknow has not yet completed its work and the matter is also sub judice in the High Court. The final inquiry report of deaths in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh is also not available, the RTI reply says.

Maharashtra makes Rs 4 crore from 1.31 lakh name changes in 12 months.

The Economic Times; Sunday 29 May 2011,

MUMBAI: Changing names is no passing fad, as seen by the desire of lakhs of people across Maharashtra. In 12 months from April 2009 to March 2010, more than 1.31 lakh people across the state applied to have their names changed. The state raked in more than Rs 3.84 crore from these applications, a Right to Information (RTI) reply has revealed.
And the trend isn't abating. The government received another 83,083 applications in the first seven months of the 2010-11 fiscal year, leading to revenues of over Rs 2.18 crore. In 19 months from April 2009 to October 2010, the government received more than 2.14 lakh applications and netted more than Rs 6.02 crore.
It costs only Rs 120 to apply for a new name, but many people are in haste and go through the tatkal route, where the cost rises to Rs 620 per application. This pushes up the government's revenue.
People who asked for name changes included those who wanted to improve their fortunes, like when a numerologist told Abhinav Kumar to add an 'n' to his moniker and become Abhinnav. Others, like Praveen Musahar, dropped their surname so as to avoid the bane of casteist attitudes.
Still others, like those with surnames like Fakte, Daruwalla, Kharabi, Nopen, Kachara, Lund and Chutikar, wanted to alter their kismets, as data from the official government gazette shows. They wanted a better shot at life financially as well as socially after having endured years of name-calling as well as outright bullying.
Deleting or adding a letter to one's name to alter one's fortunes, especially on the business front, is one of the more popular reasons for applicants to stand in long queues every day at the government press in Charni Road, where the mandatory name-change forms are filled.
"I was doing badly in business and lost lots of money in the stock market during the last recession. I consulted a numerologist and he said that by just adding an 'n' to my name my fortunes would change," said Abhinnav Kumar, a stockbroker in Mumbai. Kumar's fortunes did change, though whether it was also because the recession lifted is up for debate, he agreed.
State officials confirmed that a significant number of applications come from celebrities, traders and stockbrokers, who add or delete letters after consulting numerologists.
Name changes can be game-changing for many people. Praveen Musahar, of Mumbai, wanted to break through caste and community barriers. He dropped his surname entirely and opted for the more universal Manoos. "I have got a new identity. I have become a new man," said Manoos, whose name means 'person' or 'people' in Marathi. The 32-year-old Sion resident said, "People still have this habit of asking surnames just to check your background. Earlier, when they came to know my surname and realized that I was a Dalit, they tried to not become too close with me. Caste still plays a big role in forming alliances and friendships. Now, when people ask Manoos what, I say Manoos a human being."
Ankit Joshi still remembers the day he and his grandfather went to Charni Road to fill the name-change form. "My mother never liked my original name, which was Avinash, and wanted to change it. Even I wanted my name to be something more interesting," said the chartered accountant. While Avinash means indestructible, people would often call him 'Vinash', implying the opposite. "After a few weeks of filling the form, I saw my new name in the gazette and got a strange feeling. It was as if I was reborn," he said.
Ankit, who is in his 30s and changed his name while in school, has a word of advice. "It is best to change your name before you pass out of the tenth, so that your school leaving certificate and other educational documents have the new name," he said.
Many people change their names after having been the butt of jokes since childhood. One such name, spotted in the gazette, was Fakte. Navin Shah, schoolmate of the man who changed his name, revealed, "My close friend Pradeep Fakte, who is in IT in the USA, changed his name because we used to call him just Fak. Before he went abroad he removed the 'k' from his surname and made it into Fate."
Government rules say that the applicant can begin using his new name after it appears in the gazette, which is published every week. Usually, the new name appears in the gazette a month after application. "If a person wants to change their name in the passport or driving licence, then he must produce a copy of the gazette in which the new name is announced," a state official said.
Sociologists and psychiatrists say that the name-changing business is booming mainly due to the pursuit of material success. People feel that if they follow in the footsteps of success, they will be successful too. "We have become a very insecure society," said psychiatrist Harish Shetty. "When celebrity writers, actors and scientists change their names, it is only natural that the common man will follow."
Shetty added that in a technological age, people still believe in other powers. "It is ironic that though we live in an age of science, our superstitions continue to grow. People believe in lucky stones and rings and changing names, instead of believing in their own abilities. Each era has its superstitions," he said.
Right to Information activist Anil Galgali, whose query revealed the rush to change names, said he wasn't sure if everyone should conceal their roots by changing their names. Many youngsters, too, change their names as they feel they are old fashioned.
Author and playwright Shanta Gokhale acknowledged that a repressive caste system leads to many name changes. However, on name changes bringing success, she said, "A rose is a rose is a rose. I feel people should be proud of their origins. It is the deeds that make men great or immortal. Naming your son after a film star or a scientist will not make your son famous unless he is ready to put in the sincere effort and hard work."

Rahul’s RTI tussle with state govt to continue.

Times of India; Sunday 29 May 2011,

LUCKNOW: It has been a month since Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, with UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi in tow, made a dramatic appearance at National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) nodal office in Lucknow "to ferret out truth about gross misuse of funds". His attempts to crack the mystery may take longer than he suspected. The RTI officials and Congressmen continued to fight a pitched battle over technicalities as the mandatory one-month deadline expired on Friday.
The "delaying tactics by two long time chums" has left the opposition highly bemused. BJP has already trashed the "friendly fight for public consumption". The Gandhi scion, the state unit presi dent Surya Pratap Shahi told TOI, could easily have procured details about the Centrally sponsored project in Delhi but he came down to Lucknow looking for them ."Now instead of accessing the documents and exposing suspected scams, state leaders are haggling over the cost, the form paper or digital and so on.
The intention is obviously to buy time as the delay suits BSP," he said. Meanwhile, the rumble of discontent can be heard within the party also with a section questioning the unseemly delay in the rip off ordered by Rahul.
"The skeletons form the NRHM closet have potential to beat the Bhatta Parsaul saga. We have government's admission that there was corruption and siphoning off of the funds. Two CMOs, who were handling the project, were murdered within six months. Rahul's entry had given Congress head start. Any delay in the matter would mean all the fizz going flat," one of the senior leaders told TOI. UPCC bosses though worried, are in no mood to blink first. Chairperson of UPCC RTI cell Captain SJS Makker blamed the state government for playing truant.
"They have no details and no records and therefore are in no position to furbish information," he said, quoting extensively the rule book. Incidentally, UPCC deposited Rs 184 with the PIO AK Mishra to get the reply to first application which runs to 92 pages.
However, documents pertaining to the second application which seeks details about the number of Janani Surakhsha Yojana beneficiaries in all 72 districts is emerging as the real bone of contention.While Mishra says Joshi has already been apprised of contacting the PIO in each district RTI office for the information, the UPCC president is not willing to submit to the red tape.
She has instead demanded the info to be compiled in a CD as per the Right to Information Regulation of Fee and Cost rules."UPCC will not submit to extortion," Mishra declared. Information for Lucknow alone runs into 27,188 pages and printouts would cost Rs 54,376. "Why should we splurge so much for something which should be made available for Rs 50," he asked.

Students employ RTI to bring change.

Times of India; Sunday 29 May 2011,

LUCKNOW: Some schoolchildren in the city on Saturday launched a campaign against smoking and sale of tobacco products at public places by filing applications under the Right To Information (RTI) Act 2005.
Nine RTI applications have been filed by the schoolchildren in UP government's health department demanding information on why tobacco retail shops are allowed to operate within 100 yards of educational institutions in violation of the ban, who is responsible to enforce tobacco laws in Lucknow, what action should be taken against the official concerned for not enforcing tobacco laws in the city and by when the tobacco shops within 100 yards of educational institutions will be removed.
One of the applicants, Rahul asked when all the tobacco shops within 100 yards of educational institutions in the entire state will be re moved. He also asked how many people so far have been fined for smoking in public places in the state.
Another RTI application was filed on why children and youths below 18 years of age are allowed to buy or sell tobacco when it is prohibited, what action has been taken, why these children are not going to schools in the era of Right To Education (RTE).
A student has filed RTI applications with the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) demanding information on why garbage is dumped at public places, who is responsible to remove it, what action will be taken and by when garbage will be removed. Another student has pointed out that some residents in Indiranagar have put up iron gates at the entrance road of their locality barring movement of others. He has asked the Lucknow Municipal Corporation if such a thing is allowed under the law and if not who is responsible to take corrective measures.
Most of the children who have filed applications are students of class IX to class XII.
These students were part of the recently held summer training camp in which they were taught by Magsaysay award winner social activist Sandeep Pandey and social activist Bobby Ramakant as how to draft an RTI application and use it as a tool to curb corruption and make state government agencies do their job.
The RTI applications filed by the students are the practical of what they had learnt in the camp. Those who have filed the RTI applications include Jatin Arora, Sarvesh Kumar Shukla, Sachidananda Pandey, Nadeem Salmani, Anand Pathak, Dileep Sharma, Rahul Kumar and Ritesh.
"Using RTI is an empowering experience because we can have our say on weak or poor implementation of health and development laws in our city," said Sachidanand Pandey. "Just by writing an application on a plain paper, we can demand information from government departments is what we have realised now," said Pandey.
"There should be a ban on the sale of mouth fresheners and sweet supari or 'paan masala without tobacco' in plastic sachets even they affect environment," said Dileep Sharma, a class XII student.
"Spitting should not be allowed why is there no law here in Lucknow to ban spitting of chewing tobacco," said Jatin Arora, a student of class XII.
The students were part of a recently held summer training camp in which they were taught by Magsaysay award winner Sandeep Pandey and social activist Bobby Ramakant as how to draft an RTI application and use it as a tool to curb corruption.

‘Public organisations also come under RTI purview’

SamayLive; Sunday 29 May 2011,

Chief Information Commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir G R Sofi has said all the government institutions and organisations which have public dealing including NGOs come under the purview of the Right to Information Act.

"Not only government institutions are accountable under RTI Act but those dealing with public like NGOs and charity trusts are also covered under the Act," Sofi said addressing a workshop on RTI awareness in Budgam district on Saturday.
The workshop was attended by Public Information Officers and Assistant Public Information Officers of various departments in the district.
He said Jammu and Kashmir is fortunate to have RTI Act which came into force from 2009.
Replying to questions, Sofi asked the PIOs and the concerned officers to provide all the required information to the applicants under this act, whether it is regarding development or welfare schemes, without any delay.
He said any person, who desires to seek any information regarding public interest, has a right to know after completing the procedure.
Sofi asked the public information officers and APIOs to provide information to the applicants within the stipulated time and warned officers, who fail to do so, of strict action under rules.
He said the common man is now aware about his rights and monitors the functioning of the departments.

Link punishment of corrupt officials to rank: Hazare's team.

Deccan Herald; Sunday 29 May 2011,

Civil society members are expected to make a strong pitch for graver punishment, including life imprisonment for high ranking officials in cases of corruption, when the joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill meets here tomorrow.

They will also demand that a corrupt government official serve a minimum of one year rigorous imprisonment and a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.
"Punishment shall be higher if the status or rank of the accused is higher," reads a recommendation of the civil society members led by Anna Hazare.
These issues were discussed by the Joint Drafting Committee on Lokpal Bill chaired by Pranab Mukherjee during a meeting last week.
Hazare's team also wants to bring within the purview of the Lokpal, conduct of MPs inside Parliament, if it is an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
A proposal to this effect was made during the meeting of the joint drafting committee on May 23.
Hazare's team and the government had agreed in principle on a provision to attach the properties of corrupt government officials on completion of investigation of charges against them.
They also agreed on recovering the losses caused by the corrupt officials by auctioning the properties acquired by using 'ill gotten' wealth.
However, there were differences on when to issue the notification on the list of assets of an official. The proposal states that the assets cannot be transferred after issuance of the notification.
Meanwhile, the civil society members appear to have raised the pitch for early enactment of the Lokpal Act, saying Hazare would return to Jantar Mantar on August 16 if the Bill is not passed by Parliament.

The setting up of the joint drafting committee was a key demand of Hazare and his supporters as part of their agitation for strong measures to tackle corruption in government and public life.
The Committee was constituted through a government notification on April 9 after Hazare ended his 97-hour fast on the issue.
The Committee is chaired by Mukherjee and has Union ministers Kapil Sibal, Veerappa Moily, Salman Khurshid and P Chidambaram as members. Besides Hazare, the civil society members are Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, advocate Prashant Bhushan, former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.
Hazare's team has voiced concern over the slow progress of the Bill drafting process following which it was agreed to hold meetings more frequently.

Poor file maintenance to blame for delay in reply: RTI official.

Times of India; Sunday; May 29, 2011,

MYSORE: Poor maintenance of files and lack of knowledge among officials are the main reasons for the delay in RTI replies, said Right to Information commissioner H N Krishna.
Interacting with media persons here on Saturday at the deputy commissioner's office he said when officials do not have proper knowledge about the subject, they keep postponing the work, resulting in delay. The governance has become more transparent and accountable since the implementation of Right to Information act, 2005. The RTI act has brought revolutionary changes. It has enabled the common man to seek information that is under governmental authority, said Krishna.
Misappropriations in urban development, revenue department, home department, education, transport and other departments have come to light through the RTI act, added Krishna.
In the last five years of implementation of the RTI act, fine to the tune of Rs 22,69,750 has been collected for not giving information on time, said Krishna.
There are 16,000 cases pending at the urban development department, 12,000 cases at the revenue department, 3,024 at commerce and industry, 4,500 cases at the home department and 3,000 cases at the education department.

Punishment for top corrupt officials on agenda in Lokpal Bill committee meet.

The Hindu; New Delhi; Sunday; May 29, 2011,

Civil society members are expected to make a strong pitch for graver punishment, including life imprisonment for high ranking officials in cases of corruption, when the joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill meets in New Delhi on Monday.

They will also demand that a corrupt government official serve a minimum of one year rigorous imprisonment and a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

“Punishment shall be higher if the status or rank of the accused is higher,” reads a recommendation of the civil society members led by Anna Hazare.

These issues were discussed by the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill chaired by Pranab Mukherjee during a meeting last week.

Mr. Hazare’s team also wants to bring within the purview of the Lokpal, conduct of MPs inside Parliament, if it is an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

A proposal to this effect was made during the meeting of the joint drafting committee on May 23.

The joint committee had agreed in principle on a provision to attach the properties of corrupt government officials on completion of investigation of charges against them.

They also agreed on recovering the losses caused by the corrupt officials by auctioning the properties acquired by using ‘ill gotten’ wealth.

However, there were differences on when to issue the notification on the list of assets of an official. The proposal states that the assets cannot be transferred after issuance of the notification.

Meanwhile, the civil society members appear to have raised the pitch for early enactment of the Lokpal Act, saying Mr. Hazare would return to Jantar Mantar on August 16 if the Bill is not passed by Parliament.

The setting up of the joint drafting committee was a key demand of Mr. Hazare and his supporters as part of their agitation for strong measures to tackle corruption in government and public life.

The Committee was constituted through a government notification on April 9 after Mr. Hazare ended his 97-hour fast on the issue.

The Committee is chaired by Mr. Mukherjee and has Union ministers Kapil Sibal, Veerappa Moily, Salman Khurshid and P. Chidambaram as members. Besides Mr. Hazare, the civil society members are Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, advocate Prashant Bhushan, former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.

Mr. Hazare’s team has voiced concern over the slow progress of the bill drafting process following which it was agreed to hold meetings more frequently.

Cong asks leaders to utilise RTI in Oppn-ruled states.

Deccan Herald; Saturday, May 28, 2011,

The Congress has directed the PCC leaders in opposition-ruled states to file RTI plea and PIL on various issues, including UPA’s flagship schemes, on the patterns of those filed in Uttar Pradesh.

The move is aimed at unravelling scams in states and nailing the governments concerned, according to the party sources.
“We want the country to know what is going on in other states and we have directed our leaders to utilise RTI Act to find out rampant corruption,” a senior Congress leader said.
He said the Congress now wants to go offensive on the issue of corruption after it went on backfoot following the protest by social worker Anna Hazare demanding joint committee to draft Jan Lokpal Bill to check corruption.
According to the leader, the Congress will launch an aggressive campaign in the states ruled by Opposition parties to get information through the RTI Act regarding utilisation of funds given under the flagship schemes of the UPA government like JNNURM, NRHM, and MGNREGA, and hopes to unearth some big scams.
The party will follow the pattern of Uttar Pradesh in these states. In Uttar Pradesh, instructions were issued to all divisional, district and city heads of the party’s RTI cell to file RTI applications on these issues.
They were also given specimens of the format that was to be used to file RTI applications. Also, the grassroot party workers were given training about the UPA’s flagship schemes so that they can ask the right questions.
Applications filed:
Notably, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi along with party general secretary Rahul Gandhi filed two RTI applications before the Public Information Officer on April 27 in Lucknow, seeking details of funding and expenditure under National Rural Health Mission and Janani Suraksha Yojna schemes in the state.
Joshi, in her application asked for information on the money given by the Centre every year since 2005-2006 to the state under various schemes like the NRHM, and Janani Suraksha Yojna.
Joshi and Gandhi filed these application with an intention to “expose” financial irregularities, if any, committed by the Mayawati government while utilising the Central funds for such schemes.

RTI fails to take lid off Centre’s cover-up.

Daily Pioneer; Kumar Shakti Shekhar; Saturday, May 28, 2011,

The Government remains secretive about furnishing the rationale behind accepting or rejecting the mercy petitions of death convicts. Reply to two recent RTI petitions have exposed the Government’s act of wrapping in secrecy its decision on such a sensitive issue.
Despite Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Satyananda Mishra’s directive to furnish file-notings and details of mercy petitions in three cases, the President’s Secretariat has given incomplete file-notings to RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal in two cases where Home Minister P Chidambaram has recalled the files pertaining to the mercy petitions.
Agarwal says the file-notings would have revealed the reasons behind accepting or rejecting the mercy petitions by the President, something which the Government did not want to reveal.
This despite the fact that two consecutive Home Ministers LK Advani and Shivraj Patil had recommended rejection of mercy petitions in these two cases.
In an RTI petition, Agrawal had sought information regarding the mercy petitions pending before the President for disposal and final orders in three cases. He had submitted that he should be provided with the copies of the file-notings and other correspondences.
Deciding on his petition in January, the CIC said, “We do not see any particular reason why that information should not be disclosed….Therefore, we direct the CPIO to provide to the appellant (Agrawal) within 10 working days from the receipt of this order the photocopies of the relevant file-notings and the correspondence arising out of the query number five of the RTI application.”
However, the President’s Secretariat did not furnish any noting of the Home Minister. Agrawal says, “Partial file-notings provided by President’s Secretariat on CIC directions on President of India turning death sentence of eight convicts into life imprisonment reveal contrasting ways of handling mercy petitions by Union Home Ministry.”
In one of the two cases, death convicts Shyam Manohar, Sheo Ram, Ravindra, Harish, Suresh and Prakash submitted mercy petitions to then President KR Narayanan. They were accused of committing multiple murders of five persons on June 23, 1990 to avenge the death of Chandrika Passi, brother of Sham Manohar and Sheo Ram.
Then Home Minister LK Advani recommended rejection of the mercy petitions in May 1998. However, Narayanan did not take any further decision during his tenure.
The case thereafter returned to MHA by Narayanan’s successor APJ Abdul Kalam for the views of the Home Minister in July 2004. Then Home Minister Shivraj Patil reiterated rejection of the mercy petition on July 27, 2005. The matter continued to remain under the consideration of Kalam at the time of demission of office.
However, Chidambaram recommended in June last year that the sentence of death on the six persons may be commuted to life imprisonment.
The other case relates to the mercy petition of prisoners Dharmendra Singh and Narendra Yadav who were awarded death sentence for brutally murdering five persons in 1994. The mercy petitions of these condemned prisoners were rejected by the Governor of Uttar Pradesh on November 27, 1999.
Thereafter, they filed a mercy petition before then President APJ Abdul Kalam. Here too, then Home Minister Advani had recommended rejection of the mercy petitions in April 2004. The matter continued to remain under the consideration of then President at the time of demission of office.
On February 4, 2010, the Ministry of Home Affairs requested to get back the present file so as to “re-examine and revisit” the proposal. Chidambaram, in March 2010, examined the entire matter afresh. He recommended, again in June last year that the sentence of death of Dharmendra Singh and Narendra Yadav may be commuted to one of life imprisonment.
Agrawal rued that in both the cases, the President’s Secretariat did not part with the relevant file notings of the Home Ministry. He has filed another RTI petition afresh.

RTI work comes to a standstill as Jannat holidays.

Times of India; Monika Tripathy; Sat,28 May 2011,

HYDERABAD: The RTI story in Andhra Pradesh is on its death bed. Here's why: A total of 6,200 applications at the state information commission are awaiting hearings and disposal.
An additional 400 applications are added to this number each month. The disposal rate of RTI application has been an abysmal 80 a month. But chief information commissioner Jannat Hussain isn't really feeling the burden of these pending files. For, the man at the helm is on a month-long vacation.
Hussain is the only authority to dispose applications with no information commissioner appointed so far. And this is not the first vacation he has taken. In April, the commission could dispose only 78 cases as the CIC was on a two weeks leave then. "Being at such a crucial post of CIC, he should have reconsidered his decision of taking this vacation, as he had already taken a two weeks leave. If he is not responsible, who else would be," said Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, an RTI activist.
Going by the current pace of work at the commission, it will take five years for the pending applications to be cleared. The commission is on vacation from May 2 to June 3.
What has got the goat of activists and RTI applicants is the huge loss to the exchequer on account of one person's disinterest in his job. Apart from the annual budget of Rs 2.45 crore earmarked for the commission (2010-11), the CIC's monthly remuneration adds up to Rs 1.3 lakh which includes HRA, DA and bill reimbursements. He is also entitled to LTA, education allowance for children, a car and government accomodation. Activists question the expenditure since the commission is practically defunct. "It was bad even during C D Arha's time but at least then there were information commissioners and at least 50 per cent of the cases were being disposed,'' said sources at the commission.
Hussain's vacation is also being questioned since a four-week break is permissible only if there is at least one information commissioner holding fort to dispose emergency applications. "The CIC has violated the rules of the commission by taking this leave. There is no one in the office to look into the cases and the commission is unofficially closed," said Umesh Varma, an RTI activist.
As per the rulebook, there should be one CIC and up to 10 information commissioners for the state commission to function. "From the last six months the commission has been running extremely slow with one CIC and now even that commissioner is on leave," said Rama Krishna Raju, an RTI activist.
Piling up are not just applications but even services. The lackadaisical attitude of Hussain has ensured that the recently introduced SMS service for applicants to get the status of their RTI queries has turned out to be a complete failure.
"The notice of the hearing does not even reach the applicant in time so there are cases where the applicant fails to turn up at the hearing. The commission has the provision to send messages to applicants on the hearing schedule or if the appeal is rejected, but it does not use the service for lack of staff," Dubbudu added.
Sources claim that inefficiency of the staff has been mounting with time and staff including the CIC are not taking their work seriously. "My RTI application was disposed 3 months ago, but till date no orders have been passed to the respective department," said CJ Karira an RTI activist.The activists allege that the government is responsible for the APIC becoming toothless. "A number of appeals have been made for the appointment of new information commissioners but the state government has been cold-shouldering the matter," Raju added.

CBI to tell why Mukesh and Anil Ambani were not prosecuted.

Hindustan Times; New Delhi; Sat,28 May 2011,

Transparency watchdog the Central Information Commission on Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to provide details of why charge-sheet was not filed against Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani.

The CBI had filed a chargesheet in 2010 in a case registered against Reliance Industries Limited in 2006. While some directors of the company were named in the chargesheet the Ambani brothers were not prosecuted.

P C Srivastava filed a Right To Information application with the CBI seeking reasons for not prosecuting them. The CBI refused to provide the information saying it was being held in a fiduciary relationship between the law officer and same cannot be disclosed to third person. Fiduciary is communication between two persons in confidentiality.

Srivastava filed first appeal with the CBI which again refused to provide the documents saying the case was finalized after obtaining legal opinion and evaluation of evidence.

"The argument raised by CBI to justify the denial of information…appears to be nothing more than a mere apprehension," said Shailesh Gandhi, while asking the CBI to provide information by June 20.

He also said the CBI failed to produce "cogent evidence" before the commission to prove that denial of information under the RTI Act was justified. Gandhi also said that the commission was unable to understand how lack of evidence against a person can be used by another person against whom evidence has been found leading to filing of the charge-sheet.