Bangalore Mirror: Bangalore: Monday,
September 26, 2016.
Denial of the
data points to police-mafia nexus, says activist.
It seems the
police department is determined to ensure details about illegal sand mining are
kept away from public purview as it has tried every tactic to dodge sharing of
information about the illegal sand mafia and the quantity of sand seized in the
state.
However, when
the applicant remained persistent on getting a reply to his RTI questions, the
department responded saying that the Indian Postal Order ('IPOs' - payment of
RTI fee) attached with the application had expired since it was six months old;
IPOs are actually valid for a period of two years.
Activists are
crying foul and are attributing the incident to the unholy nexus between the
sand cartels operating across the state and a section of enforcement
authorities.
The applicant
in the case also alleges that the police were conducting occasional raids to
seize illegal sand-laden trucks but were silently releasing the seized sand back
to the smugglers without following subsequent procedures to ensure legal action
against the accused individuals.
Sand mining
is rampant in parts like Mysuru, Chamrajnagar, Mandya, Madikeri, Chikmagalur,
Mangaluru, and Chitradurga, besides Tumakuru. Bhaskaran has also sought
information from all 28 districts. Though earlier the officials used to evade
furnishing information by claiming that the details sought were 'personal' and
''of no public interest'', this time, the applicant was denied information
stating that the IPO attached with his application had 'expired' since it was
six months old. Recently, even information pertaining to pension received by
information commissioners had been categorised as 'of no public interest'.
The RTI
application
RTI activist S
Bhaskaran had sought information through RTI on the quantity of sand seized,
first information reports (FIRs) registered and the subsequent storage and
disposal of the seized loads of sand pertaining to Kora, Kallambela and Sira in
Tumakuru district - infamous for its sand mafia. He had sought specific details
about FIRs registered against the sand smugglers, illegal mining of sand,
storage of seized sand and action taken against vehicles used for smuggling
sand during raids conducted from 2013 to 2016.
"When
sand is seized, it has to be handed over to mining and geology department and
that department should issue public notice and then auction it. However, we
haven't witnessed such a process here. So the question is where did all this
seized sand go? Who let it off? Who is involved? A reply to my RTI pleas alone
will throw light on these questions. However, by the way information is being
denied, something seems amiss," Bhaskran told Bangalore Mirror.
Passing
the buck
Responding to
the RTI application, the SCRB (state crime record bureau), instead of providing
information about the FIRs registered in the cases, transferred the application
to the Tumakuru police superintendent's office. The applicant pointed out that
the SCRB itself was set up to compile the list of FIRs registered across the
state to keep a track on the crime trend and graph in Karnataka.
"Interestingly,
the SCRB transferred the application to the superintendent's office instead of
encashing the IPOs attached with the application. If they had encashed the
postal order then it would have been their responsibility to furnish a reply as
per the norms in the RTI Act," Bhaskaran added.
However, the
superintendent's office furnished a reply claiming that the IPO attached with
the application had expired. But the postal order with the application was
dated November 9, 2015, and is valid till November 9, 2017. The IPO is a method
of paying the application fee of Rs 10 while seeking information under the RTI
Act.
One can also
seek information using DD (demand draft) of the same value. Further, based on
the information sought, an additional fee has to be paid per page to get
desired information.
"The
denial of information points to a den of irregularities like facilitating
illegal sand mining. No one knows what happens to people involved and the sand
recovered," Bhaskaran alleged.
The mines and
geology department, empowered to issue licence for mining sand in the state,
maintained that though they were responsible for maintaining records about the
load numbers and quantity of sand seized, the police was in charge of the
enforcement process starting with the registration of FIRs against those caught
smuggling sand. They claimed that even they were not aware about the status of
the sand seizure raids conducted periodically by the police department.
As per the
2013 illegal sand policy, all stakeholder departments after registering an FIR,
compound the value of seized land.
WILL
CONTINUE TO SEEK INFORMATION
Meanwhile, as
even information on the FIRs registered has not been provided over flimsy
grounds, the same will be challenged before the first appellate authority,
Bhaskaran added.
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