DNA: Mumbai: Sunday, July 20, 2014.
Recently, the
BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) said there are a category of people
called "professional complainants" who misuse RTI queries for
extortion.
In fact, it
said the P/North (Malad) ward even have a list of 77 people who file complaints
in bulk to blackmail and extort money from those into unauthorised construction
activities and from officials. RTI (Right to Information) activists immediately
cried foul and called this as an attempt to stonewall queries.
But the BMC's
claims prompted an activist, S K Nangia, to file an RTI. Nangia sought the list
of persons filing bulk applications, BMC's in-house notes describing and
detailing the 'misuse' RTIs, five serious complaints on which extortion bids
were made, action taken by the ward office on such complaints, and letters
exchanged between police stations and the corporation.
The BMC reply
only proved it was speaking without any proof. It could not provide information
to any of the queries raised by Nangia, who had to then approach the state
information commission. He was, in fact, compensated Rs 5,000 for harassment.
A letter by
Devendra Jain, assistant municipal commissioner (AMC) of P/ North ward (Malad),
to the police is one proof that the BMC is more keen to discourage RTIs.
The letter
demanded criminal cases registered against those who the corporation had
shortlisted as "professional complainants". The letter alleged that
these people file complaint and extort money from officials and those in
unauthorised construction. It said such people also threatened officials that
they would drag officials to the anti-corruption bureau, if their demands are
not met.
"What
the official (Jain) has done is the arbitrary use of authority to dissuade RTI
applicants to seek information about unauthorised constructions," Nangia
said.
"Tomorrow
a person filing a complaint and diligently following it up with will be called
a professional complainant," he said.
"Also,
action initiated by P/ North is against the policy laid down by the municipal
head office in the aftermath of an HC direction. The HC has asked the BMC to
lay down a clear-cut policy on all unauthorised construction and its redressal
system," he said.
The BMC gave
Nangia documents that corporation should have given on its own. They include
ones seeking details of occupation certificate, construction on plots owned by
a person and permission on mobile towers. The occupation certificates of
building and documents on construction on plots owned by an individual and
complaints on mobile towers that the BMC provided Nangia are actually part of
the reply to an RTI filed by a well-known activist Vihar Durve.
At that time,
the public information officer (PIO) of the building and the factory department
of the P/N had said those documents do not fall under the "misused"
category.
"Not one
complaint on misuse they could manage to give. Information like occupation
certificates should be given by the BMC... Officers should file police
complaints if there is any misuse or extortion, instead of threatening
activists," said Bhaskar Prabhu, an RTI activist.
However, Jain
still insists: "Actually, we have prepared a list of 77 professional
complainants. We had sought information from the police about their records.
That does not mean they all are extortionists. We have serious complaints that
are misused and they are with me. I have information and can provide the same.
It may not have been provided due to some lethargy by officers."
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