Pune Mirror: Pune: Tuesday, September 19, 2017.
RTI query
reveals that signs warning citizens not to abuse or assault employees are
installed sans official permission.
Citizens
visiting government offices are frequently waylaid by massive boards outlining
certain ‘laws’ that provide protection to the employees. These boards mention
each section under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant jail sentences if
government employees suffer abuse or assault at the hands of citizens.
However, the
Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), a citybased consumer organisation has
now exposed the myth behind these boards. The organisation managed to obtain
details under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, revealing that putting up
such boards is illegal and that they are installed without permission from the
state government and meant only to terrorise citizens.
Alleging that
the entire practice is conducted under the influence of state government
officers’ unions, the consumer body has now written to the chief secretary of
the state government, asking that these boards be removed from all government
establishments.
Advocate
Tushar Devidas Zende of ABGP spotted these boards at various government offices
in April this year and filed the RTI application in May. It was later handed
over to the General Administration Department (GAD) after which the additional
secretary of GAD transferred it to the home department in June. However, the
department failed to respond, following which Zende filed a further appeal.
Finally, the home department clarified that though law and order is its
responsibility, authority over the boards lay with GAD alone.
During the
hearing on September 7 before joint secretary S N Rankhambe of GAD, he admitted
that there was no government order issued regarding these boards. He also said
that no such circular had issued in the past either.
Speaking to
Mirror, Zende said, “The intention behind putting up these boards goes against
citizens’ constitutional rights. We have written to the authorities, asking
that these boards be removed. Lack of action on this issue would invite legal
action against the government. We have also plans to file a public interest
litigation (PIL) in the Bombay High Court.”
“The
authority should also clarify on whether attacks on government employees have
actually reduced after installing these boards. The answer will be negative —
they are meant only to harass common people,” alleged Zende.
Shrikant
Joshi, legal head of Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, echoed, “Government
offices are owned by citizens and not by public servants. If the government is
willing to create awareness about the IPC sections, why they don’t they put up
all 511 of them? Why only the sections where action against government
employees is mentioned? It would be more useful if there were boards with
details of services available in the offices and the Citizen’s Charter.”
When asked, D
M Kaned, deputy secretary of GAD, Mantralaya, said, “As per our information,
the Maharashtra Gazetted Officers Mahasangh, the union of government officers,
had called a strike in September last year and demanded that such boards be
installed. But, as per details available with the department, no such official
order was issued.”
However, G D
Kulthe, general secretary of the Maharashtra Gazetted Officers Mahasangh,
denied that the officers had installed the boards without a nod from the
government.
“The
government installed these boards with the intention of avoiding any untoward
incident with employees. They are a preventive measure,” said Kulthe.
“Why would we
want to terrorise citizens we are public servants being paid from their
pockets? But, sometimes, certain sections of society force our staff to work
against the law and use coercion. These boards are for such miscreants,” he
added.
The authority
should clarify whether attacks on government employees have actually reduced
after installing these boards. The answer will be negative they are meant only
to harass common people.
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