Hyderabad Cricket Association declines to respond to RTI query

Times of India: Hyderabad: Thursday, March 27, 2014.

The state information commission is all set to recommend to the state government to take appropriate action against the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) for refusal to give replies to queries under the Right to information (RTI) Act.

HCA in reply to a question on land allotments and incentives it received from the state government, argued that it was a registered society and, hence, did not come under the ambit of the RTI Act.

Using the powers conferred on it as that of civil court under section 18 (1) of the RTI court, the state government summoned HCA twice, in December 2013 and February this year. In the first instance, the HCA advocate attended the hearing while in the second case, neither the representative nor the advocate turned up for the hearing. "Although HCA says that it does not come under the purview of RTI Act, there are many precedents in the county where the courts have categorically stated that sports associations come under the RTI" information commissioner P Vijaybabu told TOI.

Under normal circumstances, the commissonarate will impose a maximum penalty of Rs 25,000 to the organizations which don't provide information under RTI. But under section 20, 25 of the RTI Act, it can recommend proper action. Although this provision has not been used so far by the state information commission, it is planning to do so against HCA. "Sports associations certainly come under RTI, they cannot escape the liability" said D Rakesh, an information activist.

The state information commissonarate is of the view that under section 2(h) of the RTI act, a non-government organization substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the government are described as public authority under the RTI act.

Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court upheld the decision of the Punjab state information commission which ruled out that the Punjab cricket association should be covered by RTI. The Supreme Court upheld the Kerala High court decision which designated members of Kerala Cricket association as "public servants".

कलकत्ता हाई कोर्ट ने कहा राज्य सूचना आयोग 45 दिन में सेकेंड अपील पर निर्णय करें

Bhadas4Media: Kolkata: Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

स्वतंत्र भारत के इतिहास में सूचना का अधिकार अधिनियम को मील का पत्थर माना जा रहा है। निश्चित तौर पर इस कानून को बनाने में जनहित का काफी ध्यान रखा गया है किन्तु फिर भी इसमें, अन्य भारतीय कानूनों की ही तरह, नौकरशाही के मनमानेपन पर अंकुश लगाने का इस कानून में भी कोई प्रावधान नहीं है। मेरे विचार से भारतीय शासन को आज भी वास्तव में ब्रिटिश राज की भांति नौकरशाह ही संचालित करते हैं और कोई कानून बनाने से पहले उनसे सलाह मशविरा किया जाता है कि इससे उनको तो कोई तकलीफ नहीं है मानो कि जनप्रतिनिधियों को जनता की बजाय नौकरशाहों की तकलीफें सुनने के लिए चुना गया हो। सूचना कानून की उद्देशिका में जो उद्देश्य बताये गए हैं उनको पूरा करने का किसी का कोई दायित्व नहीं बताया गया है और न ही इन शब्दों की आगे अधिनियम में कोई पुनरावृति की गयी है।

यद्यपि सूचना कानून में 30 में सूचना प्रदानगी की कल्पना की गयी व सूचना प्राप्त नहीं होने पर अपीलें दायर करने का प्रावधान है। कानून के अनुसार प्रथम अपील अधिकरी अधिकतम 45 दिन में अपील पर निर्णय देगा। किन्तु प्रथम अपील अधिकारी द्वारा अपने कर्तव्यों की निष्ठापूर्वक अनुपालना न करने पर कोई दंड का प्रावधान अधिनियम से गायब है। ठीक इसी प्रकार आयोगों द्वारा निर्णय देने की कोई समय सीमा कानून में नहीं है। अत: सूचना देने हेतु निर्धारित 30 दिन की प्रारम्भिक समय सीमा अर्थहीन व शून्य है और अपरिपक्व लोगों को मात्र एक भ्रमजाल में फंसाने का उपकरण है। सूचना आयोग  ट्रिब्यूनल है और ट्रिब्यूनल का गठन जनता को शीघ्र और सस्ता न्याय देने के लिए किया जाता है जहां जटिल कानूनी प्रक्रियाओं का अनुसरण नहीं होता है। किन्तु “सूचना आयोग” आज आयोग कम और “अयोग्य” ज्यादा दिखाई देते हैं।  

मद्रास उच्च न्यायालय का एक औसत न्यायाधीश, जहां जटिल विधिक व तथ्य सम्बंधित प्रश्न भी अन्तर्वलित होते हैं, प्रतिदिन 25 मामले निर्णित करते हैं जबकि केन्द्रीय सूचना आयोग में एक बेंच प्रतिदिन मात्र 10 निर्णय कर रही है और जम्मू –कश्मीर सूचना आयोग ने तो इसकी पराकाष्ठा ही पार कर दी है जहां एक बेंच एक दिन में मात्र 3 निर्णय ही पारित करती है। परिणाम यह है कि केन्द्रीय सूचना आयोग में आज 4 वर्ष पुराने बहुत से मामले भी निर्णय की प्रतीक्षा में हैं| सूचना का कानून भारत में कितना सफल है इसका इस तथ्य से सहज अनुमान लगाया जा सकता है। अब जनता को किसी भुलावे में नहीं रहना चाहिए।

सूचना आयुक्तों द्वारा अधिनियम के उद्देश्यों के विपरीत आचरण करने से आम नागरिक व्यथित हैं। ऐसा ही एक प्रकरण कलकत्ता उच्च न्यायालय के समक्ष आया जिसमें अखिल कुमार रॉय ने दिनांक 25 मई 2009 को प.बंगाल सूचना आयोग के समक्ष द्वितीय अपील प्रस्तुत की, किन्तु उस पर समय पर निर्णय नहीं हुआ क्योंकि आयोग के पास बकाया मामलों का अम्बार लगा हुआ था। प. बंगाल राज्य सूचना का अधिकार नियमों के अंतर्गत अपील पर निर्णय के विषय में कोई समय सीमा निर्धारित नहीं थी। कानून में यद्यपि प्रथम अपील के लिए निर्णय हेतु 30 दिन की समय सीमा निर्धारित है व आपवादिक परिस्थितियों में वह सकारण 45 दिन के भीतर निर्णय दे सकता है।

उच्च न्यायालय का विचार रहा कि द्वितीय अपील का निस्तारण इसलिए नहीं किया गया है क्योंकि कानून में द्वितीय अपील के निस्तारण के लिए कोई समय सीमा नियत नहीं है। फिर भी द्वितीय अपील अधिकारी सूचना आयोग का कर्तव्य है कि वह द्वितीय अपील पर निर्णय एक तर्कसंगत समय सीमा में करे| प्रथम अपील में असंतोषजनक निर्णय से द्वितीय अपील की जाती है व धारा 7 के अंतर्गत दिए निर्णय से व्यथित होने पर प्रथम अपील की जाती है। ऐसा प्रतीत होता है कि अधिनियम द्वारा प्रदत्त चिंगारी रुपी शक्ति की गति द्वितीय अपील में कुंद व लुप्त हो गई है। अधिनियम के तैयार किये गए दिसम्बर 2004 के प्रारम्भिक प्रारूप में द्वितीय अपील के विनिश्चय की समय सीमा 30 दिन रखने का प्रावधान था किन्तु बाद में इसका त्याग कर दिया गया। इस कारण द्वितीय अपील की योजना ने धारा 6 के अंतर्गत आवेदन को दर-दर भटकने, हिचकोले खाने के लिए और इस प्रकरण की भांति न्यायालयों की  अवांछनीय कार्यवाही की ओर धकेल दिया है। न्यायाधीश का मत रहा कि मेरे विचार से प्रथम अपील के निर्णय हेतु व सूचनार्थ आवेदन के निपटान हेतु निश्चित अधिकतम समय सीमा को ध्यान रखते हुए अपील दायर करने के 45 दिन के भीतर द्वितीय अपील पर निर्णय हो जाना चाहिए। अधिनियम की भावना को ध्यान में रखते हुए यह समय सीमा मेरे विचार से तर्कसंगत है। तदनुसार न्यायाधीश ने द्वितीय अपील का निपटान 45 दिन में देने के निर्देश दिए और रिट याचिका अखिल कुमार रॉय बनाम प. बंगाल सूचना आयोग का दिनांक 7 जुलाई 2010 को निपटान दिया गया।

Punjab finds 9 IAS officers at fault for improper use of funds

Hindustan Times: Chandigarh: Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

The Punjab government's inquiry committee headed by financial commissioner, revenue, has found culpability and impropriety against nine serving and retired IAS officers for improper use of Red Cross Society funds.

These are Vikas Garg, SR Ladhar, Sarvjit Singh, K Siva Prasad, Anjali Bhawra and Kumar Rahul. Retired officers are JR Kundal, KS Sidhu and Harkesh Sindh Sidhu.

In its report submitted to the Punjab and Haryana high court on Tuesday, the state government said most of these cases were now pending for final decision by the personnel department.

The scandal had surfaced after Hindustan Times published a series of reports in December 2007, based on voluminous information obtained under the RTI Act by NGO Resurgence India.

The high court, in March 2009, had constituted a committee comprising justice AL Bahri (retd) and justice RK Nehru (retd) to look into the doubtful working of the Red Cross Societies in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. The committee had submitted a number of reports highlighting irregularities.

Impropriety;

It has been found that during the tenure of JR Kundal as deputy commissioner (DC), Rupnagar, irregular sale of Red Cross land was made to a private organisation namely Hawks Club. During the tenure of KS Sidhu as Gurdaspur DC, a payment of Rs. 1 lakh was made to MTNL of the phone installed at an MP's New Delhi residence in January 2002.

After finding an expenditure of Rs. 1.7 lakh as reimbursement for mobile phone bills of K Siva Prasad, the state government has sought his clarification, which is awaited.

During Vikas Garg's tenure as Patiala DC, a Toyota Innova vehicle worth Rs. 10 lakh was bought by raising loan against the fixed deposit receipt which was yet to mature.

Similarly, a Toyota Innova vehicle worth Rs. 10.5 lakh was bought in June 2011 during Harkesh Singh Sidhu's tenure as Kapurthala DC.

During SR Ladhar's tenure as Sangrur DC, the monthly rent of a marriage palace was arbitrarily reduced. When Sarvjit Singh was Sangrur DC, a petrol pump site was leased out without any tendering process to a public sector company.

Anjali Bhawra, then Fatehgarh Sahib DC, had taken an advance of Rs. 62,000 from the Red Cross Society and now the amount had been recouped to the society and the matter was under consideration with the department of personnel.

The conduct of Kumar Rahul, former Mansa DC of not providing timely information to the inquiry committee has been found improper.

No impropriety in Haryana, UT;

Haryana government as well as Chandigarh administration said no misuse of official position was established nor had any monetary gain been derived by the officers concerned in allowing expenditure from the Red Cross funds.

The case has been adjourned to April 1.

Lakes turn into sewage pools

The Hindu: Bangalore: Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Rs. 200 crore spent on maintenance of lakes in Bangalore during the past six years

Over the last six years, more than Rs. 200 crore from the State’s exchequer was spent on the development of Bangalore’s water bodies that once kept the city cool and verdant. But most funds have gone down the drain, in many cases quite literally as lakes have either turned into pools of sewage or have been encroached.

The quality of water in most lakes is categorised as “E”, which makes it only fit for irrigation, industrial cooling and such other non-potable uses. Their storage capacity too has not increased, reveals documents obtained under the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) for 191 lakes in the city.

Based on a complaint lodged by Wg. Cmdr. (Retd.) G.B. Athri, who procured the documents under the RTI Act, the Upa Lokayakta has convened a meeting on April 12 to discuss the water bodies. He has directed all agencies concerned to submit details on encroachment of water bodies, funds spent on their development work and the failure to control pollution of lakes.

And, acting on the same complaint, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board issued notices to Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) chairperson, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and BDA commissioners, Deputy Commissioner (Bangalore Urban), and Deputy Conservator of Forest (Bangalore Urban) as they are responsible for the protection and maintenance of most lakes.

While Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) maintains 123 lakes, BBMP maintains 59 lakes. Lake Development Authority (LDA) and Forest Department look after four and five lakes, respectively.

The BDA has spent about Rs.102 crore and BBMP has spent about Rs. 96.5 crore on maintenance of lakes. LDA has spent more than Rs. 5 crore on development of lakes in the past five years.

In the past decade, (a year before the A.T. Ramaswamy-headed Joint Legislative Committee on land encroachments was formed), both Bangalore Development Authority and BBMP acknowledged that the lakes under their jurisdiction have been encroached. “BBMP and BWSSB have been the main culprits in contaminating lakes since raw sewage is let into the water bodies. Past efforts to protect lakes have gone in vain,” said Wg. Cmdr. Athri.

He pointed out that the Karnataka High Court’s order in 1995 says that lake area should not be used for any other purpose, and another order in 2008 prohibited civic agencies from letting of sewage flow into tanks.

He added that despite High Court orders directing officials to protect lakes, encroachments have been allowed.

Commenting on the condition of the lakes in Bangalore, V. Balasubramanian, Chairperson of Task force for Recovery of Lands said that the sudden developments seen in Bangalore over the last 20 years have resulted in the destruction of lakes. Sewage is being let into the lakes and land has been encroached upon.

The task force had identified encroachments on 1,800 acres of 800 lakes in Bangalore.

Whistleblower knocks at Prime Minister's door, seeking probe against erring officials

Times of India: New Delhi: Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Facing roadblocks to his crusade against corrupt public servants, whistleblower Sanjiv Chaturvedi Indian Forest Service (IFoS) officer has written to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking action against certain PMO officials who are allegedly protecting powerful Congress politicians and bureaucrats of B S Hooda-led Haryana government by not sharing information under transparency law.

Chaturvedi alleged that the Prime Minister Office (PMO) officials are concealing certain information which is directly and indirectly linked to the 'proposed' CBI probe into the multi-crore plantation scam in the state unearthed by him during his posting in Haryana in 2009.

The IFoS officer, currently posted here as chief vigilance officer at AIIMS, had sought these information from the PMO under the RTI Act which, he claimed, would go a long way in fixing responsibility of politicians and bureaucrats in many cases of corruption in Haryana.

The specific information, sought by him, pertained to documents and file noting relating to meeting of officers of ministries of personnel and environment that had taken place in the PMO on the issue of recommending a CBI inquiry into the plantation scam.

Unable to get the information, he went on to appeal before the first appellate authority under the transparency law. Though the authority had in November last year directed the PMO to provide Chaturvedi the relevant information, he has so far not been lucky in getting those details.

In his letter to the Prime Minister on March 10, the Haryana-cadre IFoS of 2002 batch, Chaturvedi, said, "This is very unfortunate situation where officers of your own office are involved in blatant violation of one of the flagship legislations (RTI Act) of your tenure, which has always been projected by your good-self as the most significant achievement of your government".

Without taking names of public servants, he alleged - in this two-page letter - that only motive of these officers (of the PMO) appeared to somehow protect the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats of the Haryana government.

"However, in the process, these officers of your esteemed office have simply made a mockery of the RTI Act, 2005, for which, they should be properly punished", said Chaturvedi in his letter to the PM which he claimed to have written in his "private capacity as citizen of India".

Besides demanding inquiry against concerned PMO officials, Chaturvedi has also forwarded his letter to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) seeking immediate protection for himself under the statutory provisions related to protection of whistleblowers.

Chaturvedi had exposed the scam while he was posted as divisional forest officer in Jhajjar in January, 2009. He had detected that the fund from international donor agencies was allegedly embezzled in the state in the name of plantation. He had blown the lid off the entire irregularities when he found that the plantation existed only on papers.

The ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) had in its inquiry also found the irregularities and expressed it to be a fit case which can be probed by the CBI. The ministry had in its inquiry in 2010 even named certain bureaucrats and politicians in Haryana as being involved in the scams and harassment of the whistleblower.

Chaturvedi had subsequently in November, 2012 moved the Supreme Court to implement the ministry's inquiry report and order a CBI inquiry into the matter. The state government has, however, recently filed a petition before the high court for quashing the inquiry report.

RTI activist, another man held for extortion

Deccan Herald: Bangalore: Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Girinagar police nabbed two persons, including an RTI activist, while they were allegedly accepting Rs 10 lakh ‘extortion’ money from two representatives of Shree Ramachandrapura Mutt and Dharmachakra Trust at a hotel in Seshadripuram on Tuesday.

The suspects were: Mallikarjun Patil (46) , a resident of Sarjapura and a native of Lingasugur taluk, Raichur district and Chandan M C (30), of Gokul 1st Phase, Mathikere, said the police.

The police caught them at Vittal’s Regency Hotel in Seshadripuram while they were allegedly accepting money and recovered Rs 10 lakh, two cellphones and a laptop, said Girinagar police.

According to police, Patil contacted K G Bhat, the chief executive officer of Shree Ramachandrapura Mutt and Dharmachakra Trust near Swami Vivekananda Park in Girinagar a month ago and claimed that a public interest litigation had been filed before the High Court in connection with financial irregularities at the institution.

He claimed that Bhat would be in trouble if he did not settle the matter and also said that the Mutt pontiff would be arrested if the matter was not resolved at the earliest. He demanded Rs 10 crore to withdraw the PIL and finally settled for Rs 5 crore. He was pressuring Bhat to pay him at least Rs 10 lakh as advance, police said.

Sensing some foul play, Bhat lodged a complaint with the police. As per the advice of the police, the Mutt legal advisor Arun Shyam and secretary Mohan Hegde went to the hotel with the money, while police officers in mufti followed them.

The police caught them while collecting money and the duo were remanded in police custody for further interrogation, added the police.

Chandan runs Astra, a non-government organisation. He was allegedly involved in a rape case. Patil has a degree in law, but is not practising, added the police.

RTI activist hangs self, blames cops and kin

The Times of India: Pune: Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

Tired of the "harassment" he and his family were facing for years, RTI activist Vilas Dattatreya Baravkar (52) committed suicide in his Chakan home in Pune on Tuesday morning.

In his four-page suicide note written on a Rs 100 stamp paper, Baravkar named 78 people, including senior police officers, relatives and villagers, and alleged that they had been harassing him and his family for several years.

In his note, Baravkar said that he had filed RTI applications to help people, but his opponents and even the police were against him. He alleged that some people, including policemen, had twice hatched a plot to eliminate him-in 2007-08 and in 2010.

In the note, Baravkar also asked his wife and children to end their lives as anti-social elements would not "let them live peacefully".

Vijaykumar Magar, additional superintendent of police (Pune rural), told TOI that Baravkar did not make any specific allegation against the people he mentioned in the note, but they will investigate the matter.

Baravkar had police protection since 2010, which he had sought after the murder of RTI activist Satish Shetty. In his suicide note, Baravkar clarified that the armed guard had nothing to do with his decision to end life.

Baravkar's lawyer Sachin Thombre told TOI that the activist had unearthed illegal construction activities in Chakan and Khed areas and had registered cases against certain individuals. The matter was being heard in the district and sessions court, and Baravkar had even attended the hearing on Monday.

Thombre had told the court on Monday that his client was not getting justice as the case was repeatedly getting adjourned on the request of the accused. When the matter came up for hearing on Tuesday, Thombre informed the court that the RTI activist had ended his life.

Relatives said Baravkar had been visibly upset since Monday. He had spoken to his son-in-law Sushil Shevkare, on Monday night about "some people" who were harassing him. "He said he had suffered a loss because of them. He was looking depressed," said Shevkare. The activist's wife told the police that Baravkar had sat in his car writing something until late on Monday night, which the police suspect was the suicide note. He went to sleep after midnight.

Kishor Patil, assistant inspector of the Chakan police station, said that at 7.30am, Baravkar's wife realized that he had not woken up. "When she knocked on the door, there was no response. After some time, she looked inside the room from the window and found him hanging from a rope from the ceiling," Patil said.

Her son and relatives broke open the door and took him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. "The post-mortem report stated that Baravkar died due to asphyxiation," Patil said.

RTI activists write to chief secretary, seek end to backlog

Times of India: Ahmedabad: Wednesday, March 26, 2014.

RTI activists from across the state who are on hunger strike in Gandhinagar have sent to the chief secretary a memorandum of demands related to RTI. The activists have demanded quick resolution of 50,000 pending appeals. They have also sought an appointment with the governor to submit their memorandum of demands.

RTI activists from across the state are on a hunger strike at Satyagarh Chhavani in Gandhinagar since Monday. Members of RTI associations moved to press for their demands which include protection of activists when needed, numbers of information commissioners as laid down by rules, video conferencing facility for filing appeal in collectorate and property declaration by IAS/IPS officer's relatives.

The memorandum sent to the chief secretary contains a 45-point charter of demands. RTI activist Bharatsinh Zala told TOI on Tuesday that they had submitted the memorandum in the office of Chief Secretary Varesh Sinha. "We will submit it to the governor as soon we get an appointment with her," Zala said. Bhupendra Patel, an RTI activist, had filed an application seeking details of pending RTI applications before the Information Commission of Gujarat government. "The commission said that there are 50,000 RTI applications and appeals pending," Patel said. Though Information Commission has passed an order in this regard, public information officers are not parting with information sought under RTI Act. "In all these years, no senior officer in the state has been fined for delaying information," Patel said.

First dialogue between civil society, political parties sets the agenda for polls

Times of India: Jaipur: Tuesday, March 25, 2014.

Oratory skills, a hiccup or two forgone, scored better once again when pitched against sharp demands. Meant to be the first of a series of dialogues between the civil society and representatives of political parties for enabling the voter to make the right choice, politicians managed to maneuver the sharp edges set forth as the three-hour discussion by the Right to Information Manch, Rajasthan, unfolded here on 'What kind of India do we want.'

Dalit rights, poverty, safety for woman, end to corruption, proper implementation of Forest Rights Act, Right to Education, Right to Information and MGNREGA, equality for minorities were some of the issues put forth as members of the civil society sought to bring politicians towards setting up a specific agenda for the polls.

"Political parties must be careful and must not form their manifestos on their own. They must take proper representation from the people and seek their help in framing the laws. These laws must be discussed and debated," said Justice Surendranath Bhargav.

But that was not to be. Cries for a respectful right for minorities, a fearless world for women or students being picked up by police and branded as terrorists or that of untouchables were answered by how each party was better than the other by the CPI, CPM, AAP, BSP, BJP and the Congress.

"We are all talking of the symptoms without addressing the disease," felt Dr Virendra Singh, AAP's candidate from Jaipur. For Congress it was the sheer mandate for decades that proved them better than the others. "People's choice cannot be questioned and it is they who have been selecting us over the others. We have brought the country ahead from the time when it could not make even a pin to a time when it makes modern gadgets. We have taken tribals, dalits and minorities with us," said Archana Sharma, spokesperson of the state Congress. BJP's state spokesperson Kailashnath Bhatt had only the party's dreams for a better India to speak about.

Nikhil Dey of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) intervened and demanded that the RTI be extended to all public, religious and social organizations. "Its ambit should also be extended to cover NGOs, trade unions, cooperative societies and even the media. There should be transparency and every question should be answered else there must be provisions for a fine," said Dey clearing setting the agenda for the government ahead.

"We should all work towards unity and not bring in more divisions. But it is often the government that acts against the Constitution. If someone raises a voice against it the government should answer it and not term the protestors as working against the country or terrorist. And of course, we want a place where civil protests, either in Delhi or Jaipur, can be held. The Constitution provides for peaceful protest in a democracy and Statue Circle in Jaipur and a better place than Jantar Mantar in Delhi should be earmarked for such protests," said noted social worker Aruna Roy.

Civic body's fuzzy logic stumps greens

Times of India: Pune: Tuesday, March 25, 2014.

Applicants from educational trusts and yoga foundations made it to the tree authority while a recipient of the state government's environment award was left out when representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were selected by the Pune Municipal Corporation.

Right to Information (RTI) applications filed by environment activists (copies are with the TOI) have revealed oddities in the selection process. Six of the 13 selected are not graduates and candidates with doctorates in environment-related fields were ignored in favour of a few who had passed only standard VII.

"We had hoped that persons with expertise in the field of botany, agriculture or horticulture would be selected. What has emerged is very unfortunate," said Deepak Bidkar, who had also applied for membership of the tree authority.

The Bombay High Court had stated that preference must be given to people with a degree or diploma in agriculture, forestry or horticulture while picking a tree authority's members. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) does not qualify as an NGO that has a national presence.

The high court had directed the inclusion of civil society representatives in the tree authority in a ruling passed last Septemberon a petition that alleged that illegal felling of trees in the city was rampant. The tree authority takes decisions on the city's green cover.

"We were shocked and dismayed with the final list of the nominees.

To see that someone who has merely passed standard VII and has no experience in environment was selected when some eminent personalities were left out, was disheartening," said Major Gen (Retd) SCN Jatar, president of the Nagrik Chetna Manch.

Jatar alleged that the selection process was "entirely illegal" as it neither followed the directions of the Bombay High Court nor the provisions of the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975.

Not only has the educational criteria set by the court been flouted, but the final selection also ignores the court's direction that the NGOs must have "a special knowledge or expertise in plantation and preservation of trees with a minimum experience of at least five years."

Municipal commissioner Vikas Deshmukh (who is the chairman of the tree authority) has admitted as much in remarks made against the names of some of those finally selected.

The PMC had invited applications from NGOs through advertisements in December and again in February and received 66 forms. On March 3, a three-member scrutiny panel shortlisted 29 names from the applications.

The names were then placed before 13 corporators already on the tree authority in another meeting held on March 12. They "unanimously" selected the final 13 NGO representatives.

"It was our job to inform the corporators about the qualifications of each applicant. The final decision was taken by them," said Mohan Dhere, tree officer of the PMC when asked what selection criteria was applied.

NCP's Sushma Nimhan, one of the 13 corporators who made the selections, said she has acted according to the directions of the leader of the house, Subhash Jagtap.

"Our party (NCP) decided on eminent persons such as Sachin Punekar and Arvind Gore. The names that do not seem to meet the qualification criteria of the High Court were suggested by other parties," said Jagtap.

Jagtap defended the corporators' selection process. "They (the chosen ones) assured us that they will work for the environment. The others (the rejects) should have done the same thing. They had applied three months ago, what if they had changed their minds?" he said.Jatar said that the Nagrik Chetna Manch was examining the possibility of taking the matter to the court.

The Chosen Ones:

 Name, Education, Name of NGO

 1.   Sachin PunekarPhDBiospheres

 2.  Babasaheb Patilclass XIISaheed Bhagat Singh Education Pratishthan

 3.   Arvind GoreBSc.Sriram Pratishthan

 4.  Shantanu Jagdale BAMSVasundara Paryavaran Arogya & Shikshan Sanstha

 5.   Ameya JagtapBDISYouth to Youth Foundation

 6.   Ajay Shinde class XIIYogkshem Pratishthan (not listed with the Registrar of Societies)

 7.   Govind ThakurdeB. ComRanvan Nisarg Mitr (not listed with the Charity Commissioner)

 8.   Sudhir NaikMSc.Shram Seva Nyas (not listed with the Charity Commissioner)

 9.   Milind PokaleM ComSahyadri Vikas Mandal (not listed with the Registrar of Societies)

10. Dattatreya Polekar class VIIPune city Congress senior citizens' association (not listed with charity commissioner)

11. Sandeep Mokate class XShree Sai Education Trust (not listed with the Registrar of Societies)

12. Kaviraj Sanghelia Class VIISankalp Pratishthan

13. Jaydeep PadwalClass XIIShree Shivsai Sanstha Trust

Left out:

·         Vinodkumar Mohan PhDFormer forest official

·         Anupam SarafPhDFrom Nagrik Chetna Manch

·        Kusum TamhaneMD, MBBSRecipient of Maharashtra state Vanashree award

·         Ravindra PurandareBEFrom the Green Hills Group

·         Medha JoshiPhDFrom Nisarg Sevak

Quotes:

We wanted a healthy mix of NGO representatives on the tree authority. Some members have high qualifications. We have also nominated others

Prithviraj Sutar, Shiv Sena corporator

Our experience with the PMC's school board, where many educated persons were appointed, is that most failed to show up for meetings. For the tree authority, we selected people known for their dedication to the environment. They will give their inputs at meetings and work for making the city greener

Congressman Arvind Shinde, leader of the opposition

Fortune spent, but rot in AI flats

Times of India: New Delhi: Tuesday, March 25, 2014.

The 810 flats at Air India's housing colony have been crying out for renovation. Senior officials have been fighting for several years to improve their living conditions. The crumbling walls and dilapidated look are telltale signs of not just neglect but a possible misuse of funds the airliner claims to have spent crores on renovating these flats; where all that money went is anybody's guess.

Water seeps from the ceiling owing to tanks on the rooftop; the decades-old distemper has come off most walls; cement awnings have given way to expose the girder frames. Even so, Air India claims to have spent about Rs 3.91 crore on the flats in Vasant Vihar (near Vasant Continental) in 2010-11. While details of the expenditure in the current financial year are not available, senior Air India officials claim renovation of the colony is in full swing. According to them, contractors have been hired. It is another matter that the residents haven't seen any labourers apart from those engaged by them.

The occupants wrote a letter to the chief vigilance commissioner in November last year, requesting him to look into the alleged financial bungling in maintenance of the airline's highest quarters. They have also written to the President, Prime Minister and the civil aviation minister several times, attaching the replies of RTI queries filed by them (TOI has the copies). A Ganeshamurthi, an MP, recently wrote to the minister, seeking his intervention.

In a letter dated February 4, 2014, Ajit Singh, the current civil aviation minister, told Ganeshmurthi: "The matter has been examined by the chief vigilance officer (CVO), Air India Limited. In his report, the CVO has informed that a committee, comprising three senior officers of Air India staying in the colony in Vasant Vihar, had been formed on September 11, 2013 to coordinate security and the overall discipline in the colony." The letter, however, doesn't mention the findings of the report, and only says the tenders for maintenance work have been floated.

In the colony, 646 flats are occupied by officials of the erstwhile Indian Airlines, while 164 are in possession of Air India employees. An RTI query reveals Rs 60,000 had been allocated for each Indian Airlines flat, while Rs 5,000 was set aside for an Air India flat in 2010-11. Residents, however, claim no work has been done on their flats and that they are paying from their own pockets.

Air India, which did not respond to TOI's questions despite several attempts to reach them, also remained silent on several queries made by the applicant of the RTI, which sheds light on the amount spent on 'renovation'. When asked about budget allocation and spending from 2004 to 2010-11, Air India could only provide details from 2007-08, as the previous data was "not available".

"There has been no repair work in the colony for at least seven years. In addition, no RWA was formed for years. Decisions were taken by a few individuals who had appointed two contractors on paper. Contractors had to carry out repairs and renovate the flats by turns. We are officials of a respected company living with our families and this is the condition," said an Air India official. A source, who didn't want to be identified, hints at large-scale misuse of funds.

Air India has a similar housing colony in Mumbai. Sources say work was being conducted there in transparent way, while the goings-on in the Delhi quarters are apparently shrouded in secrecy. "We have an internal website webmail.airindia.in which has all the details about the official quarters. While information on Mumbai flats is up to date, the Delhi data is not. There is something amiss, and despite several letters to all the authorities, everyone's turned a blind eye," said the source.

‘RTI is aimed at ensuring transparency’

The Hindu: Tiruchirapalli: Tuesday, March 25, 2014.

Workshop in Tiruchi on Right to Information Act underlines the important provisions of the Act

The provisions of Right to Information Act aim at promoting transparency and accountability in administration and not threaten any official or agency.

It wants to promote corruption-free governance at all levels, said speakers at the inaugural of a workshop on ‘Right to Information’ organised jointly by the Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, TANSSCOPE, and the Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu, here on Sunday.

S. Gopalakrishnan, Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, who inaugurated the workshop, said the Act sought to strengthen efficiency in administration.

He underlined the responsibility of officials in providing information and details sought by an individual under the Act.

He said that apart from individuals, even service organisations or associations could seek information under the provisions of the Act.

S.F. Akbar, State Information Commissioner, in his keynote address, said the RTI wanted to empower society with all information so that transparency could be ensured at every sphere.

No details in areas involving foreign relations, Defence, and security could be questioned, he said citing the example of a few petitions filed by prisoners.

He said that public interest should be guarded at every cost.

S. Pushpavanam, secretary, Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu, explained the responsibilities of the consumers and their limitations in utilising the provisions of the RTI.

He said the non-availability of the postal orders forced consumers to utilise the demand draft towards fees for seeking information from the central government departments. But the bank commission for demand draft was more than the draft value. He suggested that affixing of stamps on the petitions, on the lines of court fee stamp for State government departments.

He said the RTI should not be utilised to threaten an official but should focus on seeking information for some public welfare or interest.

The drafting of the petitions should, by itself, explain the objective of the queries.

Shailesh Kumar Yadav, Commissioner of Police, and V.P. Thandapani, Corporation Commissioner, spoke.

‘Many arrests in J&K made without observing procedure’

The Hindu: Srinagar: Tuesday, March 25, 2014.

It is clear that there are two laws, one law for the common people and another for VIPs, says RTI campaigner.

Of the 94 persons, including three women, arrested under the Shaheed Gunj police station in 223 cases from January 1, 2013, to February 28, 2014, the police sought a pre-arrest warrant from a magistrate against only one accused a Minister.

In reply to an application filed under the State’s Right to Information law, the Public Information Officer of Srinagar District Police has revealed that the police did not seek a pre-arrest warrant under Section 25 of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Act against any of the 94 persons arrested in the last 14 months. Major government offices, including the Civil Secretariat, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, besides the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council, fall under the jurisdiction of the police station that was chosen as a sample by an RTI activist.

The one-odd accused, against whom the police obtained a proper warrant under the law, was none other than the Congress MLA, Shabir Khan, who resigned as Minister in-charge, Health, following the registration of a case of sexual assault against him. The PIO has revealed that even summon or legal notice was not issued against any of the remaining 93 persons.

“It was just a sample. Arrests are similarly made throughout the State without observing the legal and procedural requirements in the whole State of Jammu and Kashmir,” RTI activist Raman Sharma said. “It has become clear that there are two laws here, one law for the common people and another for the VIPs. Police gave the Minister a long rope till he obtained interim bail and, finally, he walked to the SHO leisurely and went back.”

A former Sub Divisional Police Officer of Shaheed Gunj argued that issuing legal notices and summons and securing warrants “varies from case to case.” “In the ex-Minister’s case, we had apprehensions of resistance. Besides, we suspected him to be in Jammu and needed the warrant for his transit remand,” he told The Hindu. He claimed that most of those arrested last year were “stone-pelters”. Senior Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar said he was too busy to comment immediately.

RTI Act: How much did you know about the most important act in recent times?

India.com: Mumbai: Tuesday, March 25, 2014.

Right To Information or the more commonly used term RTI, we have all heard it from either our Civics text books or more recently from a famous prime ministerial candidate. We all understand that we have a basic right to information, but how much do we know about the RTI Act and its actual process? Did you know that RTI is not applicable for Jammu and Kashmir? In the recent episode of Satyamev Jayate, Kings Every Day, Aamir Khan shed some light on the basics of this act with the help of Mr. Shankar Singh, former member of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangatan. Here are five things you need to know about RTI!

1. What is RTI

As the name suggests, it is right to information. This was introduced in the parliament to provide a practical regime of the right to information (one of our fundamental rights). Under this act we can question every act of a public authority, central or state government, etc. any information about the government deeds in a certain area can be attained by simply filling out a form.

2. How do we use it?

All you need for filing an RTI is a Rs. 10 court fee stamp, an identity proof (pan card/ passport/ration card/ driver’s license) and of course a typed or written paper. The main aim of this letter is to keep it short and simple. You can ask for any documents you wish to verify or investigate, from the profits or costing of government projects to the nuisance records against any particular government institution.

3. Charges

The basic charges of filing a RTI is Rs 10 for the court fee stamp. Additional fee differ from state to state. The costing of photocopies, providing CDs, etc. of the requested documents will be charged accordingly.

4. Timely Supply

According to the act the information should be provided within 30 days with the exception of certain special circumstances. If the information concerns the life or liberty of a person, it should be provided within 48 hours. If the information is not provided within the timeline, it is then to be given free of charge.

5. Exclusions

While the RTI applies to most of our states and all our union territories, there are certain data which has been excluded for various reasons. The RTI act is not available for Jammu and Kashmir. Central Intelligence and Security agencies specified in the Second Schedule like IB, Directorate General of Income tax(Investigation), RAW, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Directorate of Enforcement, Narcotics Control Bureau, Aviation Research Centre, Special Frontier Force, BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, NSG, Assam Rifles, Special Service Bureau, Special Branch (CID), Andaman and Nicobar, The Crime Branch-CID-CB, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Special Branch, Lakshadweep Police. Agencies specified by the State Governments through a Notification will also be excluded. Also, Students cannot attain their exam answer sheets for personal evaluation under this act.

Census 2011 yet to be published: ORGI

The Hindu: New Delhi: Monday, March 24, 2014.

The final figures of the Census 2011 are still to be published, Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner has said.

The final figures of the Census 2011 are still to be published, Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner has said.

The office stated this while responding to a RTI query requesting it details about the population of transgenders in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh.

The department said it was unable to furnish fresh data about their population as the Census was not published yet.

"The data provided in the reply is based on the Census 2001 as the Census 2011 is yet to be published," it said.

The mammoth exercise of the 15th Census began on 1 April 2010. In April 2013, Home Minster Shushil Kumar Shinde had released the statistics.

Government school students are digital have-nots here

The Hindu: Puducherry: Monday, March 24, 2014.

Thousands of students in government-managed schools in the city continue to be deprived of computer education. The reason: computers remain mere show pieces at these institutions for want of minor repairs and lack of instructors.

All this when many private schools, including unrecognised ones, are alluring students by offering free computer studies, a fact that officials themselves admit.

The city has around 700 government schools, of which about 300 have been provided with computers by government agencies and NGOs in the last few years.

Only 900 functional computers:

“The idea was to equip the students of government schools with computer knowledge. But the computers have been dumped in a corner, with no repairs and no instructors,” says the principal of a school at Bahadurpura.

According to information obtained under the RTI, around 300 schools in 16 mandals of Hyderabad were provided around 1,800 computers in last few years. However, only 900-odd are in working condition.

“Whenever a computer develops a snag, teachers dump it in a corner as they themselves are not well-versed with its mechanism. As though a formality, they inform higher-ups about it and later forget it,” complains S.Q. Masood, who obtained the information.

Such is the situation that in some schools, there is not a single computer that functions. For instance, at the government high school at Dhoolpet, none of the 16 computers function. It is a similar situation at the schools at Mustaidpura, Kulsumpura, Chaderghat and Golconda and GGHS Chaderghat, to name a few.

Teachers blame officials:

On the other hand, teachers blame the higher officials for the present state of affairs.

“At the most, we can inform officials about the problems, but cannot always spend money to undertake repairs,” complains a school principal on condition of anonymity.

Officials said the contract of maintenance and imparting training in computers was allotted to a private company for five years starting 2008, and the term ended recently. As of now, the headmasters have been asked to conduct the classes.

When contacted District Education Officer Subba Reddy acknowledged the problem and said, “We have informed the higher authorities and a decision will be taken shortly.”

Puducherry govt has failed to implement RTE, NGOs say

Times of India: Puducherry: Monday, March 24, 2014.

The Puducherry government has failed to implement the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act in letter and spirit four years after the act was passed. Even the Union government's deadline to implement the act ended on March 31 last year, almost a year ago.

Two non-government organizations, Holistic approach for People's Empowerment (Hope) and Rural Organization for Social Education (Rose) that gathered information using the RTI tool found that the directorate of school education did not issue any order or circular, directing the schools to reserve 25% of the seats for the children of the disadvantaged groups and of the weaker sections from the neighbourhood area.

The public information officer of the directorate of school education and state project director J Krishnaraju could not furnish information to the queries of the NGOs on the number of students admitted under 25% in private schools and expenses incurred for enforcing the landmark act from 2010 to 2013.

However, the directorate issued circulars prohibiting screening procedures for admission, banning corporal punishment in educational institutions, procedure to be adopted for renewal of recognition of schools and extending admissions after July 31.

It also directed the schools not to insist on birth certificates and transfer certificates to admit students and to constitute school management committees.

Hope director P Joseph Victor Raj urged the government to implement the act so that all private schools strictly comply with the provisions from the next academic year 2014-15. Regretting that the government has not been proactive, he recalled that the government notified the act in October, 2011 only after the Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL), Tamil Nadu and Puducherry chapter, filed a public interest litigation before the Madras high court.

The court, in its order dated August 1, 2010, directed the Puducherry government to notify the act within three months but the government took almost 14 months to honour the court order, he said.

Raj said RTI queries also revealed that 53% of the schools do not have playgrounds, 51% of the schools have not formed school management committees, 7% of the schools do not have separate and functional toilets for boys and girls, 17% of schools do not have boundary walls and 8% of the schools do not have libraries. The Union government passed the RTE Act on August 4, 2009. The Act came into effect in the country on April 1, 2010.

Bhagat Singh bust installed at Shaheed Smarak

Times of India: Lucknow: Monday, March 24, 2014.

A job lying pending since 2001 was completed, appropriately on the occasion of Martyrs Day, March 23, when members of Swarajya Party of India and other organisations installed a 65-kg bust of Bhagat Singh at Shaheed Smarak on Sunday. The bust was placed on a pillar for which state government had released funds way back in 2001. Out of the Rs 9.14 lakh allocated for the pillar with busts of revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, but a board near the pillar still reads "under-construction".

Anupam Mishra, president of SPI, said "for the last one decade, successive state governments ignored the task of memorial site's construction, so we took it up on ourselves to complete it." Asked whether the act of the SPI does not tantamount to breach of law, he said "defacing or damaging a statue is a crime, but under which sections of the law, will you define installing a statue a crime."

RTI documents state, "On July 10, 2005, the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav during a tour of Lucknow announced the installation of a statue of revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh."

Sunday March 23, 2014 would certainly be an important day in the annals of city's history as a group of self-motivated youngsters installed the bust of revolutionary Bhagat Singh at Shaheed Smarak much to the delight and surprise of visitors and onlookers, who took sometime to actually understand the sequence of events.

According to eyewitnesses at Shaheed Smarak, at around 12.00 noon volunteers from Swarajya Party of India and other organisations chanting Vande Mataram entered the memorial site carrying the 65-kg bust of Bhagat Singh, and after temporary bottlenecks installed the bust of the revolutionary. Interestingly the installation of bust has been done on the pillar, for which the UP government had released funds in 2001.

The board located in the vicinity of the pillar meant for memorial site of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, still reads that it is "under-construction". The construction works for this was assigned to the Public Works Department, and the work was scheduled to be completed by 2001. However, despite passage of more than a decade or so, the pillar remained devoid of any statue or bust, and was rather reduced to a graffiti site for lovers to express their love.

What's more intriguing is the fact that Rs 5.14 lakh out of Rs 9.14 lakh was made available for the purpose, but no tangible development took place. As a result, the work, which should have been over in November 2001, is still lying unfinished.

Reacting to the day's development, Anupam Mishra, president of SPI, said, "For the last one decade, successive state government ignored this task (construction of memorial site). As a result, we were compelled to give the final touch to the approved plan of the state government, which was hanging for the last many years." He further added that a nation which does not honour its heroes, is eventually deprived of their presence on its soil.

When asked whether the act of the SPI does not amount to breach of law and order, Mishra said that his party never did anything, which is illegal. "If giving due regards to a freedom fighter is considered to be a sin, then I'm a cardinal sinner. Defacing or damaging a statue is a crime, but under which sections of the law, will you define installing a statue a crime," he said. The party also claimed that they had taken prior permission to hold a 'Shradhaanjali Sabha' (condolence meet), and the act of installing the statue was a spontaneous reaction of the party workers.

In 2005, the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav ordered installation of a full-size statue of Bhagat Singh. RTI documents state, "On July 10, 2005, the then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav during a tour of Lucknow announced the installation of a statue of revolutionary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh." The RTI documents further reveal that in pursuance with the orders of the chief minister, the department of Home on July 21, 2005 sought the required information from the district administration of Lucknow, and a reminder in this regard was sent on February 1, 2006." However, till date nothing substantial is visible.