RIGHT TO INFORMATION - 2009 - Indian Social Institute

More documents

Recommendations

Info

New Delhi, February 16, 2009: The Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005 has made public servants more accountable than before, acting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday. "The enactment of the Right to Information Act 2005 at the centre and in many states has bridged a critical gap in the public decision making process and ushered in greater accountability of public servants," Mukherjee said while presenting the Interim Budget 2009-2010 in the Lok Sabha. Mukherjee said that the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, set up by the government in August 2005, has brought out a number of reports with practical recommendations, providing a starting point for improving efficiency in the delivery of public services. "The commission was set up with a mandate to suggest measures to achieve a pro-active, responsive, accountable, sustainable and efficient administration for the country at all levels of the government," he said. (Hindustan Times 16/2/09) City uses RTI to set record straight (1) LUDHIANA: For those dwelling in the MIG flats of Urban Estate, Phase-2, seeking exemption from water and sewerage charges according to area specifications has now become easy, courtesy Right to Information (RTI) Act. The residents, who were allotted flats by Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) a few years back, have claimed freedom from paying the water and sewerage bills, as per a notification from the state government to exempt all houses constructed below the area of 125 sq yards. They claim that the development authority constructed two units of each flat on a single plot area of 162 sq yards and all dwellings had separate power, water and sewerage connections. However, despite this, the municipal corporation had been issuing them bills pertaining to water and sewerage supply every year. When residents brought the matter to MC’s notice, they were told that they could be exempted only if PUDA gave in writing about the total area covered by the dwellings. Acting upon it, residents have sought information regarding their flats from PUDA under the RTI Act. Kuldeep Singh Kreer, general secretary, MIG Welfare Society, claimed they had urged the authorities concerned for extending the facility to them. However, he added the authorities allegedly kept issuing bills, considering the area of flats was 162 sq yards. Kuldeep claimed under RTI Act, PUDA had wide its letter number PIO-GLADA- Ldh/676 dated January 30, 2009, clarified that each flat was 81.6 sq yards in area, which was also mentioned in its approved map. He said a representation of residents would submit the letter of information provided by PUDA to MC officials. Kuldeep further said a writ petition regarding the matter was pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and they would furnish requisite details about it. (Times of India 16/2/09) Police ignore 80% of arrest warrants issued by courts (1) Mumbai: They have committed crimes for which they should be punished, but they are free to strike again and again. And they are not just one or two, but thousands. The National Anti-Corruption and Crime Preventive Council plans to drag the state home department to court for not acting on warrants.A query filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that barely one in five of those booked for various offences and against whom non-bailable warrants (NBWs) were issued by courts last year were arrested. Sixty-five police stations got 12,746 NBWs between Jan 1 and Oct 15, 2008, but they executed only 2,676 of them, or 20.99%.The RTI query by social activist Mohan Krishnan of the National Anti- Corruption and Crime Preventive Council was filed at all police stations in Mumbai and sought details on the execution of NBWs and the proclamations received from courts in the ten-and-a-half-month period. Only 75 of the city's 86 police stations responded to the RTI query, while 10 gave incorrect information. DNA possesses the data filed by the 65 police stations. The data provide damning information about the men in khaki. The figures reveal that among the non-executed warrants, at least 2,144 (16.82%) were cancelled by courts at a later stage. The remaining 7,926 (62.18%) were returned to the courts unexecuted or are pending execution. In a majority of cases, the police cited inability to trace the culprits or witnesses as reasons for failing to effect the NBWs. But the police are guilty on another count too. They have not implemented proclamations against absconding criminals either. Proclamations are judicial papers issued by courts if they have reason to believe that an accused against whom a warrant has been issued is absconding. Proclamations order the accused to be present at a specified time and place, failing which their properties are liable to be attached. Proclamations must be pasted near the residence of the accused. The RTI query revealed that 772 of the 2,502 proclamations issued, or 30.85%, are also pending. Krishnan blames the police top brass for the state of affairs. "It is the primary duty of the police to execute all court processes without delay," he said. "Senior officers are expected to conduct periodic checks on this." Krishnan said investigating officers are often lax in cross-checking information provided
y the accused (such as residential address and native place) while recording their statements. (DNA 18/2/09) PMPML fined Rs 25,000 for not providing info under RTI Act (1) PUNE: In a major setback to the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited, state information commissioner (Pune bench) Vijay Kuvalekar on Monday ordered the company administration to pay a fine of Rs 25,000 to the government treasury for failing to provide information under the Right to Information Act to an activist. As per the order, the fine is to be recovered from the officers responsible for failing to provide the information about a bill issued for 60 propeller shafts on a work order, issued by the PMPML in May 2006, for getting 30 propeller shafts. The order states that responsibility for not providing a photocopy of the bill is to be fixed on all the concerned officers, including traffic manager (vigilance department chief) S G Gavli, chief accounts and finance officer D V Unavane, chief internal accounts examiner Z A Sayyed and the then manager (traffic and administration) Shivraj Rane. The order adds that the fine should be recovered from the salaries to be paid in February and March, and this should be noted in the confidential report and service book of the concerned persons. The order asked the PMPML's executive director to get a copy of the bill from the concerned company and give it to activist Maj Gen S C N Jathar (retd) before February 25. The information commissioner has also asked the PMPML administration to initiate action against the concerned people for their failure to preserve the necessary documents as per the rules, and has ordered the executive director to submit a report to the information commissionerate. When contacted, PMPML joint managing director A Y Karche, said that he had not yet seen the order. In his application submitted to the PMPML on May 3, 2007, Jathar had asked for information on 11 issues, including that of the work order for getting 30 propeller shafts, and about the report by the Central Institute of Road Transport that remoulding of tyres has not been done as per quality standards. When the administration failed to provide the information, Jathar filed an appeal on June 5, 2007. Although the appeal came up for hearing, the PMPML could not provide the copy of the bill (issued for 60 shafts). Subsequently, show-cause notices were issued to chief engineer A G Shelar, Sayyad, Unavane and Gavli and also departmental enquiries were initiated, the administration informed the state information commissioner. After going through the explanations given by the administration, the information commissioner observed that the vigilance and the accounts departments were trying to pass on the blame to each other. The information commissioner also observed that there were no visible efforts from the PMPML to settle the issue. Similarly, the PMPML also did not make efforts to get a copy of the bill from the concerned company. (Times of India 18/2/09) Use RTI to get court order copies (1) MUMBAI: This is one problem litigants across the country face when they try to procure certified copies of court orders. Their applications get stuck in red tape and they have to wait for months together to get the copies. In many cases, officials summarily refuse to give the papers, saying the matter is sub-judice. But an order passed by the Central Information Commission (CIC) may bring relief to litigants; it said citizens can use the Right To Information route to get even certified copies of court papers. The case came up for hearing after RTI applicant N Venkatesan asked for certified copies of a judgment from the office of the Delhi district and sessions court. But the court public information officer (PIO) rejected the RTI application. The applicant then filed a first appeal but here, too, he met with disappointment. But the CIC order, passed by Shailesh Gandhi, said a citizen could use any process for accessing information and that process included the RTI Act. "If parliament wanted to restrict the citizen's right, it would have been stated in the law. Nobody else has the right to constrain or constrict the rights of the citizen. It is a citizen's right to use the most convenient and efficacious means available to him,'' the order said. The CIC also said that the PIO's contentions - that the applicant did not disclose whether the information belonged to a third party and the purpose for which he required the information - were not valid. "Neither of these is relevant since there is no requirement in law for the applicant to disclose either of these reasons,'' the CIC order said. (Times of India 19/2/09) Board answer sheets cannot be provided under RTI: HC (1) ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad High Court has held that the photocopy of the answer copies of the UP Board examinations cannot be provided under the Right to Information Act (RTI) as it would open a way for the students for self-assessment. The court said that the assessment of a candidate by an examiner was comparative and cannot be permitted to be open for self-assessment by the candidates. Dismissing
Page 1 and 2: RIGHT TO INFORMATION - 2009 January
Page 3 and 4: is a part of pro-active disclosure
Page 5 and 6: presided over the function. D.B. Bi
Page 7 and 8: advance no reasonable reason for de
Page 9 and 10: chief officer within the prescribed
Page 11 and 12: agencies, indicating the particular
Page 13: authority also. Till date many of t
Page 17 and 18: G. Ramachandra Reddy, State Officia
Page 19 and 20: encouraging trend, the number of RT
Page 21 and 22: the court's public information offi
Page 23 and 24: y the state government was the sche
Page 25 and 26: Mumbai (PTI): With over 4.16 lakh a
Page 27 and 28: BANGALORE: Director-General and Ins
Page 29 and 30: for examination, Mr. Madhav says, w
Page 31 and 32: imported products in our State, CAA
Page 33 and 34: New Delhi, April 16, 2009: Students
Page 35 and 36: Govt dept fined for ignoring petiti
Page 37 and 38: contention that the CJI was not obl
Page 39 and 40: efore that he had to run from pilla
Page 41 and 42: payment of further fee” to petiti
Page 43 and 44: to part with the information citing
Page 45 and 46: And the tool for this youth — fro
Page 47 and 48: government had the power to initiat
Page 49 and 50: egarding sensitive subjects could b
Page 51 and 52: to the complaint filed by Arora and
Page 53 and 54: charged excess premium even after t
Page 55 and 56: under section 84 (c) of the Tenancy
Page 57 and 58: NEW DELHI: A recent report on the R
Page 59 and 60: honoured in the letter and spirit o
Page 61 and 62: "information" given in Section 2(f)
Page 63 and 64: agreement with noted jurist Fali S
Page 65 and 66:
Ghaziabad, Hamirpur, Jhansi, Lakhim
Page 67 and 68:
Aimed at highlighting the common ma
Page 69 and 70:
Act from Kanpur University for the
Page 71 and 72:
Satellite Town to the Basaveshwara
Page 73 and 74:
accountability in NGOs. Let us see
Page 75 and 76:
SC will challenge Delhi HC order pu
Page 77 and 78:
Warning against misusing RTI Act to
Page 79 and 80:
Nagaland, Arunchal Pradesh, Orissa
Page 81 and 82:
Information Commissioners ranked by
Page 83 and 84:
was a bit better, which meant out o
Page 85 and 86:
transparent, inclusive and particip
Page 87 and 88:
others, I & PR director Mr BP Mohan
Page 89 and 90:
organisations but they will be requ
Page 91 and 92:
information on the creche from the
show all

RIGHT TO INFORMATION - 2009 - Indian Social Institute

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?