Alleging bias and nepotism over the selection of eight Information Commissioners in Andhra Pradesh, RTI activists from the state appealed to the Governor, to not to sanction the names of the applicants. The selection committee, comprising the Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu, had picked amongst eight people, a few who had actively participated in politics.former Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiah said the selection of such persons is not correct as the RTI Act mandates that eminent persons in a variety of fields be picked for the statutory posts. "We are not exactly on the merits of who have been selected. We are more on the question of the process followed. Our argument is that it is not fair to pick political persons when the law gives a wide scope for selection," he told PTI. Padmanabhaiah, former Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary K Madhava Rao, retired IAS officer V K Srinivasan and several other information activists met the Governor under the banner of United Forum for RTI Campaign and registered their protests. "There is a bar under law that people to be considered (for the post) should not be connected with politics. Till recently, three of them were in politics. They contested elections and lost," Padmanabhaiah said. "The prescription is they must be eminent in public life. They must have wide knowledge and experience in certain fields like law, management and social work. What is the criteria to decide that they are eminent?" he asked

A RTI inquiry has revealed that genetically modified maize was put on trial without obtaining permission from India's biotech regulatory panel, implying that the actions may have been condoned by the industry watchdog. The Coalition for a GM-Free India, a group of anti-GM activists,  accessed the documents, which revealed that Monsanto planted herbicide-tolerant maize, called "NK603", illegally inside the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, even though approval was granted only for HT/Bt maize, which is a hybrid of two Bt genes, "MON89034" and herbicide tolerant line "NK603.

The RTI response revealed that a team led by Dr Pradyumn Kumar of the Directorate of Maize Research (DMR is supposed to be supervising all the GM maize BRL II field trials), noted the following in its visit report (5^th May 2011): “Before planting NK603 event treatment in future, the permission from competent authority may be obtained”. This clearly demonstrates that this field trial consisted of an unapproved, illegal GM herbicide tolerant maize while the trial is supposed to be for the hybrid of Bt genes’ line (MON89034) and herbicide tolerant line (NK603) (HT/Bt maize). 

A 65-year old RTI applicant, and ex-Sarpanch was brutually attacked, by allegedly, relatives of sitting Sarpanch, when he demanded details of a sand clearing work, under MNREGA. Dudhram had complained to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) about the allocation of Rs 4 crore for clearing sand in Somalsar village."We were raising a valid point against corruption. We complained to the collector and to the ACB. A team was sent from Jaipur which triggered this. They decided they would beat me up if I did not go quiet on it. They may've attacked me but others will stand up against it," Dhudaram said. The attack comes at the heels of assembly elections, where corruption is the main poll agenda of various political parties, including UPA-led Congress. 

The Central Information Commission (CIC) in New Delhi has asked the Rajasthan High Court to revisit a number of provisions framed by it pertaining to the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The commission passed the order in response to an appeal by a Mumbai-based RTI activist, Sunil Ahya. Ahya sought to know the reasons why the Rajasthan HC framed certain rules under the Rajasthan Right to Information (High Court and Subordinate Courts) Rules, 2006, which he contended, were contrary to significant provisions of the original act. Significant regulations which were brought to light stipulate that the applicant has to attach a self-attested photograph to the application and has to make several declarations in his plea, including a statement that the “motive for obtaining such information is proper and legal.” Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra noted that these rules are “not in conformity with the provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.”

Further, the rules of the Rajasthan HC in Section 5 (1) hold that “if the requested information does not fall within the jurisdiction of the authorised person, it shall be conveyed to the applicant in Form C as early as practicable.” The original rules, however, stipulate that if the information is not available with public information officer, he should transfer the application to the relevant public authority.

Goregaon resident Ahya approached the commission after he was denied information regarding the reasons for framing these rules. The panel noted, “Section 28 of the RTI Act vests the power to make rules in the competent authority in order to carry out the provisions of the Act; it does not give any power to the competent authority to frame rules to restrict the rights conferred by the Act.”
Source: Indian Express

In a landmark RTI victory in favour of the Caravan, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has to make public the shareholding of Kalanidhi Maran in Sun Direct, a direct to home (DTH) service.

The Central Information Commission has directed the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to make public the stake of Kalanithi Maran, brother of former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, in Sun TV, on a case fought by Vinod K Jose, The Caravan magazine’s Deputy Editor. The CVC said that  such details cannot be held back citing commercial confidence and asserted that the information  is not seen as an invasion of privacy.

The information and broadcasting ministry had earlier refused to make the information public arguing that the information was commercial in nature.  After  Caravan’s Jose appealed to the  CIC, the later heard all three parties —I&B Ministry, Sun TV, and Vinod K Jose — and passed the order in favour of the applicant.

“List of members of a company, shares issued, etc are required to be furnished (usually by way of annual returns) to the Registrar of Companies in compliance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956.

“This information is available on the RoC website on payment of the prescribed fees. Therefore, such information cannot be treated as confidential, more so, because it is accessible to the public,” Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said.Vinod K Jose, the editor of the Caravan,  sought to know from the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry the stockholding of Kalanithi Maran and others in Sun TV network.

The Ministry had refused to provide information citing objections raised by Sun TV Network through a letter. The Commission invited Sun TV representatives to present their case before the panel.

“It was claimed that information regarding shareholding pattern is in the nature of commercial confidence-protected under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act and disclosure of the same would harm the commercial interest of the Third Party (Sun TV),” Gandhi noted in his order.

Jose submitted that he required the information from an authentic source for the purposes of publication and that in itself qualified as being in public interest-under Section 8(2) of the RTI Act.

Gandhi said in the instant case the RTI applicant had sought to know details of the shareholding of Kalanithi Maran and other shareholders in Sun Direct TV (P) Ltd which is the third party in the case.

“In the opinion of this bench, the term ‘commercial confidence’ comprises commercial, business or financial information, which entities keep as confidential, or do not display or bring to the knowledge of the public, mostly with an intention to maintain an advantage over its competitors,” he said in the order.

Gandhi said he could not agree with the contention of Sun TV that details of shareholding pattern are in the nature of ‘commercial confidence’.

“This bench is of the view that disclosure of merely the shareholding pattern of Sun Direct TV (P) Ltd cannot put it at a disadvantage from its competitors. Therefore, the contention that the information sought was exempt under Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act is rejected,” he said.

Rejecting another objection of Sun TV that the information was personal in nature, Gandhi said details of shareholders of Sun TV may be ‘personal’ information to the extent it relates to an individual shareholder only.

“Given that such information is already in public domain, disclosure of the same by the Respondent- public authority cannot be considered as an unwarranted invasion on the privacy of individual shareholders or the third party itself,” he said directing the Ministry to disclose the information by February 25.

Source: First Post

The reply to a Right To Information (RTI) application filed by Abhay Kolarkar has revealed that around 25% saplings planted along the roads by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) have died. Out of the 2,070 saplings planted in the last two years, 576 are dead, says the RTI reply.

"During my regular walks around the area I noticed many plants were damaged or dead. That is when I decided to file an RTI to take stock of the situation," said Kolarkar, a Deendayal Nagar resident. The reply stated that the saplings are planted without any tree guards and is not very clear about the expenses incurred in the plantation process.

NB Shrikhande, superintendent of NMC's garden department, said not putting a tree guard was an experiment by the municipal corporation. "The saplings planted by us are more than 10ft high and hence don't need protection. The cost of a tree guard ranges from Rs 700 to 1,400 depending on whether it is made of bamboo or steel. This money can be used instead to buy more saplings," he said.

"They are saying that the plants are big enough to survive without any guards, but the plants they have planted are of low quality," said Kolarkar.

Kaustav Chatterjee of Green Vigil, an environmental NGO, said that a sapling had very thin chance of surviving without protection. "It is useless. There are a number of grazing cattle in the city and I am sure that the mortality of the saplings is much more than the 25% they are reporting," he said.

According to Shrikhande the main reason for such high number of failed plantings was not grazing but the theft of bamboo sticks used to support the saplings. "People steal these sticks and the plants become limp and eventually die," he said.

He also said that as this experiment to save money was not yielding expected results, they are now planning to undertake plantation drives on play grounds and approach the locals to help take care of the plants.

NMC is also yet to issue work orders to start work for freeing the roots of trees which are choked due to cementing or tarring around the trunk. The issue is pending for months with TOI having reported on it twice in the past. Standing committee chairman Sandeep Joshi had said that he had already allotted money for the work.

"There are some technical difficulties in the proposal to be passed. We will do the work, but it will take some time," is all that Shrikhande says.

Source: Times of India

In a GO dated September 30, 2008, the state government notified the formation of Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Board. But a recent Right To Information (RTI) application has revealed that barely four years later, the board is nearly defunct after having just identified one biodiversity heritage site, Senthiraikillai in Cuddalore district.

The RTI application, according to K Mohan Raj, who filed it, also found that the biodiversity board "does not exist and hence is non-functional". The fund allocations are also meagre and the commitment to establish a fully functional State Biodiversity Board is missing. The RTI applicant also said that the state should appoint a full time chairman and secretary as per the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Every local body including 12,620 village panchayats in Tamil Nadu should establish biodiversity management committees (BMC), but only six BMCs are functional. These are Vadamadurai in Theni district, Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur, Thiruvarankulam in Pudukottai, Athoor in Dindugul, Kolli hills in Namakkal and Mandapam - Ramanathapuram.

Source: Times of India

A man from Vasna who had filed an application under the Right to Information Act seeking to know why police stations in the city did not display essential information for the benefit of RTI applicants has alleged police are using intimidatory tactics, summoning him for hearings at short notices and making him sit with criminals.

Manish Benani, who owns a small printing press, had requested former police commissioner of Ahmedabad Sudhir Sinha in September last year to take appropriate action about non-implementation of mandatory display of general information regarding RTI queries, such as names and contact details of public information officers, the appellate authority and the like.

Sinha, who has since retired, ordered all the 37 police stations in the city to follow the mandatory practice under the RTI Act, but to no avail. Benani filed another application on November 24, 2011, seeking to know the status of implementation of the commissioner’s order of September 5.

“In response, police stations and other offices sent me a one-page letter saying they have prepared a booklet of information. But boards displaying these information are mandatory as per the RTI Act,” he said.

On January 29 this year, some officials from the Ahmedabad police Crime Branch landed at Benani’s home. Since he was not there, they asked his family members to send him to the crime branch office immediately.

“They came around 11.15 am and told my family I should reach the crime branch office by 12 noon the same day. I visited their office the next day to meet ACP Mayur Chavda, but I was not allowed to meet him. I insisted on meeting police station officer to give my submission but they instead asked me to sit and wait at a place where chained criminals were sitting,” Benani said.

“When I insisted on giving a written submission, they said they were not bound to take my application and instead asked my caste, business and purpose for seeking information. They even refused to give me an acknowledgment that my application had been received,” he said.

When contacted, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Mohan Jha said he was not aware of the case details.

The new RTI rules framed and implemented by the Chhattisgarh government is a clear attempt and snatching a citizen’s fundamental right of access to information and strangulating the RTI Act. Citizens are requested to sent protest letters in large numbers

The Right to Information Act (RTI) is being clipped by several state governments in an attempt to discourage/refuse rightful information to the citizens. Instead of furthering transparency, which is the primary objective of the sunshine law, politicians are finding brazen means and ways to keep away information from the public and perhaps rewind  back to the outdated era of official secrecy, where they were well-protected from the eye of the public.

Recently, the Karnataka government brought in an amendment, by which a citizen can ask only one query in a RTI application and restrict it to 150 words.  Worse still, Chhattisgarh has recently implemented the absurd rule of charging Rs500 as RTI fee per application; Rs15 for photocopy of per page and worse; asking the applicant to give reasons for the information he is seeking. Allegations are flying high that this attempt of the Chhattisgarh government is to conceal irregularities in the paddy procurement scam for which the state government has come under fire since the last few months and for which RTI queries were being filed.

Every state government has the right to make laws regarding the cost of fees for RTI application but the fees have to be “reasonable” says the RTI Act. Is Rs500 per application affordable to the common man? Is it affordable to pay Rs15 per Photostat copy? So, isn’t this move an attempt to discourage people from seeking information and snatch away their fundamental right?  Prateek Pandey, leading RTI activist and member of the Chhattisgarh Citizen Initiative, is spearheading a campaign to undo the amendment of the Chhattisgarh government. He states, “A massive citizen pressure group is required to stall this injustice towards the common man for whom the RTI Act has come as a means to participate in governance. We are meeting the state chief information commissioner and the speaker of the assembly and submitting a written petition to withdraw the amendment. If that does not work, we will challenge it legally.”

Right to Information is a fundamental right of citizens and Section 7(5) of the Act states that, “Where access to information is to be provided in the printed or in any electronic format, the applicant shall, subject to the provisions sub-section (6), pay such fee as may be prescribed:

“Provided that the fee prescribed under sub-section (1) of section 6 and sub-section (1) and (5) of section 7 shall be reasonable and no such fee shall be charged from the persons who are of below poverty line as may be determined by the appropriate government.”

Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has already dashed off a letter to Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh. He states in the letter, “All over the country all public authorities have kept a fee of Rs10 as application fee and Rs2 per page for providing information…”

Mr Gandhi further writes that, “It has clearly been mentioned in the law that the application fee as well as the additional fee for providing information would be reasonable. Almost all public authorities in the country have in the right spirit of the Act and recognizing that information should be available to citizens since they are the owners of the information, kept Rs10 as application fee and Rs2 per page as additional fee for providing the information. In this background the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly’s decision to start charging Rs500 as application and Rs15 per page as additional fee goes against the spirit and purpose of the RTI Act and would be unwarranted discrimination against citizens who seek information from the legislative assembly. This would give rise to suspicion and speculation that the legislative assembly wishes to discourage citizens from exercising their fundamental right. I am sure the Chhattisgarh assembly will set a good example to promote citizen’s fundamental rights and reduce the application fee and the additional fee to Rs10 and Rs2 respectively at the earliest.”

Another argument against this outrageous fee hike is that, the RTI Act has a powerful Section 4 wherein it is binding on every government department to pro-actively disclose information on most of its functioning. What is pro-active disclosure? It means suo moto disclosure or dissemination of information, documents and files in possession of “public authority”.

Section 4 (1)(a) states: “Every public authority shall maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under this Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerized are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerized and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated.” The government department is required to update the information from time to time. Hence, the citizen has the right to Free access to information, a large part of it, at the just the click of the mouse. Doesn’t the steep fee of Rs.500 for the RTI application nullify this right? States Vijay Kumbhar, a leading RTI activist from Pune, “A reasonable fee has been kept so that citizens take their RTI application seriously and there’s some discipline that comes in with the mandatory reasonable fee. However, Rs.500 as fee is a clear signal that the government wants to strangulate the RTI Act and retain its power over hiding it wrong doings with public money.”

RTI activists see such attempts as threats to the very existence of the RTI Act. They believe that if citizens in large numbers do not raise their voices against such amendments, the RTI Act will loose all its teeth in a couple of years.

Mr Pandey has appealed to all citizens to send a letter of protest to the chief minister, opposition leader and speaker of Chhattisgarh’s legislative assembly in order to compel it to withdraw it.  

Source: www.moneylife.in

Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) today accused the Jammu and Kashmir government of institutional incompetence which is slowly rendering the Right to Information Act a "toothless tiger" in the state.
"The manner in which hurdles are deliberately being created to avoid effective RTI implementation apparently points to only conclusion that the government and its administration are hell bent on avoiding answers as it fears that Genie may come out of the bottle," the PDP general secretary Muhammad Dilawar Mir said in a statement here.
He alleged the National Conference-led coalition government has even found innovative ways and ideas to circumvent the Act, by either making absurd excuses or make its process tedious.
Mir claimed that right from the beginning, the Act and its process has been subjected to brazen commercialization and despite Chief Information Commissioner's recommendation and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah's hollow assurance vis-a-vis slashing of RTI application fee and photostat charges, nothing has been done so far.
"Creating bottlenecks in RTI process underlines determination of the government to ensure that no institution comes to fore which has the potential to eliminate corruption, irregularities and unaccountability in the government," the PDP leader said.
Dilawar said the people are losing faith in the present government vis-a-vis RTI, and they want results rather than being bombarded with rhetoric all the time.
"Disregarding the Act by not furnishing the requisite information and failure to evoke any response to letters of SIC, is a glaring example of how the government is pushing the Act to a permanent impotency," he alleged.

The Public Information Officer of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), Thiruvananthapuram, has rejected a petition filed under the RTI Act for information on the soil samples collected from the district to analyse endosulfan residues. The Public Information Officer gave a terse reply to S Ganesan, an RTI activist from Secundarabad, who wanted to know the scientific parameters used in analysing the endosulfan residues in the soil collected from the areas where the pesticide was sprayed.

The reply to the RTI query was: “I am to inform you that the information requested by you is not available in the office”. The information sought under the RTI Act included details of confirmatory test, details of residue analysis and information regarding the chromatograms. Though 15 questions were asked, the PIO replied that no information was available at his office. The RTI activist said in his appeal to K Thulaseedharan Nair, the appellate authority, that the reply was perfunctory and violated the provisions of the RTI Act. A copy of the letter was also sent to Dr V N Rajasekharan Pillai, executive vice-president of the KSCSTE. “The very purpose of the RTI Act is to enable a citizen to have access to information under the control of the public authority. According to the RTI Act, the information meant any material stored in any form including the data stored in electronic equipment. The state government had given `10 lakh to the KSCSTE to conduct the study,” he said.

He said in his appeal that the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management is one of the seven Research and Development Centres of the KSCSTE. The residue analysis of endosulfan was carried out by the CWRDM. The Public Information Officer of the KSCSTE should have collected the information from the CWRDM, he said. The activist also questioned the identification of samples which was done with the help of NGOs, panchayat officials and Health officials. He said it was not a standard practice since the help of soil experts was not sought by the KSCSTE.� The RTI activist also complained that the website of the KSCSTE does not carry any information under section 4 of RTI Act.

Source: IBN Live

Two Vadodara-based RTI activists, Rohit Prajapati and Trupti Shah, have filed an appeal before the Chief Information Commissioner against the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in connection with their RTI application demanding details related to the expenses incurred on the Narendra Modi’s Sadbhavana fast programme from September 17-19.

In their appeal moved before the RTI Commissioner, the two have demanded that a fine of Rs 25,000 be imposed on the CMO for failing to provide the information and a direction to it to provide the same for free.

In their RTI application dated September 17, 2011, Prajapati and Shah had demanded a number of details relating to the expenditure incurred during Modi’s Sadbhavana fast programme. According to Shah, the CMO transferred the RTI application to the home department, which disposed of the application after providing partial information, saying other details would be available with other departments of the government and so it should be sought from the concerned departments.
Shah has said the CMO must know as to which details are available with which department and they ought to have either collected those details from those departments and given to them or could have directed them to specific departments.

Source: Indian Express

It has come to light that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) went ahead with the Rs 6.48-crore cycling track project at BKC -- which turned out to be a whopping failure --without doing its homework. A Right To Information (RTI) application filed by a Mumbai-based NGO has revealed that the authority wasted public money on the cycling track without even doing a feasibility study or survey.

Chairman of NGO Athak Seva Sangh, Anil Galgali, had filed the application with the MMRDA, asking whether the track, inaugurated by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in April last year, was backed by any survey on its possible and practical uses. "In response to my query, the MMRDA stated that no survey was done regarding the project or the number of people deemed likely to use it. This shows how some clever officers are going ahead and wasting public money without taking other officials into confidence."

Graft allegation
In the RTI response, the MMRDA also stated that it has paid the entire project cost to the contractor, as the work done on the cycling track was up to the mark. However, one glance at the track would reveal how shoddily the work was done.

Galgali said, "How can MMRDA be satisfied with the project work? Any layman who goes and inspects the track will come to know what the reality is. The condition of the track is pathetic even though it was inaugurated barely 8-9 months ago. Hardly anyone uses it. Bicycle riders prefer driving on the road as the uneven patches on the track surface can cause skids and accidents. This proves that the project fell victim to massive corruption, and that it was a plan to pocket money by awarding tenders to contractors.

Soon after the track's inauguration, MiD DAY had reported ('Mr CM, see what you inaugurated!') how the MMRDA had got the CM to inaugurate a track before it was even completed. Even at the time of the function, the track was rugged and bumpy at many spots. In fact, many times, four-wheelers are parked on the unused track.

'Take action'
The activist has now written (copy of letter with MiD DAY) to Chavan, who is also MMRDA chairman, and to Rahul Asthana, MMRDA commissioner asking for immediate action against the officer responsible for planning the project. The letter states that the loss of Rs 6.48 crore, which indirectly accrues to the exchequer, should be recovered from the salary of the officers who implemented the project.

"It is my request to the CM and the MMRDA commissioner that they should recover the money wasted on the project from the salary of Additional Metropolitan Commissioner S V R Srinivas, as I have heard that the project was his brainwave," Galgali said.

Did you know?
MMRDA started work on the 13-km cycling track project at G Block in BKC on October 19, 2010 and the track was inaugurated on April 23, 2011 by CM Prithviraj Chavan.

The other side
Additional Metropolitan Commissioner S V R Srinivas said, "We came up with this project to promote cycling and we are confident that people will start using the track soon. They are not using it because there are no cycles available. Soon we will have a tie-up with a company that will provide cycles on rent." Will MMRDA act against the contractor? "The project is in the defect liability so we will ask the contractor to maintain the cycling track," he said.

Officer pulled up
Highly-placed sources in the authority told this newspaper that after the RTI was filed, a very senior MMRDA official immediately called on the officer who had planned the project and asked him to give a clarification. "The senior officer told him (officer in-charge of the project) that due to lack of planning on his part, the authority had to face criticism from the public and the media due to the failure of the cycling track project," said the source from MMRDA, requesting anonymity.

Source: Mid-Day

NEW DELHI: The issue of installation of GPS devices in autorickshaws refuses to die down. Now, a day before the government starts its drive to install the devices, a deluge of RTI queries on the government's decision to scrap the call-on-demand facility has stumped the transport department.

Sources in the department say that hundreds of RTI queries have come in since the announcement of the scrapping of the call-on-demand facility from the GPS device to be installed in autorickshaws. Said a senior official, "The perception seems to be that the government has succumbed to the pressures of the auto unions." The transport department had announced call-on-demand service on the lines of radio taxi when auto and taxi fares were revised in June 2010. The department had proposed to set up a call centre where people could call and book an auto. The call centre would have traced the auto nearest to the place from where the call had come and would have asked the auto driver to pick the passenger.

However, with the government initially keeping the price of the device at Rs 15,000, the auto unions had threatened to go on strike, claiming the price was too high. While the government agreed to bring down the price by half of the GPS device, the call-on-demand facility was axed from the features being offered. Interestingly, despite the climb-down by the government, auto unions are still unwilling to shell out the money. Now, the offer of payment in installments of Rs 625, which includes the monthly maintenance charges, to some of the auto drivers is being asked to be extended to all three-wheeler rickshaws (TSRs), say unions.

That's not the only problem. Sources say that the uncertainty over the installation has hit the company which was to install the devices as well. Said a senior government official, "The company had agreed to install the devices, which are quite expensive, on the basis of payment in instalments. But now, with the government also asking for a bank guarantee, the company seems to have developed cold feet." Sources said that the company had reportedly refused to go ahead with the project, citing inability to bear losses if the project doesn't take off. Government officials however, say that discussions are on with the company to ensure that the project gets underway by the deadline.

According to estimates, an autorickshaw runs a minimum of 200km a day. Last year, when the government had raised TSR fares, 50 paise was earmarked for the GPS device. Based on this, for every 200km run daily, the autorickshaw owner makes Rs 100 extra every day (Rs 3,000 a month and Rs 36,000 a year). He has to however, pay only Rs 7,500 a year for the GPS.

Source- Times Of India

LUCKNOW: Some schoolchildren in the city on Saturday launched a campaign against smoking and sale of tobacco products at public places by filing applications under the Right To Information (RTI) Act 2005.

Nine RTI applications have been filed by the schoolchildren in UP government's health department demanding information on why tobacco retail shops are allowed to operate within 100 yards of educational institutions in violation of the ban, who is responsible to enforce tobacco laws in Lucknow, what action should be taken against the official concerned for not enforcing tobacco laws in the city and by when the tobacco shops within 100 yards of educational institutions will be removed.

One of the applicants, Rahul asked when all the tobacco shops within 100 yards of educational institutions in the entire state will be re moved. He also asked how many people so far have been fined for smoking in public places in the state.

Source- Times Of India

HYDERABAD: The RTI story in Andhra Pradesh is on its death bed. Here's why: A total of 6,200 applications at the state information commission are awaiting hearings and disposal.

An additional 400 applications are added to this number each month. The disposal rate of RTI application has been an abysmal 80 a month. But chief information commissioner Jannat Hussain isn't really feeling the burden of these pending files. For, the man at the helm is on a month-long vacation.

Hussain is the only authority to dispose applications with no information commissioner appointed so far. And this is not the first vacation he has taken. In April, the commission could dispose only 78 cases as the CIC was on a two weeks leave then. "Being at such a crucial post of CIC, he should have reconsidered his decision of taking this vacation, as he had already taken a two weeks leave. If he is not responsible, who else would be," said Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, an RTI activist.

Going by the current pace of work at the commission, it will take five years for the pending applications to be cleared. The commission is on vacation from May 2 to June 3.

What has got the goat of activists and RTI applicants is the huge loss to the exchequer on account of one person's disinterest in his job. Apart from the annual budget of Rs 2.45 crore earmarked for the commission (2010-11), the CIC's monthly remuneration adds up to Rs 1.3 lakh which includes HRA, DA and bill reimbursements. He is also entitled to LTA, education allowance for children, a car and government accomodation. Activists question the expenditure since the commission is practically defunct. "It was bad even during C D Arha's time but at least then there were information commissioners and at least 50 per cent of the cases were being disposed,'' said sources at the commission.

Hussain's vacation is also being questioned since a four-week break is permissible only if there is at least one information commissioner holding fort to dispose emergency applications. "The CIC has violated the rules of the commission by taking this leave. There is no one in the office to look into the cases and the commission is unofficially closed," said Umesh Varma, an RTI activist.

If your administrative work is stuck in any of the government departments in the state secretariat, you may blame the delay on the shortage of staff here. Across 28 departments in the Mantralaya, there is a shortage of about 16.75% in the sanctioned manpower. This was revealed through a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by Mohammad Afzal, RTI activist.

The staff crunch is more prevalent among class II and class III officials --comprising section officers, clerks, stenographers, and typists - at 22%. Among class IV employees, the shortage of manpower stands at 16%
On the contrary, in class I posts, which include senior officials, who are largely signatory authorities and policy planners, vacancy stands at 7 %.

The RTI application, filed in General Administrative Department (GAD) of Mantralaya, also revealed that of 109 posts sanctioned for class III steno typists, 71 (65 per cent) are vacant, while 38 are filled. Similarly, of the 266 class II lower grade steno posts only, 164 are filled and 102 are vacant.

“Most of the departments in the Mantralaya do a lot of paper work, therefore there is a great need for clerks, typists, peons and stenos. The class I officials are signatory authorities, who just approve of the final file, but the proposals have to reach them via a thorough process, for which basic staff is required,” said Afzal. “A lot of proposals are stuck mid-way, as there is a lack of staff to attend to them at the preliminary and middle stages,” he added.

Shailesh Gandhi, central information commissioner, said, “Shortage of staff is found in almost all the states. The government has been reluctant in employing people. Work at many places is not computerised. So,  even a 15-20% shortage in staff affects the productivity,” he said.

Nandkumar Jantare, secretary, General Administrative Department, Mantralaya said, “We are 15-20% short-staffed due to some awaiting promotions and a stay on recruitment. Now, once the stay is lifted things will improve. Besides, now with computerisation the number of staff required for doing clerical work has reduced and therefore the shortage need not affect the productivity.”

Source- Hindustan Times

JAIPUR: For a government harping on transparency and accountability, a glance through the websites of various departments brings to the fore the pathetic state of the implementation of the RTI Act. Incidentally, it was Rajasthan that laid the foundation for this law.

A survey by the Suchna Evum Rozgar Ka Adhikar Abhiyan, based on the websites of 64 government departments, shows that there are at least 17 departments that do not have a public information officer (PIO) or an appellate authority either at the office level or at the department level. Apart from this there are seven other departments that do not have PIOs or an appellate authority at the office level though they have such posts at the department level.

The survey reveals that out of the 52 departments just 30 have PIOs and 26 have an appellate authority at the office level. There are 12 departments that do not require to have such posts at the office level. At the department level, out of the 64 departments 46 have PIOs and 40 have appellate authorities.

According to Section 4 and 5 of the Act not only does every office have to have a PIO and an appellate authority but their names must also be displayed prominently outside the offices so that any new comer can approach them for information.

Among the government departments that do not have a PIO or an appellate authority at any level, and hence are the least transparent, are archaeology and museum, CM's relief fund, board of technical education, directorate of evaluation organisation, directorate of literacy and continuing education, directorates of watershed development and soil conservation, general administration and cabinet secretariat, excise, medical education, medical health and family welfare, Rajasthan police, redressal of public grievances, science and technology, technical education, tourism, urban development and housing and the geographical information system.

"This is absolutely pathetic. The Act had made it mandatory that every department and office should have a PIO within 120 days of the implementation of the RTI Act but now it is close to six years and still there are so many departments that have these offices vacant," says Kamal Tak of the Abhiyan.

The Abhiyan has also written a letter to the principal secretary of the administrative reforms department bringing to light the anomalies and has urged him to take immediate action.

Source- Times Of India

Baroni: December 28, 2010: Shashidhar Mishra was always a curious man. Neighbours in the scruffy industrial town of Baroni, in the northern Indian state of Bihar, called him "kabri lal" or "the news man" because he was always so well informed.

Late every evening, the 35-year-old street hawker would sit down with his files and scribble notes. In February, the father of four was killed...

PANAJI: December 23, 2010: In an unprecedented move, the Goa Information Commission has summoned governor Dr S S Sidhu for claiming that the Right to Information Act didn't apply to his office.

The commission took umbrage to the governor's attempt to escape accountability under RTI by claiming the his office wasn't a ''public authority''...

New Delhi: December 22, 2010: Saikat Dutta of The Outlook magazine and Vinita Kamte, wife of killed Mumbai police officer Ashok Kamte, are among the seven winners of this year's National RTI Awards, announced on Monday by the Public Cause Research Foundation.

The foundation also organised a ceremony to honour the 10 RTI activists who were killed this year.

The awards were decided by a jury consisting,...

Dimapur, December 18, 2010: A Right to Information (RTI) application has sought details from the Government of Nagaland on what was termed as the "Chief Secretary Secret Service Fund" pointing out that funds under this section had seen a whopping increase from Rs. 4.90 Crore to Rs. 9.10 Crore. The application from a Kohima citizen expressed suspicion that such a huge amount could be allocated when the political situation in the state has remained largely peaceful.

A copy of the application addressed to the "chief information officer, office of the chief secretary" from a Kohima 'D khel' resident was received...
...[Read more]...

JAIPUR: December 18, 2010: The withdrawal on the limitation of number of words when asking for information, restructuring of fees, halting provisions to withdraw an appeal under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, are some of the amendments in the RTI rules that have been adopted by the Working Group on Transparency, Accountability and Governance under the National Advisory Council (NAC).

These amendments are likely to be placed before a full house of the NAC on December 21.

The amendments were adopted by the working group in a...

CHANDIGARH: December 14, 2010: In an RTI order, which activists protest will give wrong signal to the already sluggish bureaucracy, the Chief Information Commissioner, Punjab has held that penalty will be imposed on a government officer for delay or denial of information within stipulated time if it is first established that such delay or denial was without reasonable cause.

However, Arvind Kejriwal, an eminent RTI activist heading Parivartan, a Delhi-based citizens' movement, said the Act mandates the CIC to give a...

NEW DELHI: December 13, 2010: A day after activists lashed out at the government-drafted rules restricting a Right to Information (RTI) application to one subject and a 250-word limit, chief information commissioner A N Tiwari supported the move, calling it a "good disciplining tool".

"Asking questions on a single subject is already mandated under the RTI Act and setting a 250-word limit is a good disciplining tool in light of...

New Delhi: December 09, 2010: It has been more than a year since the project worth Rs 6, 000 crore to build a convention centre in West Delhi's Dwarka area, was scrapped. However, the Delhi development authority (DDA), the civic agency concerned with the project, is unperturbed about the losses it incurred following scrapping of the project.

The DDA has informed this responding to the RTI application filed by Dwarka resident C K Rejimon filed RTI application with the DDA.

Among other...

CHENNAI: December 08, 2010: It took a while, but the lid seems to be finally off an alleged land scam in Tamil Nadu that is potentially as damaging for the state government as similar cases recently surfacing elsewhere in the country.

It has emerged from documents obtained by an RTI activist, V Gopalakrishnan, that the DMK government allotted land worth crores to a long list of...

New Delhi: December 03, 2010: Minors cannot seek information under the RTI Act, the Uttar Pradesh information commission has said while dismissing the plea of a fourth class student who had sought details of missing documents from the chief minister's office.

Surprisingly, the Right to Information Act does not have any clause where age is the criterion for filing information seeking applications. It only...

New Delhi: November 30, 2010: The Centre has spent only Rs 77 lakh on promotion of the Right to Information Act in the country during first seven months of the current fiscal, as compared to nearly five crore rupees spent in last fiscal for the purpose.The Department of Personnel and Training has said it had spent Rs 1.19 crore during 2008-09, Rs 4.91 crore during 2009-10 and Rs 77 lakh during 2010-11 (till November 2). The information was provided in an RTI reply to activist S C Agrawal. Even five years after the transparency law was implemented in the country, experts feel that a majority of people are still not aware about it.

Source: ZNN