Activists Critized During RTI Sensitization Workshop Organized by AMU

During the two day (23rd-24th August 2008) Workshop on the theme "Right to Information Regime: Issues and Challenges" organized by Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), some of the CPIOs and Appellate Authorities severely criticized the activists filing RTI applications in AMU.

For instance, Prof. I. A. Khan, currently, Dean, Faculty of Law, AMU, mooted the idea of raising the RTI application fee so that less applications are filed. Interestingly, he also wants a clause to be introduced in the Act so that suitable penalty can be imposed on the information seeker if the CPIO feels that information has been sought so as to "harass" the authorities. He also was of the opinion that the RTI Act has been passed in "hurry"!

Another interesting suggestion came from Mr. Iqbal Ali, Principal, AMU Boys' Polytechnic, who wanted "sub-ordinates" to be penalised if they seek information from "superiors". He further went on to say that th RTI Act is a "jhunjuna" (a toy) in the hands of RTI activists and that they were treating CPIOs as "basanti" and themselves as "Gabbar Singh". He was of the opinion that RTI Act was simply being used to harass the information providers by the RTI activists .

TWO CRUSADERS SAME STORY

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date: Aug 20, 2008; Section: Front Page; Page: 1

Citizens find out why roads are crumbling. It’s corruption

Radhika Oberoi | TNN

New Delhi: If potholes, cracks and sudden depressions on the road seem to be part of your everyday commute in the city, it’s time to shake off the apathy and ask MCD a few awkward questions. Like Mohit Goel, a resident of Model Town did when the recent patchwork repair undertaken by MCD began to disintegrate.

Or as did S P Gupta, general secretary, Residents Welfare Association, Old Rajinder Nagar, when he found that the road in front of Salwan School had broken down despite it being converted from ‘‘dense carpet’’ to ‘‘cement concrete’’ — a kind of road that simply should not crumble.

Both Mohit Goel and S P Gupta took recourse to RTI. They wanted to know who was responsible for the shoddy work. Not just that, both obtained permission to take a sample of the road and get it examined by the Shriram Institute for Industrial Research.

The results were not entirely unexpected. In both cases the contractors had used less cement than required. The road in front of Salwan School, for instance, used only half the required quantity; gravel and sand were added in much higher proportion. As for the Model Town road, the proportions were all wrong.

Needless to say, the contractors had made a killing by using inferior materials. But what about the MCD officials who were supposed to supervise the work? They winked at it, raising suspicions of collusion. As it happens, in the Salwan School road case, the RWA has filed an FIR against MCD.

If roads are being reduced to rubble in the city, the heavy downpour might be a part of the reason. But the real reason possibly is one of the worst kept secrets of the city — there is rampant corruption in road construction. But it’s not something that the authorities are ready to accept, even though Goel and Gupta have virtually proved it.

Coming back to Goel, he sought answers this April, under RTI, on the road in front of his house in Model Town. He asked for an inspection of the area under the supervision of an engineer, a measurement book (with road dimensions), as well as samples of road material in the vicinity of his home, for a ratio analysis test.

As a result of his query, he found out that the total estimated cost of building the 96.50 metre x 5.13 metre stretch was Rs 6 lakh. Model Town roads repaired but who takes blame?

New Delhi: Three samples of road material at Model Town in front of Mohit Goel’s house were collected for a ratio analysis of cement, Badarpur (sand or stone dust) and aggregate (rodi).

The ratio should have been 1:2:4 of cement, Badarpur and rodi. The analysis showed the ratio was 1:3.5:7.5. In other words, while cement should have been one-seventh of the mix, in this case it was only one-twelfth. ‘‘I took it up with MCD,’’ says Mohit,‘‘and they have started repair work not only outside my house, but on some other roads in Model Town as well.’’ But have they got after the contractor or the engineer who cleared the job? Mohit doesn’t know.

While Mohit is a young and idealistic 30-year-old, S P Gupta and his friends in the Old Rajinder Nagar RWA are an elderly lot. Still, they refused to be cynical about corruption. ‘‘The material was of a very poor quality and so was the workmanship,’’ recalls Gupta.

The RWA approached the Public Grievances Commission in June 2004. Subsequently, MCD was ordered to provide the RWA with samples of the material used to resurface the road. The material, tested at the Shriram Institute for Industrial Research was in the ratio 1:1.5:7 (as against the prescribed 1:2:4).

MCD too got the material tested at the Regional Testing Centre (northern region), the analysis showed up a ratio of 1:1.8:5.1. In a report submitted by Sunil Tyagi, MCD executive engineer, quality control, it was mentioned that the component brick aggregate was not found.

‘‘Although the road now looks OK, we’ve filed an FIR to investigate the lies,’’ says a determined Gupta. ‘‘We’ve been told investigations are on,’’ he continues. However, not willing to let the issue die down without bringing someone to book, he advises others to do the same: ‘‘Ask why; you have every right to.’’

Yes, you do.

HOW YOU TOO CAN DO IT

Bodies like Shri Ram Institute for Industrial Research or Central Road Research Institute carry out road sampling to ascertain the road quality. One can approach these institutes with a written application.

In the application, specify whether the road is public or private. In case of a public road, permission has to be taken from the concerned civic agency.

In the request letter, the applicant should specify whether the road is constructed with concrete or bituminous. Applicant should also mention the parameters on which the quality of road has to be checked. Usual parameters are strength, thickness and density.

After receiving the application, the institute sends a team of engineers to the site. The team cuts a core, or in other words, take a sample from the road. The sample is then taken to the laboratory of the institute where tests are conducted.

While the complete road sampling can cost anything between Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000, checking just the binder content of the road costs around Rs 1,200. Extensive tests to ascertain density or thickness of road cost approximately Rs 600 each.

Mohit Goel of Model Town was incensed when he found a new road in front of his house crumbling within months. He too got the road tested and discovered that jus half the cement required had been used. MCD is now rebuilding the road. But who is responsible for the shoddy work?

S P Gupta was angry when a concrete road in front of Salwan School began to disintegrate. He got it tested. The result: less cement and more sand had been used to make the road. His RWA has now filed an FIR against MCD

Modi-baiter on info panel leaves LK fuming

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date: Aug 24, 2008; Section: Times Nation; Page: 14

Manoj Mitta | TNN
New Delhi: For BJP leader L K Advani, the government’s proposal of appointing a Narendra Modibaiter as information commissioner was like a red rag to a bull. Advani has protested to home minister Shivraj Patil about the inclusion of former IPS officer R B Shreekumar, who had accused the Modi administration of complicity in the Gujarat riots, among the five nominees to be appointed as information commissioners under the RTI Act.

In fact, the nomination of Shreekumar was the main reason for Advani’s decision to boycott the meeting of the statutory committee, which was to be held by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on August 21 to select the names for the proposed expansion of the Central Information Commission (CIC).

Since the names of the nominees are meant to be confidential, Advani made no mention of Shreekumar in his August 21 letter to Manmohan Singh seeking a postponement of the meeting. He did however put on record that he had “ s e r i o u s reservations about the a g e n d a ” (which contained the names of the nominees) and that he had c o nv e y e d his objection “orally” to home minister Shivraj Patil.

Though his letter to the PM is couched in the principles of governance, as reported by TOI on August 23, Advani’s objection to Shreekumar in his phone conversation with Patil has made it clear that the proposed expansion of CIC cannot take place unless the government drops the retired Gujarat police officer from its list of nominees.

From the hostility displayed by him, it is evident that Advani sees Shreekumar as an opponent of BJP rather than as a whistleblower who proved his commitment to transparency and accountability by bringing out illegal orders issued by the Modi government during the 2002 riots.

The injection of politics into the appointment process defeats the purpose of Section 12(3) of the RTI Act, which requires the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha to be a member of the committee to ensure non-partisan selection of information commissioners, who adjudicate appeals and complaints against public authorities.

The government has already shown signs of yielding to Advani’s pressure to drop Shreekumar from its list of nominees. In his response to Advani’s letter, Manmohan Singh wrote the same day that he was open to considering fresh names.

“If you have any names to suggest for appointment as information commissioners, you may like to send them to me early,” PM said to Advani.

On the positive side, since Advani has also endorsed a civil society call to look beyond the pool of ex-bureaucrats, the government is learnt to be considering the possibility of including one or two of the names suggested by RTI activists.

CIC expansion: LK skips meet, wants babus out

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date: Aug 23, 2008; Section: Times Nation; Page: 15
Manoj Mitta | TNN

New Delhi: The government has suffered the mortification of postponing a meeting required under the RTI Act as the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, L K Advani, refused to attend it unless a fresh list of names was drawn up for the proposed expansion of the Central Information Commission (CIC).

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday, Advani cited three reasons for declining to attend the meeting that was scheduled to take place the same evening between these two and home minister Shivraj Patil, who constitute a committee under Section 12(3) of the Act, to select the information commissioners proposed to be added to the existing five in CIC.

Advani referred to the TOI report of August 19 stating that “public-spirited activists who have been in the forefront of this campaign for transparency in government have taken exception to the fact that government’s choice of information commissioners is limited to retiring bureaucrats.”

Advani said the objection of the activists was “justified” as the RTI Act gave the committee “a very wide choice” by laying down that the information commissioners shall be “persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism and mass media or administration and governance.”

He was also miffed at the fact that the government seemed to have sent him the names more for information than for consultation. The agenda containing the names of five nominees was sent to him just a day before the scheduled meeting, that too without any prior information.

“In meetings of this nature where nominations for important positions are to be decided,” Advani said, “names are invariably discussed with members of the committee informally before they are formally placed before the committee.”

Apart from such procedural violations, the BJP leader expressed “serious reservations about the agenda as circulated.” He wrote to the PM that he had “communicated my reservations orally” to the home minister.

Within hours of receiving his letter, Manmohan Singh replied to Advani saying that in deference to his request, the meeting had been postponed. The PM did not however respond to any of the issues raised by Advani. Instead, putting the ball in Advani’s court, Manmohan Singh said, “If you have any names to suggest for appointment as information commissioners, you may like to send them to me early.”

It is meanwhile learnt that the five nominees of the government include Satyananda Mishra, who is retiring shortly as secretary of the department of personnel and training (DOPT), which is the nodal agency of RTI. If the committee approves his name, it would set a pattern as even in 2005, the year in which RTI was enacted and CIC was established as an appellate authority under it, DOPT had appointed its then secretary, A N Tiwari, as one of the information commissioners.

Activists seek plan to reduce RTI delays

Publication: Times of India Mumbai;

Date: Aug 23, 2008;

Section: Times City;

Page: 4

Viju B I TNN

Mumbai: The state’s information commissioners on Friday agreed to reduce the pendency of RTI appeals after a group of activists met them and expressed concern over the survival of the act.

The information commissioners also suggested measures like the presence of RTI activists and volunteers for the hearings and came up with strategies to reduce the delay.

TOI on Friday reported how the huge pendency of appeals was slowly rendering the RTI Act ineffective in the long run. The six information commissions across Maharashtra had a whopping 16,866 appeals pending till June this year. The information commissions had received a total 26,870 appeals but had disposed of only 9,914 in that period.

More than a dozen RTI activists from around the city, led by Shailesh Gandhi, met state information commissioner Suresh Joshi at his chamber on Friday.

The activists not only voiced concern over the growing backlog but also demanded a concrete action plan to bring the situation under control within a few months.

Joshi said the commission was experimenting with various measures to expedite the disposal of cases at various levels, especially at the firstappeal state. “This will yield visible results within two months,’’ Joshi assured.

One of the issues highlighted during the discussion was the need to impose stringent penalties on public information officers (PIOs) who did not provide the details sought or gave misleading information. “The State Information Commission’s reluctance to levy penalties lets PIOs flout rules with abandon. This will defeat the purpose of the sunshine act, which gives citizens access to timely and useful information,’’ Gandhi said.

A comparison with the disposal of cases by the Bombay high court and information commissioners shows up things in true light.

Each high court judge disposed of, on an average, 2,530 cases annually. On the other hand, every information commissioner disposed of only 899 appeals last year.

RTI activists now plan to keep regular tabs on the appeals. “We plan to go to the SIC’s office on a weekly basis to ensure that the waiting period for appeals before the commission does not exceed 90 days,’’ Gandhi said.

viju.balanarayanan@timesgroup.com

CIC set for expansion as RTI cases mount: Activists Want Eminent Names On Board

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date:2008 Aug 19; Section:Times Nation; Page Number 13

Manoj Mitta | TNN
New Delhi: Given the manner in which RTI has caught on in less than three years, the government has decided to enlarge the Central Information Commission (CIC) adding four members to the existing five. Since the process of appointments under the transparency law has however been shrouded in secrecy, RTI activists have thrown a spanner in the works by proposing eminent persons who are willing to serve as information commissioners without taking salary, allowances or even government bungalow.
Their credentials to sit in judgment on RTI appeals are formidable. Jagdeep Chokkar and Trilochan Sastry are IIM professors who fought for the electoral reform that makes candidates declare their assets and criminal antecedents. Shailesh Gandhi, an engineer from IIT Bombay, is the convener of ‘‘national campaign for people’s right to information’’ spearheading the RTI movement. H Sudarshan, a doctor who was awarded Padma Shree for his work in rural areas, has been vigilance director with Karnataka’s Lokayukta (ombudsman).
The ones who proposed their names in a letter to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on August 17 are no less eminent: Anna Hazare, Medha Patkar and Magsaysay awardees Arvind Kejriwal and Sandeep Pandey. According to the letter, Chokkar and the other three are willing to draw a token salary of Re 1 per month —their sole motive in taking up the assignment of information commissioner being ‘‘to further the cause of transparency in governance’’.
The unusual strategy adopted by civil society of suggesting alternative names may put pressure on the department of personnel and training (DoPT), which faced flak in 2005 when four of the five information commissioners appointed by it turned out to be ex-bureaucrats. The present babu-domination is despite a broad provision in the RTI Act that the information commissioners shall be ‘‘persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance’’.
The RTI activists chose to address the letter to Sonia Gandhi because she is credited with pushing the historic legislation in the face of resistance from ministers and bureaucrats. Pointing out that the country has no dearth of eminent people who are willing to work selflessly as information commissioners, the August 17 letter says: ‘‘It is high time that the government stopped confining its choice to retiring bureaucrats or to people who cultivate powers that be in anticipation of getting such posts.’’
While confirming that it has decided to enlarge CIC, the minister in charge of DoPT, Prithviraj Chavan, told TOI that the appointments were being made according to the prescribed procedure which involves a selection committee consisting of himself, the prime minister and the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha. As for the civil society’s grievance about the lack of transparency in the appointments, Chavan said: ‘‘That can’t be a public process.’’
But how can appointments under RTI be secretive? ‘‘RTI does not mean that the names have to be disclosed while the process is still on,’’ Chavan said. For the same reason, the minister declined to comment on the apprehension expressed by RTI activists that one of the candidates under consideration was DoPT secretary Satyananda Mishra. If that does happen, it would set a pattern as even in 2005 DoPT had appointed its then secretary, A N Tiwari, as one of the information commissioners.
The RTI activists on their part have written that if the government rejects the eminent persons proposed by them, then it should explain to the nation how their candidates were found less suitable than its own nominees.

RTI Group Website (www.rtigroup.org) Statistics

We are happy to share RTI Group Website Statistics: No. of unique visitors on 12th August=171; Visitors came from 14 countries including USA, India, UK, France, Finland, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Saudia Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait etc. and 42 cities around the world