Central Information Commission appeals plunge 96% in four months

By NIDHI SHARMA, ET Bureau | 9 Oct, 2015, 04.00AM IST

NEW DELHI: The number of appeals and complaints with the Central Information Commission (CIC), the final appellate authority for the Right to Information Act, plummeted 96 per cent to 119 in September from 3,356 in May. This has raised concerns over the functioning of CIC, the last resort for the common man to exercise his right under the transparency law.
An analysis of CIC data done by ET reveals that the number of cases dropped to 448 in August from 2,637 in June. Considering that in 2014, the number of cases registered in a month had averaged 2,662, against 1,345 cases in the previous year, the latest figures look completely out of sync.

The sudden drop in the number of cases over the past four months has coincided with a speedy decline in the cases pending with CIC to 35,000 from a peak of about 40,000 in May. Experts said this has put CIC's role into sharp focus especially because its central registry has not maintained any record of the number of appeals and complaints returned and the reasons for returning such applications. 

 

For full story pl click on following link:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/central-information-commission-appeals-plunge-96-in-four-months/articleshow/49279854.cms

 

Maharashtra RTI Rules Amendment – The Process began in 2009, unknown to Civil Society

2 July 2012, Mumbai:  RTI activists of other states should take a lesson from the experience of Maharashtra RTI activists, and be very alert. Maybe they should all file RTI applications to their Law and Judiciary department and General Administration Department to find out what is going on. Because, by reading the documents procured under RTI from General Administration Department by RTI activist G R Vora (            9869195785      ,grvora1@gmail.com), we are surprised to find that the process of amendment was quietly going on for the past 2-3 years, unknown to all of us. See the dates circled on page 4 of part 1 of this RTI reply: http://tinyurl.com/GRV-Maha-RTI-Rules-Amndmnt-dox

[Note: GR Vora got 60 pages of government documents in English and Marathi, totaling about 45 mb. This is divided into two parts to facilitate download.]

Maharashtra activists were taken by surprise a couple of months earlier, when we learned about this amendment post-facto from an unofficial source – the March edition of a private publication sold outside Mumbai’s city civil court:http://tinyurl.com/Mrashtra-RTIRulesAmend-Jan2012   

The community of RTI activists and users of Maharashtra felt betrayed that the state government had not taken us into confidence by holding a public consultation. They reacted very strongly. Some activists have challenged this amendment in Bombay High Court.

We requests our fellow activists – especially those who are comfortable analyzing Marathi documents – to study these documents and share their understanding with all of us on internet. Quite probably, there will be lessons in it for RTI activists from all states on how to be more watchful, and not get taken by surprise in future.

Warm Regards,

Krish

            98215 88114      

thebravepedestrian?AT?gmail.com

Citizens & RTI activists: Useful Info in Mumbai Police RTI Disclosure on Internet

7th June 2012, Mumbai: Mumbai Police has made a genuine effort to be transparent. This PDF File is very informative for citizens and RTI activists: http://www.mumbaipolice.org/right_of_information/Right_of_Information.pdf

Useful features are highlighted in this file (i.e. same PDF file with highlights):http://tinyurl.com/Mumbai-Police-RTI-Disclosure

SEVEN USEFUL THINGS:

1)      THE LIST OF 97 REGISTERS MAINTAINED BY MUMBAI POLICE COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE on page 10-12 is very useful. RTI activists can simply ask for copy of pages of a particular register between two cut-off dates e.g. 1 Jan 2009 to 31 Dec 2011. Or they can ask for inspection of particular registers.

2)      PERIOD OF PRESERVATION OF EACH REGISTER on page 13 makes it easy to file RTI applications and reduce chances of arbitrary denial.

3)      POWERS & DUTIES of Mumbai Police Officers & Employees are explained from page 4 to 9.

4)      ORGANIZATIONAL CHART on page 3 makes the Mumbai police hierarchy clear to laymen.

5)      VARIOUS OFFICERS’ PHONE AND FAX numbers are given page 16 onwards.

6)      VISITING HOURS for citizens etc. are specified on page 88.

7)      PIOS, APIOS & FIRST APPELLATE AUTHORITIES’ phone numbers and addresses are given page 89 onwards.

This MAHARASHTRA POLICE WEBSITE also gives the official “mahapolice.gov.in” email addresses of 174 cops in Maharashtra: http://mahapolice.gov.in/mahapolice/jsp/temp/mail.jsp

[Note: I selected the email ids of 10 Mumbai police officers from this list. Four of the addresses bounced my message i.e. my emails were hopefully delivered to six email ids. Hope the cops are checking these email addresses, because many still prefer to use yahoo and gmail for official purposes!]

The Maharashtra Police website also appears to have some other useful features e.g. tracking the progress of a missing person complaint, etc. But do these features actually work? Someone will have to test it and see.

Warmly,

Krish

9821588114

thebravepedestrian[AT]gmail.com

RTI: Former AMU VC Azis Enjoyed Free Meals Worth Rs 6.5 lakh

Interim Report by CBI and efforts of RTI activists have revealed that corruption tainted and CBI indicted former VC Azis enjoyed free meals worth Rs 6.5 lakhs (approx.) from AMU coffers. During CBI interrogation also Azis had admitted that he was illegally enjoying free meals from AMU funds since joining AMU. Interim Report by CBI has also revealed that Azis also made AMU pay for dry fruits etc. which he used to carry with him to his hometown in Kerala.

CIC tells PMO to trace Emergency records

NEW DELHI: In a move that is likely to raise eyebrows, the Prime Minister's Office said it has no records of correspondence between then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and then PM Indira Gandhi related to the proclamation of Emergency in 1975. The response was met with mild surprise by the Central Information Commission (CIC) that has asked the PMO to trace the records.....The issue came up after Aligarh-based Paras Nath Singh sought information related to correspondence between the PM and president on the Emergency. In its response, PMO officials said they were not able to locate records despite an "elaborate search".

for complete news pl visit http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-10/india/31045824_1_pmo-transparency-panel-cic

HC quashes UP govt notifications on RTI Act

PTI | 10:01 PM,Jan 25,2012: Lucknow, Jan 25 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court today quashed two notifications by Uttar Pradesh government which excluded confidential section under Home and Civil Aviation departments from the purview of RTI Act, saying restrictions imposed were excessive and beyond the powers of the state. The order was passed by a Lucknow bench comprising justices Pradeep Kant and Decvendra Kumar Upadhyaya while allowing two Public Interest Litigations challenging the notifications issued by the state government. On June 7 2009, a notification was issued excluding certain works alloted to conidential sections of the state government from the purview of RTI Act. Prior to this, one more notification was issued on March 25, 2008 which specified that the operation unit, the maintenance, security and general administration unit of the civil aviation department of the state were excluded from the applicability of the RTI Act. The court in its order observed that the RTI is part and parcel of the right to freedom of speech and expression as contained in the Constitution. Further the RTI Act gives statutory safeguard to the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed in the Constitution, which cannot be curtailed except with reasonable restrictions, it said. The court said that therefore restrictions imposed were excessive and beyond the powers of the state, which cannot be done by issuance of the impugned notifications. "For the aforesaid reason petitions are allowed and both the notifications being invalid or hereby quashed," it said.

Shailesh Gandhi Writes to Chhatisgarh CM as Legislative Assembly Hikes RTI Fee to Rs 500

Text of the letter written by Shri Shailesh Gandhi, Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission, New Delhi, to Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh, and Shri Ravindra Choubey, Leader of Opposition, is reproduced below.

------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Raman Singh

Chief Minister

Chhattisgarh

Mantralaya

DKS Bhawan, Raipur- 492001

Chhattisgarh

Dear Dr. Raman Singh,

There is some disturbing news which has been received that the Chhatisgarh Legislative assembly has revised the fee payable for RTI applications and the fee chargeable for providing information to Citizens. All over the country all Public authorities have kept a fee of `10 as application fee and `2 per page for providing information. It has been reported that the Chhatisgarh Legislature has revised this to`500 for application fee and `15 per page for information to be provided.

This would be very unfortunate since 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 charged from the persons who are of below poverty line as may be determined by the appropriate Government.”

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 `10/- as application fee and `2/- per page as additional fee for providing the information. In this background the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly’s decision to start charging `500/- as application and `15/- 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 `10/- and `2/- respectively at the earliest.

Best Regards,

Your’s Truly

(Shailesh Gandhi)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Shri Ravindra Choubey,

Leader of Opposition

Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha,

Baluda Bazar Road,

Raipur- Chhattisgarh

Dear Shri Ravindra Choubey,

There is some disturbing news which has been received that the Chhatisgarh Legislative assembly has revised the fee payable for RTI applications and the fee chargeable for providing information to Citizens. All over the country all Public authorities have kept a fee of `10 as application fee and `2 per page for providing information. It has been reported that the Chhatisgarh Legislature has revised this to`500 for application fee and `15 per page for information to be provided.

This would be very unfortunate since 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 charged from the persons who are of below poverty line as may be determined by the appropriate Government.”

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 `10/- as application fee and `2/- per page as additional fee for providing the information. In this background the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly’s decision to start charging `500/- as application and `15/- 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 `10/- and `2/- respectively at the earliest.

Best Regards,

Your’s Truly

(Shailesh Gandhi)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Shri Dharamlal Kaushik

Speaker

Chhattisgarh Vidhan Sabha,

Baluda Bazar Road,

Raipur- Chhattisgarh

Dear Shri Dharamlal Kaushik,

There is some disturbing news which has been received that the Chhatisgarh Legislative assembly has revised the fee payable for RTI applications and the fee chargeable for providing information to Citizens. All over the country all Public authorities have kept a fee of `10 as application fee and `2 per page for providing information. It has been reported that the Chhatisgarh Legislature has revised this to`500 for application fee and `15 per page for information to be provided.

This would be very unfortunate since 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 charged from the persons who are of below poverty line as may be determined by the appropriate Government.”

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 `10/- as application fee and `2/- per page as additional fee for providing the information. In this background the Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly’s decision to start charging `500/- as application and `15/- 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 `10/- and `2/- respectively at the earliest.

Best Regards,

Your’s Truly

(Shailesh Gandhi)

Jamia Millia Jamia sends Rs.50 lakh defamation notice to RTI activist

Association for Protection of Civil Rights has flayed Jamia Millia Islamia for sending defamation notice of Rs.50 lakh to RTI activist Afroz Alam Sahil – who was instrumental in bringing into the public domain the post-mortem report of Batla House encounter – and termed the move as an attempt to harass him. Jamia authorities were peeved at Afroz Alam Sahil constantly questioning the administration through RTI. Rights group alleged that it is an open attempt to suppress the voice of dissen

t as well as freedom of speech. Mr. Sahil has also been campaigning for restoration of democratic rights for students of Jamia where election for Students Union have not been held since 2006. Mr. Sahil is also credited for bringing into public domain post-mortem report into the Batla House encounter through his RTI application apart from raising issues pertaining to corruption, fellowships, hostel allotment, health services and security for women.

Several organizations have demanded that Jamia administration withdraw its legal notice with immediate effect to ensure freedom of speech and to encourage its own outstanding student.

Scan of the legal notice of defamation is attached.

RTI: 20 Lakh embezzled in Aligarh Station of All India Radio

Information provided under RTI to Mr Bimal Khemani of TRAP Group of Aligarh has revelaed that Aligarh based station of All India Radio entered into an agreement with a private security agency. The Director General (Additional-Security) objected to the said agreement with private security agency, and even the Audit Section pointed out that there has been flagrant violation of rules, the concerned officials of AIR Aligarh station did not pay heed to them. Later it was revealed under RTI that about Rs 20 lakh of public money has been embezzled, it is alleged, with the connivance of certain officials of AIR. Mr Bimal Khemani has filed a complaint with the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) in the matter.

RTI Task force for transparency in Banks & Financial Sector

Dear Friends,

A number of RTI activists are fighting for transparency in the banking sector, and their regulatory bodies. Whenever they have filed RTI applications for information from the banking sector – even where a large element of public interest is involved -- many activists have found that the banks are stonewalling and evading disclosures. RTI activists have many favourable orders from Central Information Commission to support them in their fight, but it is necessary for activists to come together on this issue and pool their energies.

In recent weeks, a number of activists have discussed with me about this area of need. (By a happy coincidence, I have been asked to address a meeting on this topic by Moneylife Foundation this week.)

So I am inviting you to not only participate in but spearhead a task force for transparency in this sector. If you have some experience with RTI on banks, or you are yourself a banker, we urge you to share your knowledge and insights with us.

WHY FOCUS ON BANKS? SOME SPECIFIC REASONS:

1. Banks play a key role in our lives. God forbid, if some major banks – or even relatively minor cooperative banks -- were to pack up tomorrow, we would be very badly hit. Therefore, their lending and investment policies are very much our concern. Banks – especially nationalized banks – cannot argue that what they do is their internal matter”, and of no concern to citizens!

2. Alarmingly, banks are increasingly acting like usurious money-lenders. Many of their loans – especially gold-loans and loans against property – are aimed at distressed borrowers who have been hit by recession and are struggling to maintain their lifestyle and business. A large proportion of such borrowers fail to repay their loans, and lose their assets. To promote borrowing in such an economic environment is exploitative: http://tinyurl.com/Bank-Loans-Aggressive-promos

3. Nationalized banks, private banks and cooperative banks have disproportionate clout. They are repositories of depositors’ moneys, and also retail as well as bulk lenders. Last but not least, they are investors participating in the equity markets and competing with small investors.

4. As bulk lenders and investors, they influence industrial growth. As retail lenders and savings banks, they determine consumer and investor behavior. By varying the interest rates on deposits and loans, they play a major role in determining whether the bulk of Indians invest in equity, put their money into fixed-income instruments, or use their money in buying consumer goods.

5. Banks and bankers actively shape the policies made by the Union Finance Ministry and Reserve Bank of India. The quality of their reporting to the government and regulatory bodies, and the pressures that they exert on governance, are key determinants on what happens to our nation. They actually have enough power to crash the economy singlehandedly!

6. Bad banks = costly bailouts using public moneys. Most banks are considered “too big to fail”. Government invariably steps in to rescue banks that are in trouble, using large amounts of public moneys for bailouts. This means that minding the business of banks is every citizen’s business!

7. Fuzzy lines in banking. The lines between non-banking finance companies and banks are blurred.

8. Conflicts of interest. With many banks like SBI becoming shareholders in loss-making companies like Kingfisher Airlines, and also project-finance to unscrupulous builders following bad and illegal practices, conflicts of interest are the norm rather than the exception.

I look forward to your early response.

Warm Regards,

Krish

98215 88114

thebravepedestrian.[AT].gmail.com