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by kushal | 
We are happy to announce RTI INDIA is now available to all its subscriber via Free SMS. Now you can know the latest news, success stories, important events and much more about Right to Information by subscribing to our SMS channel.
Please visit our channel link to subscribe to our Free SMS service.
http://labs.google.co.in/smschannels...be/RTIINDIASMS
Alternatively you can subscribe to RTI INDIA SMS by sending an SMS:
ON RTIINDIASMS to 9870807070
Thank You for being part of our community.
RTI INDIA TEAM
At any point of time you want to unsubscribe from RTIINDIASMS channel, send an SMS <off rtiindiasms=""> to 9870807070
</off>
This service is an additional but free subscription based service and you are not automatically subscribed to the channel by us while you register at our site. | | |
by kushal | On our second Anniversary I said 'Let us Connect, Network and Reach out', the dream was not Myopic. On 27th September 2009 just over 3 years of our existence we are 100,000 member strong community. With more than 4 lakhs pages of community posts at our website, surely we are proud of our members who either posted a question, or an answer, or wrote a blog which made Right to Information worthwhile.
Do you have a success story to share with us: Now Post your video at RTI INDIA!
On this occasion we are introducing a new forum at RTI INDIA, RTI Community - RTI Videos at rtiindia.org which is meant for all our members to upload and share videos via YouTube. I invite all of our community members to take part in the forum.
We are also announcing the launch of RTI INDIA Video Channel at YouTube. Visit YouTube - RTIINDIA's Channel
We intend to share and bring together all Right to Information related videos at one place through this channel. To become more familiar with the functioning kindly visit the thread here.
Continuing our zeal to bring all cross section of people to be part of our community we have opened many more mediums to do so via social networking sites.
- Facebook: Join us via Facebook, become fan of our site here: RTI INDIA | Facebook
- Twitter: Follow us on twitter here: RTI INDIA (rtiindia) on Twitter. We post interesting threads selected at RTI INDIA website here. Also we intend to use it as our minor site announcement portal.
- Orkut: Join us if you are available at orkut, visit the link here orkut -
Very importantly, our core team has decided to accept the following members as our 'Community Builders' and we are happy to welcome them as our team members on this very important milestone event:
Dillip Kumar Mohapatra, Sunaab Sarkar, Jayeshbheda & Ajay Kumar Bhal
I am sure the hard work they have done to help the community grow till date, will surely enrich all of us in times to come.
Lastly, this official post cannot end without the acknowledgment of our team members untiring efforts, those voluntary monetary supporters who made their contribution towards running this site, and all those contributory members who by way of their knowledge and desire had been enriching all of us from the journey we performed from 1 member to 100000 members.
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by ganpat1956 | Today, September 28, is the International Right to Information Day. On this day in 2006, RTI India .Org was started by Dr Kushal Pathak, a physician by education, but who nevertheless took up Civil Services to a lucrative career in medicine. His penchant for curing the ills of the society and the encouragement provided by the younger generation of his like-minded friends in the bureaucracy, led him to float this web site. In the three years time, this site has now grown into a membership of 90,000 socially conscious persons throughout the length and breadth of this country, besides several NRI members. They hail from every walk of life—retired people, commoners, teachers, advocates, professionals, entrepreneurs, serving officers, house wives et al.
The founders of this portal being part of the civil services, there is an imperative need to ensure that this site is not used by anybody to demean the govt nor to conduct a crusade or campaign against it. To that extent, we believe in active moderation . This portal is only meant in a very strict sense to help citizens and others in the rightful interpretation of Act and helping in the queries they have, by the shared resource of the members at large. We are happy that by and large our members have understood the boundaries we have set for ourselves and have extended their due cooperation on this count.
RTI India has earned a niche for itself in the web world thanks to the dedicated efforts of all the activists. The site carries over 3,35,000 web pages of discussions, spread out in various sections and sub-sections. The search engines simply love this site and at any point of time one can observe the presence of not less than a score or two of various search engine bots and spiders crawling around for information. With the result, anything that gets posted here can be located through a web search in the next five to ten minutes. This has led to increased new member registrations, which are in the order of 300 to 400 everyday, making the task of our Community Builders, a challenging one. Site statistics reveal that about 80% of the visitors to our portal every day are new entrants.
From a handful of Info Warriors who started it all in 2006, we were 1100 at the time of our first anniversary, 12000 on our second anniversary and now with a 90000+ vibrant membership, we are marching ahead to the six digit figure, which we shall be reaching before the end of this year.
To repeat the words of our Chief Dreamer & Architech, " We are proud of our Members who had made our community efforts a success, either by way of a question or by posting a solution or simply being here with us. We are also thankful to those who contributed by way of assimilating news about Right to Information and shared with all of us in the RTI News section. Many appreciation would go left unnoticed if we did not mention those who contributed in the blogging, guide and directory segment. Again a Big Thanks to all those who made monetary contributions for meeting the bandwidth cost and thus reaffirmed their faith in our community work."
Discuss this Announcement Here:
"http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/31322-...niversary.html" | | |
by ra_10 | | Since past few years the State Urban Development authority had been pumping sewage water into our land, which was having an ill effect on the quality of our land. We filed an RTI application seeking information on the intended route of the sewage water, why it was diverted to our land, the compensation we would be granted for the harm done and the penalty to the officers responsible. The reply to the application stated that there was no such thing being done - no sewage water was being pumped and no further action was to be taken on this. Although the reply wasn’t directly helpful, RTI helped because the authorities completely diverted the route of sewage water away from our land and it has stayed like that since. Hence, we achieved the desired results.:) | | |
by karira |
26-yr-old visually challenged man will receive first Rahul Mangaonkar RTI Award
Ratna Ala, a visually challenged 26-year-old youth, who used RTI to expose the improprieties of the local administration and got development to his village, will become the first recipient of the Rahul Mangaonkar Award for Best Use of RTI for Common Cause.
The award was conceptualised to cherish and perpetuate the legacy of TOI journalist Rahul Mangaonkar, who had pioneered the use of Right to Information in journalism. Ala will be felicitated at Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry Auditorium on Sunday at 10.30 am.
A native of Rangpur in Wankaner taluka of Rajkot district, Ala is visually impaired. He used the RTI to replace a stony path connecting his village to the main highway by a two-kilometre pucca road. His family belongs to below the poverty line.
Ala, a class X passout, used RTI to get information on several schemes that the panchayat had claimed it had implemented but had not done so.
Rahul Mangaonkar, an activist-journalist, passed away on May 5, 2009. He used RTI as a tool to expose irregularities in the local administration and provided a non-confrontational attitude to the RTI movement.
The award is not just a tribute to Mangaonkar but an encouragement to common citizens who use the tool to make a difference to the society at large.
As reported in ahmedabadmirror.com on 19 July 2009:
26-yr-old visually challenged man will receive first Rahul Mangaonkar RTI Award , News - City - Ahmedabad Mirror,Ahmedabad Mirror | | |
by kushal | On 15th May 2009, RTI INDIA reached the registration count of 50000 members. Please join us on our celebrations here!
Our immediate goal is to make rtiindia.org an even more welcoming place and make it easier for users to find the information they're looking for regarding Right to Information.
Over the past few months, we've been actively ramping up team and reorganizing it so the team can be bigger, faster, and better than ever before. In the same effort we are pleased to announce following active members as our team members:
- Sandeep Baheti (sandeepbaheti): Has been given additional responsibility as 'Moderator' of RTI INDIA.
- Atul Patankar (Atul Patankar): Has been inducted in our team as 'News Digger' at RTI INDIA
- E.V.DEVENDRANATH (evdnath), G.MARUTHI (GM VISHNU) & Prabhakar HL (prabha.hl) has been inducted as 'Community Builders' at RTI INDIA
We think the new additions to our team are great assets to rtiindia.org - something we think you'll agree with as you get to know some of our new team members over the coming months. Please visit our Team Members Page here.
While in the past discussions were a bit freewheeling, we're going to renew our effort to keep discussions focused, in accord with our published posting guidelines. Polite discussion and constructive criticism will be welcome, but we are going to be better about moderating discussions to keep them on topic.
With Best Regards,
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by aparnakarmarkar |
My name is Aparna Karmarkar. I live in Pune and practice as an architect. I had filed my Income Tax Reaturn for the Finincial year 2007-08 on July31st ,2008. I had claimed a refund of Rupees Four Thousand and Thirty Six rupees.
I waited patiently for the refund till June,2009. No action from Income Tax Office. When I told this story to Mr.Atul Patankar, he was very kind to introduce me to the idea of RTI !!
He made the application ready, we filled in the necessary details and filed the application on June 10th, 2009. I was surprised when the sleepy department started calling me. The concerned officer told me that he has posted the cheque and could I please widraw the application? Again Mr.Patankar advised me not to do so , till I had a cheque in my hands.
Thanks to RTI and Mr.Atul Patankar, I received my cheque on July 2nd, 2009. What's more, I did not pay a single paisa as a bribe!!!
With best regards,
Aparna Karmarkar
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by dhanabalan |
RTI Act is really helpful to me. Police officials were misused the FIRs. Each FIR contains 6 sheets. Police used only 3 sheets to register the case. Other 3 sheets were used to threaten the innocents to get the bribe and then destroyed the 3 sheets. I unearthed through RTI.
FIR printed numbers and Crime numbers are not tallying. In some cases FIRs were reserved for later use. In some cases, crime numbers were reserved. Further, 5 crime numbers were booked in one FIR. Some FIR copies were not sent to court. Some FIR copies are not available in station, in DSP office and in court. I unearthed all this through RTI. Now I filed a petition in High court to direct the Vigilance & Anticorruption to register FIR against the police officials.
One person murdered his illegal second wife and the body was destroyed in fire without informing to police and Village Administrative Officer. That person paid bribe to police for not registering FIR against him. I sent application under RTI. DGP replied "on enquiry she died due to eating of poison". The ADGP destroyed the file connected with the reply of DGP. I filed a petition at High Court to register FIR. FIR was registered under IPC 176, which is non cognizable offence. Even the FIR was not sent to the JM court. ADGP and other police officials would be booked for not registering FIR under section IPC 201.
Police received bribe from the criminals and FIR was not registered for the theft complaints from 2005. I complained to IGP. IGP directed to register FIR. Afraid of departmental action by the IGP for the refusal to register FIR, police officials received signature from the petitioners in blank empty white paper and they later filled as they like. Some petitioners complained to the IGP and SP. No action. I sent complaint to DGP. No reply. Appealed at Information Commission. Enquiry was conducted by Information commission. PIO gave a non speaking, incomplete and evading answer. I again appealed to the Commission.
RTI Act is a powerful tool. But the Information Commissioners are very lienient. The PIOs are exploiting the leniency.
Thank you.
Dhanabalan
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by sujy40 | dear all,
I would like to share my experience of getting IT refunds which had been pending for 10 Assessment Years ie from1996-97 till date by using the RTI Act. I am indebted to this website for the information provided without which the refunds would not have marerialised. During the process i have gained insights which i would like to share with all members.
Numerous representations and meeting IT Dept officers yielded no results. After seeing this website I filed an application under the RTI Act. Information regarding status of my refunds was denied by the ITO(Income Tax Officer) under Sec 8(1)(j) stating that info sought was of a personal nature and was not inthe larger public interest. The letter also stated that the application would be treated as a Grievance petition and action taken expeditiously.
I filed an appeal against this to the First Appellate Authority on the following grounds . I based my reasons for appeal on a judgement given by the delhi High Court which i found on this website and is reproduced below.
] Judgement of HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
in WP(C) No. 3114/2007 decided on 03.12.2007 :
“………As is reflected in its preambular paragraphs, the enactment seeks to promote transparency, arrest corruption and to hold the Government and its instrumentalities accountable to the governed. This spirit of the Act must be borne in mind while construing the provisions contained therein. Access to information, under Section 3 of the Act, is the rule and exemptions under Section 8, the exception. Section 8 being a restriction on this fundamental right, must therefore is to be strictly construed. It should not be interpreted in manner as to shadow the very right itself.”
I also gave the following grounds for my appeal.
1.denial of information by the PIO(public Information Officer) amounted to denial of justice of a genuine grievance.
2.Transparency was lacking since no reason whatsoever was given for the inordinate delay.
3. the IT Dept and and its instrumentalities had not been accountable to the governed.
4. The letter of the law was being followed while the spirit of the law was being ignored.
5. This went against the High Court judgement qouted above.
6. The assessing officer had failed in carrying out one of his main functions which is to ensure that all taxpayers grievances are attended in time and redressed in a fixed time bound manner.
Within 20 days of the appeal cheques for the entire amount of approx Rs 3 lakhs were received by me in Regd Post/Speed post letters.
To strengthen my arguement, I had included following details downloaded from the IT Dept's website :
.
EXTRACTS FROM CITIZENS CHARTER (IT Dept Website):
WE BELIEVE :-
ØIn transparency and fairness.
ØIn encouraging and assisting taxpayers
WE AIM :-
ØTo redress/dispose off a complaint/grievance within two months from the end of the month of its receipt.
Functions of Assessing Officers . (Extract from IT website)
No 3 &4 are relevant.
(1)
1.Allotting PANs wherever required
2.Making IRLA operational and ensuring that all demands are entered into this system
3.Seeing that all tax payers grievances are attended in time and redressed in a fixed time bound manner
(1) 4. Ensuring timely collection of demands and issue of refunds.
5.Selection of cases for scrutiny in time and ensuring their timely disposal
6. Controlling all computer hardware and software of the range and ensuring its maintenance replacement and updating. Providing technical support
and guidance for operation of the computer system.
(1) 7.Taking all necessary steps for widening of the tax base.
(1) 8. Internal Audit functions.
9.Ensuring that appeal effects are given and central scrutiny
(1)reports are submitted in time.
10.Statutory functions.
St
(1)I would advise following steps to ensure refunds materialise quickly :
STEP I . Forward a grievance petition to the ITO where the IT Return has been filed. Wait for 60 days. This 60 day gap is required since IT dept has stipulated 60 days as time by which grievance petitions are to be disposed off.If no response-go to STEP II.
STEP II. File an application under RTI Act to concerned PIO (Public Information Officer). Usually it is the ITO of the concerned ward Where the IT Return has been filed. Make sure to state at the end of the application " If you are not the concerned officer, please forward it to the concernrd officer in accordance with Sec 6(1) of the Act. If no reply for 30 days, file an application to the first Appellate Authority. If info sought is denied under Sec 8(i)(j) then also appeal to First Appelate Authority stating grounds which i have listed earlier. Download forms available in this website for filing applications as these forms are comprehensive and the PIO cannot wriggle out on techncalities.
The refund will materialise.
Happy hunting.
Col S V Sundar
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by vijaygarge59 |
I think Information is the power.
and in true sense it is the confidence
we can serve humanity and nation through it.
thanks to rtiindia.org..
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All About RTI RTI Buzz Forums Start A Thread | RTI News & Discussion |  SC trying to deny RTI info? | |
TIMES OF <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">INDIA</st1:place></st1:country-region>, MUMBAI EDN 19-03-2010<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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SC trying to deny RTI info? <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Comes Up With Novel Excuse, Says CJI Hasn’t Ordered Any Action On Plea <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Manoj Mitta | TNN <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Delhi</st1:place></st1:City>: For somebody who has made no secret of his hostility to the RTI, CJI K G Balakrishnan has outdone himself. For, without getting into the nitty-gritty of RTI clauses, the Supreme Court has come up with a novel excuse for denying information. It has just said that the application had been ‘‘placed before’’ the CJI himself and that he had not ordered any action on it.
Responding to Kashmiri political leader Abdul Gani Bhat on February 26, the central public information officer (CPIO) of the apex court, Raj Pal Arora, made no reference to any of the 10 categories of information exempted from disclosure under Section 8 of RTI. Instead, while saying that the application had been placed before Justice Balakrishnan, Arora gave no explanation for deviating from the statutory norm under which the CJI has no decision-making role on whether certain information could be disclosed or not.
The official involvement of Justice Balakrishnan in the CPIO’s decision makes a mockery of the remedy available to Bhat under the RTI to file his first appeal before a superior officer in the SC registry, M K Gupta. For, Gupta would hardly be in a position to sit in judgment over the inaction of Justice Balakrishnan.
Having referred the application to the CJI, the CPIO washed his hands of it saying, ‘‘No action having been directed thereon, the same was lodged/filed. Further no information is available.’’ It’s as if the invocation of the CJI’s name empowers the SC’s CPIO to bypass the obligation of disclosure put on him by the RTI.
The SC ’s latest attempt to undermine RTI is despite the fact
that five of the eight documents sought relate to administrative orders passed by the registry declaring the SC premises as ‘‘high security zone’’ and imposing restrictions on the movements of petitioners-in-person. The other three pieces of information asked for by Bhat relate to the more sensitive information on the proposal to appoint a judge from the J&K HC as chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh high court.
The evasive response to Bhat’s application came around the time Justice Balakrishnan directed the head of the registry to file an appeal before the Supreme Court against the judgment of the Delhi high court in the judges’ assets case. It was in that case that the SC had on the administrative side originally claimed that CJI did not fall under the ambit of RTI. But in the course of the proceedings before the Delhi HC, the SC conceded that the CJI too was accountable under RTI.
‘Tough to answer RTI queries on verdicts’
The Supreme Court has said that its officials handling RTI matters cannot be expected to answer queries relating to judgments passed by it because of the “limited resources” available with them. “As far as the central public information officer is concerned, it may be very difficult to comment on a decision or give a report whether a thing has been done in a judgment or not. It is the job of a lawyer, counsel Devdutt Kumar said during a CIC hearing. AGENCIES <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
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| | 31 yrs on, Man finally gets DDA flat | |
As reported in The Hindustan Times, New Delhi edition on 18 March 2010:
HindustanTimes ePaper - Article,
Deepak, 27, is elated. He is going to move from a third- floor rented accommodation to a ground floor house.
Suffering from acute cerebral palsy, he is 75 per cent disabled and dependent on his sisters who carry him up and down the 60 steps everyday.
But the ground floor flat di- dn't come easy. Deepak's father, Sitaram (70), had to run from pillar-to-post for 31 years and fight three court cases against DDA before he got the flat.
Ordering a ground floor flat for Sitaram, Justice G.S. Sistani, said: “This case shows not only the callous attitude of the
DDA but also that they are completely insensitive to problems of ordi- nary citizens“.
In 1979, Sitaram applied for a flat. He got it 25 years later in 2004 for Rs 4.29 lakh. But the flat was on the third floor.
With a disabled son, Sitaram couldn't even think of moving there.
On February 12, 2004, citing the policy of change of floor to the disabled, he requested DDA for a ground floor flat.
Agreeing, the DDA asked him for medical certificates. For four years, nothing happened. Then he filed an RTI plea and was told that the policy for disabled is only for the applicant, not family members.
In July 2008, Sitaram moved the Delhi High Court through lawyer R.K. Saini. In March 2009, he got a ground floor flat for Rs 13.9 lakh, three times the earlier price of Rs 4.29 lakh.
Another court case ensued.
Sitaram challenged the new cost when DDA itself was responsible for the delay.
Ordering the grand of ground floor flat for Sitaram at the 2005 rates, the court said, “The peti- tioner was made to wait end- lessly hoping that the DDA would consider his request. It was impossible for him to have accepted the third floor flat with a 75% disabled son.“
| | Case against three MCD engineers for threatening... | |
As reported by PTI in ptinews.com on 19 March 2010:
fullstory
Case against three MCD engineers for threatening man
New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Three MCD engineers have been booked by police for allegedly threatening a social activist for filing an RTI application with the civic body on unauthorised construction.
The case of criminal trespass and intimidation was registered against Executive Engineer B M N Rao, Assistant Engineer Umesh Singh and Junior Engineer Praveen Singh.
The trio had allegedly threatened one Mohit Sharma, who had filed an RTI application with MCD, Shahdara zone after barging into his residence for appealing to the Central Information Commission, police said today.
A senior police official said Sharma approached them claiming the engineers had threatened to kill him in an accident. "We have registered a case in this case," the official said.
The trio had allegedly pressurised Sharma, a resident of Dilshad Garden, to tell the CIC that the MCD has provided with information regarding unauthorised construction in Shahadara zone.
| | Delhi: Contract of Only Auto Scrapping Unit... | |
As reported in news.outlookindia.com on 19 March 2010:
news.outlookindia.com | Delhi: Contract of Only Auto Scrapping Unit Lost
Delhi: Contract of Only Auto Scrapping Unit Lost
Delhi Government has lost the records of the only contract for disposal of auto-rickshaw scrap given to a company which has been enjoying "monopoly" in the national capital and is now running business on its own terms.
The Central Information Commission recommended to the Transport Department to find ways of "reconstructing the contract" after the matter surfaced during a hearing on a plea of an RTI applicant who was not given complete details of auto-scrapping unit at Suraj Mal Vihar.
The unit which entered in contract with transport department in 2007 is the only place where all the old auto-rickshaws are scrapped, the Commission noted.
The Delhi government has given 1,000 square meter of land, free water and electricity supply to the vendor. As per the contract, the vendor was required to pay a fixed amount to the owners and issue a certificate on the basis of which they could buy a new one.
"The transport department states this contract has been in place since 2007 and the file listing the terms and conditions and also the period for which the contract is valid has been lost," Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said.
"A monopoly has been given to the contractor... There is no record of the amount which the contractor has to pay the auto rickshaw owner and this entire transaction is continuing based on terms and condition that the contractor wishes," Gandhi noted.
The Supreme Court, in one of its judgements, had fixed the number of auto-rickshaws plying in Delhi to 55,000. As a fall-out, new autos can only be purchased when older ones are phased out.
One of the ways of phasing out autos is through the scrapping unit which issues certificates to each auto-owner who brings autos for scrapping out. On the basis of this certificate, owners can purchase a new auto.
The Commission observed that earlier the scrapping vendor used to pay Rs 7,000 to auto-owner but now they have reduced it to 5,000. Moreover, the spare parts including the CNG kits are not scrapped in the process.
Gandhi said, "Given this state of affairs, the respondent (transport department) admits that there is no time frame for the conclusion of this monopoly contract given to the contractor and it might get converted to a perpetual ownership."
"The Commission recommends to the Transport Department to find some way of reconstructing this contract," he said.
The applicant Om Prakash Tiwari alleged that earlier the old auto rickshaws were being actually scrapped in a machine and presently the parts are being dismantled and sold.
"The respondent and the appellant both admit that about 19,000 auto rickshaws have been scrapped under this monopoly of rights given to the contractor since 2007," Gandhi said.
| | Mayor more miserly than Uncle Scrooge | |
As reported by G Babu Jayakumar in expressbuzz.com on 19 March 2010:
Mayor more miserly than Uncle Scrooge
Mayor more miserly than Uncle Scrooge
CHENNAI: Mayor M Subramaniam and several Chennai Corporation councillors have put stingy Uncle Scrooge, a Walt Disney character, to shame. The local body keeps enhancing the allocation for the Ward Development Funds and Mayor Special Development Fund, but the worthies just don’t believe in spending them for Chennai’s development. What is more, three councilors have not spent even a paise of their fund share for the past three years.
However, there is one difference. While penny-pinching helps Scrooge McDuck stay as the world’s richest duck, the councilors forfeit the unspent sum at the end of each financial year.
Over the years, the allocation for each councilor has increased from Rs 7 lakh in 2005-06 to Rs 25 lakh in 2009-10. For the Mayor, the fund went up from Rs 50 lakh in 2005-06 to Rs 2 crore in 2009-2010.
The gross under-utilisation of funds, brought to light through an RTI application filed by activist V Madhav, makes you wonder why the Corporation, in its latest budget, proposed a further hike in the Ward Development Fund for the next year to Rs 30 lakh.
The Corporation’s reply to the RTI application reveals that at least 17 councillors are yet to spend a paise from their kitty for the current financial year.
The mayor spend just Rs 9.71 lakh of the Rs 2 crore he is entitled to till the end of the third-quarter of this year. His past record too has been abysmal: In the first four years of his tenure from 2005-06 to 2008-09 the allotment was Rs 50 lakh a year, so he could spend a maximum of Rs 2 crore. Yet, the mayor spent less than one-fourth of that sum: Rs 45 lakh. In 2006-07, he did not touch the funds at all.
In 2009-10, out of the total outlay of Rs 38.75 crore - Rs 25 lakh for each of the 155 councillors - just over Rs 9.74 crore was utilised during the three-quarters of the year, which amounts to less than 25 per cent. Though the earlier three years saw a tad better utilisation, never was the entire fund spend.
The three councillors who spent zilch in the last three financial years, including the present one, are S Kalavathi (Ward100), G Ekappan (Ward 101) and S Selvi (Ward 111), all from Zone 7. The councillors who have not any money during the three-quarters of the current financial year in zones I, VI, VII and VIII are: M Govindasamy (Congress), S Venkatesan (DMK), J Krishnamurthy (DMK), S Kalavathi (PMK), G Ekappan (DMK), N Balakrishnan (PMK), A Rajathi (DMK), NM Abdul Majid (DMK), V Ganesan (DMK), S Selvi (DMK), MP Anbudurai (DMK), V Christie (DMK), Saidai P Ravi (A) Rangaramanujam (Congress), SP Viswanathan (Congress), K Jayanthi (DMK), Pushparoot (DMK) and Radha Sambanthan (DMK).
| | Meet brings together 250 RTI users from across... | |
As reported by Caroline Andrade in dnaindia.com on 19 March 2010:
Meet brings together 250 RTI users from across Gujarat - dnaindia.com
Meet brings together 250 RTI users from across Gujarat
Ahmedabad: The RTI is perhaps the most useful weapon that the common man can yield against any authority. A state-level three hour long RTI convention organised on Wednesday and attended by around 250 RTI users from Gujarat, saw participants discuss how they used the Right to Information Act to expose loopholes and inefficiency of the system.
The convention was held in Paldi. Arvind Kejriwal of Parivartan India, Harinesh Pandya, secretary of Janpath and founder of Mahiti Adhikar, Gujarat Pahel and Prof Jagdeep Chhokar, Association for Domestic Reforms ADR, were also present at the event.
Deepak Patel of Gujarat state primary teachers' association said that he used RTI to seek details about teachers in all schools of Gujarat.
"But I was given details of only 600 schools. I then identified the non-qualified teachers in these schools and also found that the district education officers were not carrying out proper inspection in schools," said Patel.
Patel then filed a complaint with the information commissioner, RN Das which in turn sent a notice to the state government. "The government clearly stated that it was the duty of the DEO to carry out inspections. In response, the DEO said that they were short-staffed. The RTI application also brought to fore the fact that some reports were prepared by the DEO without any official actually carrying out the inspection," said Patel.
Vinod Pandya of Gujarat state Talimi Snatak also came across many loopholes in the education system after he filed an RTI application seeking information about private primary schools and non qualified teachers."I asked for a full data for Ahmedabad district and city schools and in the process got to know that 70% teachers were non-qualified. I also learned that in 95% of the cases, the teachers were not being paid proper salary and even their provident funds were not in order," said Pandya.
Pandya later filed a PIL in the high court and the government promised to sack non qualified teachers. "However, even after 2 years nothing has happened," said Pandya.
Girish Vishrambhai Dodia of Surat, son of a slain RTI activist, Vishrambhai Dodia said his father lost his life due to a fight between an electricity company and the police department. "He had filed an RTI petition seeking inquiry against illegal electricity connection that involved a whole lot of influential people of the city," said Dodia.
| | Torrent Power refuses to provide information under... | |
As reported in indianexpress.com on 18 March 2010:
Torrent Power refuses to provide information under RTI Act
Torrent Power refuses to provide information under RTI Act
Applicant had sought information on power failures, shutdowns, interruptions at Rajnagar complex, Narayan Nagar and Paldi areas
Torrent Power, the sole electricity distributor in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Surat, has refused to furnish certain information sought in an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, saying the Act is “not applicable” to the company.
The applicant had sought information regarding the types of power failures, power outages, shutdowns, interruptions at Rajnagar complex, Narayan Nagar road and Paldi areas in Ahmedabad between January 1, 2009 and November 20.
The applicant, identified as Jayshree Nagar, a resident of Paldi, had also asked as to what actions were taken to check power failure in the application filed in December last year.
In its reply sent on January 16, 2010, the company said the information cannot be shared as they are not a public authority as mentioned in Section 2 (h) of the Act.
Nagar, in her application, had mentioned that she had filed a complaint after facing frequent disruptions of power. She said that if public utility companies can enjoy privileges of a public sector undertaking, including permission to dig up roads, disrupt traffic and seek police help, why can’t they share information under RTI.
Reacting to this, the Chief Information Commissioner, Government of India, Wajahat Habibullah, told The Indian Express: “As far as I am concerned, yes, they (Torrent Power) have to be under the ambit of RTI Act. But it depends on a lot of things, including investment by the government, whether the government has any stake or not.”
Harinesh Pandya, of an NGO promoting the Act, said, “The information seeker can approach the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Authority (GERC), which regulates the power company.”
| | Difficult to answer RTI queries regarding... | |
As reported by PTI in beta.hindu.com on 18 March 2010:
The Hindu : News / National : Difficult to answer RTI queries regarding judgements: Supreme Court
Difficult to answer RTI queries regarding judgements: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court today said its officials handling RTI matters cannot be expected to answer queries relating to judgements passed by it because of “limited resources” available with them.
“As far as the Central Public Information Officer is concerned, it may be very difficult to comment on a decision or give a report whether a thing has been done in a judgement or not. It is the job of a lawyer.”
“The CPIO may not be in the best position to actually understand the import of the decision,” counsel for Supreme Court Devdutt Kamat said during a hearing at Central Information Commission.
He said, “CPIO has limited resources and limited infrastructure. Under the RTI regime, whatever is available in the registry, definitely, he will give but if this request is allowed we are going to land in lot of problems.”
Mr. Kamat submitted before the Commission that if information sought by any RTI applicant is in the “possession” of the registry of the apex court, it will definitely be given.
“But information as far as judgement is concerned. What is a judgement, what is the import of a judgement, what are the directions given in a judgement? That advice is best appropriate to be left to a lawyer,” he said.
Mr. Kamat was arguing in a hearing related to a case in which an RTI applicant was denied information about Supreme Court’s “suggestion” to the Union Government on Padma awards.
Applicant Subhash Chandra Agrawal had sought to know if the Union Home Ministry was ever directed by the apex court to constitute some committee for reforms in respect of Padma awards along with relevant documents.
Referring to an apex court decision, Mr. Kamat said Supreme Court had “only suggested” formation of a committee of the eminent persons to decide Padma awards.
Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said information given by Mr. Kamat “as a counsel” provides the answer to the query.
| | Is SC trying to deny applicant info under RTI... | |
Is SC trying to deny applicant info under RTI?
AS reported by Sri Manoj Mitta , TNN, Mar 18, 2010
NEW DELHI: For somebody who has made no secret of his hostility to RTI, CJI K G Balakrishnan has outdone himself. For, without getting into the nitty-gritty of RTI clauses, the Supreme Court has come up with a novel excuse for denying information. It has just said that the application had been "placed before" the CJI himself and that he had not ordered any action on it.
Responding to Kashmiri political leader Abdul Gani Bhat on February 26, the central public information officer (CPIO) of the apex court, Raj Pal Arora, made no reference to any of the 10 categories of information exempted from disclosure under Section 8 of RTI. Instead, while saying that the application had been placed before Justice Balakrishnan, Arora gave no explanation for deviating from the statutory norm under which the CJI has no decision-making role on whether certain information could be disclosed or not.
The official involvement of Justice Balakrishnan in the CPIO's decision makes a mockery of the remedy available to Bhat under RTI to file his first appeal before a superior officer in the Supreme Court registry, M K Gupta. For, Gupta would hardly be in a position to sit in judgment over the inaction of Justice Balakrishnan.
Having referred the application to the CJI, the CPIO washed his hands off it saying, "No action having been directed thereon, the same was lodged/filed. Further no information is available." It's as if the invocation of the CJI's name empowers the Supreme Court's CPIO to bypass the general obligation of disclosure put on him by RTI.
The apex court's latest attempt to undermine RTI is despite the fact that five of the eight documents sought by Bhat relate to administrative orders passed by the registry declaring the Supreme Court premises as "high security zone" and imposing restrictions on the movements of petitioners-in-person. The other three pieces of information asked for by Bhat relate to the more sensitive information on the proposal to appoint a judge from the Jammu and Kashmir high court, Justice N A Kakru, as chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh high court.
The evasive response to Bhat's application came around the time Justice Balakrishnan directed the head of the registry to file an appeal before the Supreme Court against the judgment of the Delhi high court in the judges' assets case. It was in that case that the Supreme Court had on the administrative side originally claimed that CJI did not fall under the ambit of RTI. But in the course of the proceedings before the Delhi HC, the SC conceded that the CJI too was accountable under RTI.
Is SC trying to deny applicant info under RTI? - India - The Times of India
| | 'Sabharwal not to head NHRC due to adverse reports... | |
As reported by PTI in ptinews.com on 17 March 2010:
fullstory
'Sabharwal not to head NHRC due to adverse reports'
New Delhi, Mar 17 (PTI) Former CJI Y K Sabharwal was not considered for the post of National Human Rights Commission chief because of "adverse media and other reports" about him, the Home Ministry has said.
Former Chief Justices R C Lahoti and Y K Sabharwal were both eligible for the post of NHRC chairperson according to provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
But Justice Lahoti declined the offer citing other engagements whereas Justice Sabharwal was not considered for the "highly sensitive post" because of adverse reports, the ministry said.
In reply to an RTI application by Subhash Chandra Agrawal, the human rights division of the ministry said, "Because of adverse media and other reports with regard to Mr Justice Y K Sabharwal, it was felt that highly sensitive post of chairperson of NHRC may not be offered to him.
| | | | Ask for RTI Query | | SRA scheme | |
Hi,
I'm new to RTI have lot of questions to ask about SRA scheme.
| | NSIC Chennai Misleading on First Appeal | |
Respected Sir/Mam,
As advised by this forum, I filed an RTI application with NSIC get certain details about a Manager (APIO in NSIC) and his staff who got employment on recommandations of the said Manager. The above said staff is the wife of the advocate who joined hands with Manager in misleading my matramonial cases.
Since no reply turned up, I filed a first appeal dated 12.03.2010 and got a reply from appelate authority NSIC on 18.3.2010 which was received my me on 19.03.2010 stating that the CPIO has already furnished the required particulars on 12.03.2010(Which was the 47th day from my RTI Application and also my First Appeal date). As stated by the appellate authority if the CPIO has really sent the particulars on 12.3.2010, i would have surely received it before 15.03.2010. The appellate authority has vaguely replied without providing details about the date of postal despatch alleged to have been sent by the CPIO. Please advice how to file effective CIC appeal along with citations if any since these particulars are already wantedly delayed by NSIC and i need this to safeguard my rights in my matramonial disputes solved.
| | Refund of balance fee | | | | Rejection of RTI appln. | |
Appellate authority of RBI constituted under the RBI Act rejected my appeal against Ombudsman. When I asked for the information as to why the appeal was rejected withoput granting me hearing I was told that there is a lower officer who examins the appeals and rejects the appeals not found substantive. When I asked the inspecvtion under RTI I found that the case was never seen by Appellate Authority who is the Dy Govorner of RBI. Also I doubt that some papers were attached after I asked the inspection. Most important is that I had asked the data as to how many appeals were rejected without hearing and how many of them were of the banks and how many were of consumers. i received a reply that the data in not maintained in that format.
Secondly, I asked an insurance company about the master policy details of a cover note issued by a Master Policy Holder. Insurance company played hide n seek for about an year. After that i asked for the info under RTI. They rejected it as it was a third party info. I asked for the inspection of file of my RTI case which was rejected. They have again rejected the same stating that my application amounted to challenging the rejection and therefore I should approach the Appellate Authority who he is sure would support him being party and guide to the reply.
Could you pl guide me if there are any citations of Supreme Court or CIC to substanciate my appeal in above cases ?
| | make a RTI Association? | | | | PF | | | | A real sos msg | |
broadcasting this mail to shri kushal ji and
all other rti veterans,
this is my sos call. Pls help before you read a news,
"rti applicant and family murdered by unknown persons in kolkata"
my house in central kolkata three times burgled
three fir done
no action taken right from local p.s.
Me and my wife met all officials in local p.s. To commissioner of police, west bengal human rights commissioner(wbhrc), hole secretary, chief secretary.
No action of rescre/recovery at any fornt initiated, except few abnormally delayed responsesm which is only for name'sake
i did rti application to spio kolkata police on 03/02/2010
no response till now
i did rti appln to wbhrc about what action on the petition dated 23/09/2009 on 03/03/2010 for which a 'fabricated' 'incomprehensive' reply letter dated 09/03/2010 is sent to me on 18/03/2010.
The wbhrc and state information commission (rti) officed in the same building/same floor.
We had listed out ample suspicion list and possibilities of how the crime carried out which nobody even gives a good hearing for 'obvious reasons'.
I have to shood f.a.a on the a.a. Of wbhrc. As per net details wbhrc of hrc of any state have tremendous power. God forbid, how i secure myself and that of my family if they take 'commit' some crime on me ?
Pls help me get justice.
S. Sridhar,
(posting of mail ids / mobile numbers are prohibited here)
| | Non Formation of Society By the Builder | | | | Intercaste marrige | | | | Co-operative housing society bandra... | |
Hi! I want to know the information of the co-operative society whether it is registered and who are its members and when it was registered all details. How to go about and which department should I write to?
| | Start A Thread | Recent Threads | Happy Replies: 0 Views: 7 abdul Replies: 0 Views: 8 |
| RTI Success Stories | | MCD TREES saved+plantation using RTI | |
i managed to save around 600 trees from concrete and plantation work of around 300 trees were done by using RTI.
i just asked for budget allocated for plantation adn found out no work has been done in past 10 years,after getting exposed MCD started working,in another case i asked for status of high court which says 6X6 feet concrete free space should be made available to trees for proper growth though nowhere followed but RTI forced them to make trees free from concrete.:D
| | Central Govt Deptt released due salary | |
My friend was working in IHBAS New Delhi. He was not given the last two month salary, as his tenure was not extended but allowed to join the office and putting signature on attendance sheet. But my friend was not given the salary of two months. He tried many times to get his salary, but IHBAS did not response and did not give his salary.
After two years, he tried to get salary. I helped him.
I filed RTI application on behalf on him. I sought copies of attendance sheet, details of tenure and copy of account statement. IHBAS authority did not reply. Ultimately I moved to CIC. In the decision, CIC posed penalty on PIO on not providing information in time. On the order of CIC, PIO of IHBAS provided all sought copies.
After taking all evidence, I filed the claim for due payment under payment of wages act.
At last IHBAS released the due salary of my friend.
It happened due to RTI
| | RTI Works (my experience) | |
Hi,
this is Ajai Vikrama Singh...
My father, Ret. Chairman - Regional Rural Bank and Ret. AGM - U.P. Co-operative Bank LKo., died on Nov. 26th 2008. He owned a SBBL gun with a license. After his death I applied for a gun license(death case) on 27th of Jan. 2009 for keeping his gun as a responsibility he left out as the other assets and family members, cause i'm the only son in the family.
I spent more than 11 months for tracing out the proceedings of my requisition suddenly RTI flashes in my mind Like a MANTRA. I write an application under the RTI act 2005 to know the proceedings regading to my Arms License application, on 19th of Dec. 2009. On 24/02/2010 I've got informed that all the reports and papers works related to my application has been completed now i can represent my self before the District Magistrate of the city to ask for a License.
This is only possible with help of The RTI ................
| | MY EPF Claim - Hyderabad EPFO | |
I have claimed my EPF amount by sending the forms to my employer on 19/Dec/2009 duly filled through courier.
Today my employer confirms that he has already sent the forms to the PF Office for process. Now how will I know on what date the PF office in Hyderabad will send the cheque or DC to my Bank in chennai. I could n't get information in EPFO site for claims in Hyderabad office.
Kindly help me as to what I should do now? I have checked my bank account also. I did not receive my PF amount till now.
| | CIC directed CAW Cell, Delhi to supply details of... | |
Hi
My wife filed complaint against me in CAW Cell and upon completeion of enquiry by CAW Cell , Nanak Pura and upon its reccomandation and FIR was registered u/s 498a/406.
I filed RTI asking them to proivde the details whether as per some circular whether IO asked for source of Stridhan in the form of Bills as well as source of income to purchase the same before reccomending FIR.
PIO and AA CAW Cell denied the info.
I filed Appeal in CIC. There representative of CAW Cell orally stated that in this case chargesheet submitted in court and hence my appeal dismissed that I can get the info from Court.
Wherease while approaching court next day found the no chargshee is available in court. So I filed RTI to CAW and Concerned PIO of case asking them the details with certified copy of doucment relied while giving oral statement in CIC.
I also filed one RTI to CIC that under what rule cic accepted oral statement in the absence of any supporting document and action on the concerned officer for abusing the provision if no rule exists. I also raised the point that why my decisions has not been released on CIC website and inform the action taken on negligent staff for not displaying the info on CIC web site. I used Life and Liberty clause.
Within 7 days I received the copy of CIC decision in my favor asking CAW Cell to release full info.
But they said no info is available that why it is not updated on CIC Website.
Vijay Naru:)
| | RECOVERED Rs.5000/-FROM BANK THOUGH RTI | |
A leading public sector bank had recovered Rs.10000/- from account of my friend’s son towards various service charges while closing the account in Nov 2009. The bank did not respond to normal channels of redressal of complaint. At my guidance, RTI application was filed on 07-12-2009 followed by first appeal for no reply on 07-02-2010. On 05-03-2010 bank contacted him and requested him to collect refund of Rs.5000/- and withdraw RTI application and first appeal.
RTI does work.
| | Success Story for IT fefund due from AY 1996-97... | |
Friends,
I am following RTI Act and this website since long but did not had courage to write under the same. However, few days back after having frustation with the Income Tax Dept, I wrote an application on 01.03.2010 for the refunds.
Surprisingly, just after 2 days i.e on 03.03.2010, I recd a letter from ITO saying they do not have the records and requests to send the duplicate return copy and a bond and they will refund immediately.
I am thankful to this forum.
| | 2007 Scholarship D.D received from CBSE | |
Central Board of Secondary Education is sanctioning scholarships to those students who got good ranks in AIEEE and pursue higher studies. A girl from Guntur got selected for sanction of scholarship in AIEEE, 2005 and 1st year scholarship amount of Rs.12,000-00 was received through demand draft since she joined in Engineering. In the 2nd year, scholarship was renewed but she did not get the demand draft. But 3rd and 4th year scholarship amounts received promptly. She wrote many letters to CBSE. No reply received. As the matter came to my notice, I searched the website of CBSE list of cheques/drafts which were returned by postal department. Not finding the name of the girl in the returned list, I preferred a RTI application in the name of her father to the CBSE in the month of November, 2009. Within 30 days, a reply received stating that the demand draft was not encashed by any one and advised to submit an Indemnity Bond to the Bank duly enclosing the format of the Indemnity Bond. Immediatrely the Indemnity Bond was submitted to CBSE. In Feb, 2010, the father of the girl received a duplicate D.D for Rs. 12,000-00 which is encashed.
The father of the girl who has no hope of getting the amount pertaining to the year 2007 received the amount with the help of RTI Act only.
| | Goc (gazetted officers certificate) | |
Dear Ambrish.p /Kushal,
Thanks i got in ur email but i was not satisfied with your reply u just directed me to the site without reading my post clearly i just asked u IS A MUNICIPAL COUNCILLOR A GAZETTED OFFICER.
I M ATTACHING A DOCUMENT FOR YOUR REF. AND PLS TELL ME IS THIS A VALID DOCUMENT GO THROUGH IT CAREFULLY. WILL PAN CARDS BE ISSUED ON THIS DOCUMENT WHEN ATTACHED AS ADDRESS PROOF AND IDENTITY PROOF.
is the attached document valid and in the site u directed did the website of nsdl mentioned that municipal councillor is a gazetted officer do let me know and email me correct link
ALSO PLS LET ME KNOW Y WAS THE THREAD CLOSED without proper reply if ur work is directing then my visitin ur website was useless wat do u both moderaters say reply
| | New Ration Card in chennai......Success | |
Dear Friends,
I would like to share my experience while obtaining a new ration card in chennai.
I had applied for new ration card in thiruvottiyur civil supplies office in chennai in the month of september. I had to submit mine and my wife's deletion certificate and my son's birth certificate along with the application. I had obtained my deletion certificate from mumbai, it was in marathi language and the name was also not written completely. It was not accepted by them. They asked me to get it in english. But, going back to mumbai and getting the certificate again was impossible for me then.
After enquiring with other officers in the ration office, i came to know that i can bring a true translation of the deletion certificate on an affidavit duly stamped and signed by any NOTARY PUBLIC who is a lawyer, you'll get many at high court. I had to pay Rs. 200 for the affidavit.
I could attach it along with my deletion certificate. i had to produce an address proff for which i used the postal address proof card provided by indian post office. After submission they gave me a slip (kind of acknowledgement card).
I was told that i will get the ration card in 60 days. It was nearing 60 days but no official came from ration office for verification which is supposed to happen after 10-15 days of form submission. Exactly on 61st day i sent them RTI application. I got information on ration offices in chennai, heads of ration offices from following links:
link inside link inside link inside link inside
Exactly on 30th day from RTI application date, officer arrived at my residence for verification. He verified our details and signed on the slip marking completion of verification process. Now the next step was only to get the ration card. The officer told me that after verification they send the details for ration card printing which takes generally takes more than a month (It depends on the printing dept.). On 1st of february i got an email from ration card office (CIVIL SUPPLIES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION DEPARTMENT) that my ration card is ready and i have to collect it after 15 days. Fortunately, i got my card in my hands on 16th feb as mentioned by them without further delay.
I forgot to mention that, the officer came for verification to our residence explicitly mentioned that it is because i applied for RTI, they came so early for verification else it would have taken months and months. Anyway i got my card.
For all those who would like to apply for ration card in chennai, i would like you to ensure the following things:
1). If you do not have anything to be used as an address proof. immediately apply for postal address proof card. You will get it in may be 15-20 days
2). While obtaining deletion certificate, ask the officer to provide it in english necessarily. Ensure that your names are written correctly and completely (FIRSTNAME MIDDLENAME(father) LASTNAME(surname))
3). Immediately after 60 days apply for RTI. Dont forget to attach the acknowledment slip. Unlike other government organizations which take Rs.10, civil supplies needs Rs.50 DD in favour of "Public Information officer, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department"
You'll get the address of your nearest ration office in the above links.
While applying for RTI you can use the same format available in this website, modify it little bit for ration card. I am attaching my application.
During this whole process i strongly felt that there should be a way to apply for RTI along with the application (let them take some extra money) but time to time update should be sent to us instead of making us wait for the stipulated time for applying for the RTI.
This is the second time i used RTI successfully, the first was for my passport from lucknow paasport office which i got after 9 months of application (after 1 month of RTI application) as if they were delivering a baby.
I would like to mention that i did not spend even a penny as a bribe........Thanks to RTI
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