On writing a letter to the authorities for inspection of files under Section 4 of the RTI Act

On writing a letter to the authorities for inspection of files under Section 4 of the RTI Act
MoneyLife, March 16, 2011 02:47 PM | 
Vinita Deshmukh

While it is not mandatory to write a letter to request inspection of files it is nice to be courteous. Here are some other guidelines to follow in this process

It is pertinent to understand and use Section 4 thoroughly as it is the most powerful section of the RTI Act. Its potency lies in the user's right to procure information almost instantly. That is, once you have access to inspection of files, you have the right to get Photostat copies of the documents/maps etc. Section 4 is also significant in that, besides citizens having the right to inspect files in public offices, all government departments have to mandatorily put information of all their functions, duties, proposals, decisions, etc, in the public domain (preferably on the website) and update it from time to time. The deadline given to all these public offices was 120 days from the day of the implementation of the RTI Act on 12 October 2005 and to thereafter update the information on a regular basis. Since many government departments have not followed this mandate, citizens have to take the trouble of physically visiting the offices and conducting inspection of files.

So, the first rule to remember is that, we, as citizens, are doing a big favour to the government department by taking out our precious time to visit the office for checking the documents, as we are covering up for their inefficiency of not putting the information in the public domain. So, the first rule for inspection of files is not to feel awkward, guilty or even feel inhibited. We should make that particular government official feel so, as he has faltered in his duty. In fact, he should be paying us for our conveyance. (Chuckle!)

The most common question that is asked is: "Do I need to send an application under Section 4?" The answer is `No, but it is courteous to send a letter in advance, so that the government official is aware that you are coming to his office for inspection of files and he can make himself free accordingly. When I invoked Section 4 of the RTI Act in the case of Dow, at the office of the secretary of the environment department at the Mantralaya state headquarters in Mumbai, I not only sent a letter, but also sent an SMS, as well as an e-mail, to let the officer know that I would be there the next day at 11am for file inspection.

The second question commonly asked is: "So what kind of letter should it be? And should I wait for a reply? Should I wait for a fixed appointment from the officer after I have sent the letter?" Since inspection of files under Section 4 was incidentally pioneered in Pune, with RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar being the first citizen to invoke it, activists spearheaded by the late Prakash Kardaley have made a format for the letter for Section 4. It has held us in good stead and in fact opened the eyes of government officials as well. In the sense that, you will be surprised to know that many government officers are ignorant of Section 4, so a letter had to be drafted comprehensively.

Remember, once you send off the letter, you do not have to wait for a reply from the officer. Simply because, a citizen has a right to inspect files during any working hours of a government office, but he or she is being kind enough to let the officer know in advance. Yes, if the officer particularly wants another time, he or she should call up and tell you that. If he or she hasn't, then you simply walk into the office at the time requested by you. It is always a good idea to take someone along with you as a witness.

The third question often asked is: "Can I demand Photostat copies of the documents I have inspected?" The answer is, yes very much so. You have the right to have copies of documents, maps, CDs, etc. Once you have gone through the documents, ask the officer for Photostat copies. I have encountered that most of the times the Xerox machines are under repair, and I overhear clerks complaining that the budget for the cartridge has not been sanctioned! In such cases, officers have been kind enough to send their peons along with us to a private outfit and give us the Xeroxes. At best, the officer might say that he promises to give you the Photostat copies by the next day, which should be okay unless you are in great urgency.

The fourth question is: "Do I have to pay for the Photostat copies?" Yes, at the rate of Rs2 per page. If it is maps, then it would depend on the actual cost of xeroxing. When we procured the voluminous document of one of the DP (Development Plan) of Pune, we paid Rs3,000 as it involved several coloured maps of large sizes and colour xeroxing is comparatively expensive.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Your letter under Section 4 should be addressed to the top authority of the government department (meaning the municipal commissioner, if it is a municipal corporation) unlike an application under Section 6 which is addressed to the public information officer (PIO).

For the moment, I think I have cleared most of the doubts regarding Section 4. Do feel free to write to me for any other query. In the meanwhile, following is the format/sample of the letter for Section 4 which was actually sent to the concerned office. In this case, RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar wanted to inspect whether the Pune Municipal Corporation was following the procedures of keeping records of official documents. Please note this inspection was for larger public interest. This sample will give you an idea of how to write the letter for inspecting documents for whatever purpose you have. 
---------------------SAMPLE--------------------------------------------------
From:  Vijay Krishna Kumbhar

A/6 Anupama Co-Op Hsg Society,
Bodygate, Aundh,
Pune 411 007
Tel: 9923299199
Email: - kvijay14@gmail.com
Dt: 1 January 2008

To,
Mr Pravinsinh Paradeshi
Commissioner,Pune Municipal Corporation,
Head of the "Public Authority" under RTI 2005,
Pune 411 005.

Dear Mr Commissioner,

1.  Your kind attention is drawn to Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 under Chapter II on `Right to Information and Obligation of Public Authorities'.

2. As per the provision, it is obligatory for every public authority (including Pune Municipal Corporation) to publish certain categories of documents so as to make voluntary disclosure of information so that citizens have ``minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information''.

3. Information covered by Section 4, in fact, should have been published on October 12, 2005 and disseminated widely in such form and manner which is easily accessible to the public and should have been updated at regular intervals later.

4. It is further explained in the provision that "disseminated" means 'making known or communicated "the information to the public through notice boards, newspapers, public announcements, media broadcasts, the internet or any other means, including inspection of offices of any public authority." I am enclosing here the full text of Section 4 as adopted by the Parliament of India for your reference.

5. I regret to bring to your notice that no information covered under this Section 4 has been disseminated yet by the Pune Municipal Corporation, a public authority under the state government, through notice boards, newspapers, public announcements, media broadcasts and internet.

6. Nevertheless, citizens have a right to inspect these documents in the office of the public authority, including the Pune Municipal Corporation, as explicitly mentioned in the provision under Section 4.

7. It may be noticed that a citizen desiring to inspect the documents containing information covered under Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005, need not make any formal requisition under Section 6 of the Act because these documents should have already been published by the public authority (including the Pune Municipal Corporation) so that citizens have ``minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information''.

8. Provision under 4 (1) (a), 4 (1) (b), 4 (1) (c) and 4 (1) (d) of the Act incorporates various duties and obligations for public authorities, including Pune Municipal Corporation, regarding suo motto dissemination of records and various documents.

9. As per resolution No. 6/692, dated 20th August 1956. then Municipal Commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation had approved to preserve various registers and documents of departments of the corporation by circular no AMC/CR/34 dated 20th August 1956 under the A,B,C,D system.

10. Registers and documents preserved as per circular no AMC/CR/34 dated 20th August 1956 fall under section 4(1)(a) and 4(1)(b) of The Right to Information Act, 2005, and these registers and documents should have been pro-actively published by Pune Municipal Corporation.

11. However, since those have not been pro-actively published by the corporation, I intend to exercise my right as a citizen to inspect these documents in the relevant offices of the corporation.

12. I intend to bring other well informed citizens to assist me in the inspection, whose names are: 1) Mr. Vivek Velanlar 2) Mr. Sandeep Khardekar 3) Mr. Vihar Durve.

13. We will call on
a) The General Record Keeper's office, on 7th January 2008, at 11.30 A.M.
b) The Municipal Commissioner's Office, on 8th January 2008, at 11.30 A.M.
c) Lands and Estate Department's office, on 9th January 2008, at 11.30 A.M.
d) The Garden Department's office, on 10th January 2008, at 11.30 A.M.
e) The Health Department's office, on 11th January 2008, at 11.30 A.M.
demanding inspection of registers and documents preserved as per circular no AMC/CR/34 dated 20th August 1956 and registers and documents covered under section 4 of The Right to Information Act 2005

14. Please note that it is not necessary for us under the Act to give such notice before inspection of documents covered under Section 4 of the Act. However, being responsible citizens, we thought it preferable to intimate you beforehand.

15. Implementation of this provision of the Act (under Section 4) is the direct responsibility of the head of the public authority. In this specific instance, it is your direct responsibility as the municipal commissioner and the administrative head of the Pune Municipal Corporation. Hence this letter is addressed to you and not to any public information officer (PIO) since no formal requisition is needed to be filed, please note.

Thanking you.
With regards,

Vijay Kumbhar

Copy to:
1) The General Record Keeper, Pune Municipal Corporation
2) Dy Commissioner, Lands and Estate Department, Pune Municipal Corporation
3) The Chief Garden Superintendent, Pune Municipal Corporation
4) Medical officer of health, Health Department, Pune Municipal Corporation

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOLLOWING is the text of Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005

4. (1) every public authority shall
(a) maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and form which facilitates the right to information under this Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated;

(b) Publish within one hundred and twenty days from the enactment of this Act,
(i) the particulars of its organisation, functions and duties;
(ii) the powers and duties of its officers and employees;
(iii) the procedure followed in the decision making process, including channels of supervision and accountability;
(iv) the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions;
(v) the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records, held by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its functions;
(vi) a statement of the categories of documents that are held by it or under its control;
(vii) the particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with, or representation by, the members of the public in relation to the formulation of its policy or implementation thereof;
(viii) a statement of the boards, councils, committees and other bodies consisting of two or more persons constituted as its part or for the purpose of its advise, and as to whether meetings of those boards, councils, committees and other bodies are open to the public, or the minutes of such meetings are accessible for public;
(ix) a directory of its officers and employees;
(x) the monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and employees, including the system of compensation as provided in its regulations;
(xi) the budget allocated to each of its agency, indicating the particulars of all plans, proposed expenditures and reports on disbursements made;
(xii) the manner of execution of subsidy programmes, including the amounts allocated and the details of beneficiaries of such programmes;
(xiii) particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations granted by it;
(xiv) details in respect of the information, available to or held by it, reduced in an electronic form;
(xv ) the particulars of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information, including the working hours of a library or reading room, if maintained for public use;
(xvi) the names, designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers;
(xvii) such other information as may be prescribed; and thereafter update these publications every year;

(c) Publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public;

(d) Provide reasons for its administrative or quasi judicial decisions to affected persons;

(2) It shall be a constant endeavour of every public authority to take steps in accordance with the requirements of clause (b) of sub-section (1) to provide as much information suo motto to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information.

(3) For the purpose of sub-section (1), every information shall be disseminated widely and in such form and manner which is easily accessible to the public.

(4) All materials shall be disseminated taking into consideration the cost, effectiveness, local language and the most effective method of communication in that local area and the information should be easily accessible, to the extent possible in electronic format with the Central Public Information Officer, or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, available fee or at such cost of the medium or the print cost price as may be prescribed.

Explanation: For the purposes of sub-sections (3) and ( 4 ), "disseminated" means making known or communicated the information to the public through notice boards, newspapers, public announcements, media broadcasts, the internet or any other means, including inspection of offices of any public authority.

(Next week: There are some types of information which cannot be made public. Such information comes under Section 8 of the RTI Act. We will discuss Section 8 in detail so you can gauge whether the authorities are hoodwinking you under the garb of Section 8.)

Vinita Deshmukh is a senior editor, author and convener of Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She can be reached at vinitapune@gmail.com.

How Section 8 of the RTI Act is used as a lame excuse not to provide information

How Section 8 of the RTI Act is used as a lame excuse not to provide information
MoneyLife, March 23, 2011 10:19 AM | 
Vinita Deshmukh

The RTI Act lists special instances where the authorities are exempt from disclosing information. But this provision has been misused to avoid giving information. Here are a couple of cases where people have persisted and won 

While the Right to Information (RTI) Act is all about transparency and dissemination of information to citizens, there are certain kinds of information mentioned under Section 8, which government departments have the power not to disclose. This includes information that would threaten national integrity, security or economic interests; would amount to contempt of court; would hamper police investigations; would affect commercial interests like trade secrets; would affect 'fiduciary' relationships; would harm the person physically (like asking for details of VIP security, for example). This Section also protects information pertaining to deliberations of the Council of Ministers and Secretaries while the process is underway. (Information can be given after a Cabinet decision, though). (Read details of the list of exclusions under Section 8, listed separately at the end of this report.)

However, every citizen must remember that many of these exceptions can be overruled if public interest is seen to be more important than protecting information. The relevant clause in Section 8 states that, "a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.'' This is indeed interesting and there have been many examples where the citizen has got the information he or she asked for, which has been earlier denied to him by the Public Information Officer (PIO) or Appellate Authority, under the pretext of Section 8. For, when the citizen pursued the matter by appealing to the Central or State Information Commissioner, he or she invariably received the information. In other cases, the Information Commissioner also denied the information, so the citizen appealed to the High Court and won the case, as the judge directed the information commission to provide information.

One of the most sterling examples is that of Vinita Kamte, wife of additional commissioner of police, Ashok Kamte (who was killed in action on the night of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack). Her book To The Last Bullet, co-authored by me, brings out the shocking truth behind the death of her husband including two other officers-Hemant Karkare and Vijay Salaskar. The book, which exposed the utter negligence of the Control Room in not relaying vital messages, like movement of terrorists, and not sending reinforcements to the three police officers despite their urgent request, was made possible thanks to audio and written call log records (wireless) which she procured under the RTI Act. However, she received the information after much difficulty, as the Mumbai police authorities took undue advantage of Section 8 to avoid giving information.

Vinita Kamte was determined to find out the chronology of events that led to the death of her husband, but the Mumbai police authorities refused to tell her the truth, despite a formal request in the form of an official letter in January 2009.

In March 2009, Vinita filed an RTI application, under Section 6, to the PIO, and requested for the call log records (wireless)-both the written and the audio transcripts (these records provide conversations between the Police Control Room and officers/policemen at Ground Zero).

She also requested for inspection of these log records under Section 4. Her application was rejected, saying that the information comes under Section 8 (h) of the Act which states "information that may impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders."  The PIO also enclosed a letter of the Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime, Rakesh Maria (who was in charge of the Control Room on the night of the terror attack) which stated, "Please reject the information sought by Mrs Vinita Kamte under the RTI Act. The information cannot be given to her under Section 8 (h) of the said Act."

Mrs Kamte challenged this order before the appellate authority. The Appellate Authority, Deputy Commissioner of Police SM Sabade, observed that the PIO was wrong in rejecting her request and had not applied his mind. He mentioned that he had simply relied on Mr Maria's letter to reject Mrs Kamte's application. He observed that the order of rejection does not specify how parting with the information would affect the investigation. He also mentioned that Ashok Kamte and the other officers had laid down their lives for the country and to reject Mrs Kamte's request on such baseless grounds was wrong. However, in his order he allowed only inspection of the log records and did not permit copies of the same (which is mandatory under Section 4).

So, Mrs Kamte filed a second appeal with the State Chief Information Commissioner, Maharashtra, Dr Suresh Joshi, seeking the original copies of the call logs, both written and audio, and the Commissioner ordered that she be given the required copies and the audio record on CD.

This was indeed a historic order, and it helped an individual to take on the state government, which was embarrassed by it. It also exposed the utter inefficiency and negligence of the Control Room-the anchor point of action during such a crisis-which led to the needless sacrifice of three of the most brilliant IPS officers of our country.

Sometimes, information is denied under the pretext of 'fiduciary' relationship. Here's a classic example wherein a high court overruled the verdict of the Kerala Information Commission. A postman (a woman), Treesa Irish, appeared for the written examination for selection to the post of last grade officials in the Kerala Circle of the Postal Department sometime in 2005. When the results were published, she learnt that no one qualified in the examination from the Ernakulam Division.

Treesa applied for her examination marks list, which she procured after she appealed to the Central Administrative Tribunal, Ernakulam Bench. She learnt that she had failed to obtain minimum marks in one of the three papers, having scored only 37 marks in that paper. She scored 45 and 70 marks for papers I and II, respectively.

She, therefore, applied under Section 6 of the RTI Act to the PIO of the Kerala Postal Circle, for a copy of the evaluated answer paper III for which she was shown as 'failed'. The PIO rejected her request, on the ground that no public interest is involved in the case. She then appealed to the Appellate Authority who also rejected her request stating that "disclosure of such nature will compromise the fairness and impartiality of the selection process and such disclosure does not justify the larger public interest.''

She then appealed to the Central Information Commissioner who again rejected the information citing Sections 8(1)(e) and 8(1) which states that, "the public authority is holding the information in fiduciary relationship and the information is purely a personal information, which has no relation to any public interest or activity.''

Treesa then filed a petition with the Kerala High Court, where the judge gave an order in her favour. Among other things, he stated that, "The conduct of the examination for selection to the post of Last Grade officials is certainly a public activity and, therefore, the valuation of answer papers of that examination has relationship to a public activity of the department in the matter of selection to a higher post. A candidate writing an examination has a right to have his answer paper valued correctly and he has a right to know whether the same has been done properly and correctly. Both the public authority and the examiner have a public duty to get the valuation done correctly and properly, which is a public activity and duty. Therefore, the supply of the copy of the answer paper, which is for enabling the candidate to ascertain whether the valuation of the answer paper has been done correctly and properly, has relationship to a public activity or interest.''

There are several high court judgments regarding Section 8, wherein citizens have won favorable orders after the information commissions have dismissed their appeals, says Pralhad Kachare, director, Centre for Public Policy, YASHADA, a government training centre for RTI for government employees. He recommends the following links:
* http://judis.nic.in/judis_kerala/qrydispfree.aspx?filename=166293(Treesa Irish case)
* http://www.rtiindia.info/ 
* http://www.cic.gov.in/ (Please see link to 'High Court Rulings' in the left margin.)

What is Section 8? (From the RTI Act) 

Section 8. Exemption from disclosure of information.
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen,
(a) Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State, relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of an offence;
(b) Information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosure of which may constitute contempt of court;
(c) Information, the disclosure of which would cause a breach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;
(d) Information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
(e) Information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;
(f) Information received in confidence from foreign government;
(g) Information, the disclosure of which would endanger the life or physical safety of any person or identify the source of information or assistance given in confidence for law enforcement or security purposes;
(h) Information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders;
(i) Cabinet papers including records of deliberations of the Council of Ministers, Secretaries and other officers; provided that the decisions of Council of Ministers, the reasons thereof, and the material on the basis of which the decisions were taken shall be made public after the decision has been taken, and the matter is complete, or over; provided further that those matters which come under the exemptions specified in this section shall not be disclosed;
(j) information which relates to personal information-the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public authority or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information; provided that the information, which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person.

(2) Notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 (19 of 1923), nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with sub-section (1), a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests.

(3) Subject to the provisions of clauses (a), (c) and (i) of sub-section (1), any information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which has taken place, occurred or happened 20 years before the date on which any request is made under section 6, shall be provided to any person making a request under that section; provided that where any question arises as to the date from which the said period of 20 years has to be computed, the decision of the Central Government shall be final, subject to the usual appeals provided for in this Act.

(Vinita Deshmukh is a senior editor, author and convener of Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She can be reached at vinitapune@gmail.com.)

Do private organisations come under the purview of RTI?

Do private organisations come under the purview of RTI?


MoneyLife Digital
April 06, 2011 11:46 AM | 
Vinita Deshmukh

While the RTI Act states that only those private organisations which have “substantial” funding from the government come under the purview of the RTI Act, in cases where these entities are in partnership with the government, it is possible to get necessary information. The Pune-Mumbai Expressway toll matter is a sterling example 


With municipal corporations, state and central governments increasingly opting for Public Private Partnerships (PPP), transparency could take a beating, as private organisations have been given an opportunity to duck under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Act says that only if private organisations are "substantially" funded then they come under the purview of public domain. Who's to decide what is "substantial funding"? And here's where private bodies take cover and refuse to give information.

A sterling case is that of the Ideal Road Builders (IRB), a private agency which collects toll fees from most of the highways in Maharashtra, including the Pune-Mumbai Expressway. It is impossible to procure information regarding the data of toll collection. However, in such cases, since their partnership is with a government body, the citizen can get access to such information from the government organisation.

Strangely, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the government body in this case which is mandated to monitor whether IRB is collecting toll honestly or is cheating people, itself has not monitored the revenues of the IRB, despite appointing an independent engineering consultant, STUP Consultants Pvt Ltd, headed by RY Deshpande. However, thanks to citizens demanding this information under RTI, the MSRDC was compelled to request the IRB to send the data of toll collection, year-wise. When this writer conducted inspection of files under Section 4, one of the officials confessed that they had only recently asked the IRB to supply information due to pressure of RTI queries, otherwise they had nothing to do with the information. The fact is that it is binding on the MSRDC to do proper auditing of the toll revenue collected by IRB and gauge whether it is usurping more profits than what it is supposed to get.

Similarly, Metros that are being "forced" upon citizens in several towns and cities across the country, without proper planning, are mostly constructed by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). Here too, the DMRC is a private body and any query under RTI is denied. In the case of the Pune Metro, the DMRC has disastrously planned the metro and submitted a shoddy and superficial Detailed Project Report (DPR). Despite the project report not satisfying the Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) terms of reference and it not abiding by the central government guidelines while making the DPR, the PMC's general body and the administration has blindly passed the project. It now lies with the state government, which failed to allot finance for it in the current budget. The scandal of this Rs10,000-odd crore infrastructure that is going to add to the chaos of the already congested roads in Pune and become a heavy tax burden for citizens for many years, came to light due to the RTI invoked at the PMC. Thus, in private-public partnerships one can get access to public documents by putting a query to the 'public partner'.

However, as per a high court judgment, co-operative banks do not come under the RTI. A few years back, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) declared that co-operative banks do not come under the purview of the RTI Act. At that time, the Gujarat State Cooperative Bank Ltd, which is an apex institute of co-operative banks, had sought the opinion of the RBI. The RBI stated that since co-operative banks come under the Co-operative Act of the respective states and not under any parliamentary statute, they are not public authorities as defined by the Act.

According to Shailesh Gandhi, central information commissioner, the Company Law gives significant rights to those who own 26% of the shares in a company. Perhaps this could be taken to define the criterion of "substantial finance".

"Subclause d(i) and (ii) together mean any non-government organisations which are substantially owned, controlled or financed directly or indirectly by the government would be covered. Thus aided schools and colleges are public authorities, as also any trusts or NGOs which have significant government nominees; or companies where the government either owns substantial stake, or has given substantial finance, are directly covered under the RTI Act. The substantial finance can take into account tax incentives, subsidies and other concessions as well.

Elaborating further, Mr Gandhi states, "There is some confusion about the words owned and substantial finance. This confusion is evident in the various decisions of the information commissions. Let us look at the words carefully. "Public authority" means any authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted, … and includes any

(i) body owned, controlled or substantially financed; 

(ii) non-government organisation substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate government."

The finance could be either as investment, or towards expenses, or both. The way in which the words have been placed, indicates that perhaps (i) relates to investments and (ii) relates to the running expenses.

"Thus every institution which is owned by the government is clearly covered. By any norms, whenever over 50% of the investment in a body lies with any entity, it is said to be owned by that entity. Since bodies owned by government have been mentioned separately, the words 'controlled' and 'substantially financed' will have to be assigned some meaning not covered by ownership. Thus it is evident that the intention of Parliament is to extend the scope of the right to other organisations, which are not owned by it. No words in an Act can be considered to be superfluous, unless the contradiction is so much as to render a significant part meaningless, or it violates the preamble. Therefore, it becomes necessary to consider a situation where an entity may be controlled by the government without ownership or substantial finance. Such a situation exists when a charity commissioner or registrar of societies appoints an administrator to run the affairs of a trust or society, or a court liquidator takes over administration of some body.

Thus concludes Mr Gandhi: "It is therefore obvious that as per Section 2 (h) (i) 'a body …substantially financed' would be a body where the ownership may not lie with the government, nor the control. Hence, clearly the wording 'substantially financed' would have to be given meaning at less than 50% holding. Company law gives significant rights to those who own 26% of the shares in a company. Perhaps, this could be taken to define the criterion of 'substantially financed'. The finance could be as equity, or subsidies in land or concessions in taxation.

"Similarly some definition is required where the State provides money for the running expenses of an institution as covered under (ii). Presently, aided schools and colleges have all clearly been accepted as 'public authorities', though there appears to be no clarity in the matter of NGOs and other organisations which are receiving significant amounts of finance.

"The key approach and philosophy of the RTI Act appears to be that since the State acts on behalf of the citizens, wherever the State gives money, the citizen has a right to know. In my opinion, if the money given for the running expenses is over either 20% of the running expenses, or Rs1 crore, the body should be considered as receiving 'substantial finance' and is covered in the definition of a 'public authority'."

Putting up information in the public domain, especially where infrastructure is concerned, is very important in the case of roads. The Economic Survey of India estimates that over the next five years (the survey was of February 2008) the investment needs in physical infrastructure will be $500 billion, out of which the share of the private sector will be $150 billion-odd, which comes to over 30%.

It is time to know the truth, as the truth involves us all!

(Vinita Deshmukh is a senior editor, author and convener of Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She can be reached at vinitapune@gmail.com.)

Hassled over the delay in the delivery of your gas cylinder? Try the RTI route

Hassled over the delay in the delivery of your gas cylinder? Try the RTI route


MoneyLife issueApril 13, 2011 02:48 PM |  
Vinita Deshmukh

Supply of LPG as kitchen fuel is covered by the Essential Commodities Act, which requires the cylinder to be delivered at home within 48 hours of booking. However, many get it up to a week or even a fortnight later. Some activists have invoked the RTI Act successfully to shake up the oil companies and the gas agencies

LPG kitchen fuel is covered by the Essential Commodities Act. But how often has the gas agency not taken you for a ride, rarely delivering the gas cylinder within the stipulated 48 hours? A common complaint is that it takes up to a fortnight to get a gas cylinder at home. Or, that no one answers the phone at the agency. So, you have to go personally to the agency to pick up a cylinder. Or, you may have doubts over the weight of the cylinder.

So, what are the rights of consumers under the Essential Commodities Act 1955 and the corresponding LPG (Regular Supply & Distribution) Order 2000? Here are some not-so-well-known aspects.

* Bookings for the gas cylinder must be accepted over the phone.
* 100% home delivery.
* The gas cylinder should to be delivered within 48 hours of booking.
* The customer has the right to weigh the cylinder on taking delivery.
* Gas agencies must be open for business between 10 am and 6 pm, except on public holidays and Sundays.

Now, were you aware that a gas agency must accept bookings for cylinders over the phone and that you should not be asked to collect the cylinder from the agency office (for the purpose of safety)? And that it is mandatory for the delivery man to carry a portable weighing machine and weigh the cylinder at your doorstep?

And are you aware that most of the times the LPG shortage story concocted by gas agencies is absolutely false? That it is because the agencies indulge in large-scale illegal sale of domestic cylinders to commercial establishments that you do not get your cylinder in time? Look around and you will find that street-side vendors and even kitchens of big restaurants use the red-colour gas cylinder (that is supposed to be only for domestic use) and not the blue-colour ones (which is meant for commercial establishments and is more expensive).

Recently, former petroleum minister Ram Naik stated that scarcity of LPG cylinders has reached dangerous proportions all over the country and he requested Jaipal Reddy, the current petroleum minister, to check this. Many a time, the ministry of petroleum releases advertisements to announce that there is no scarcity of LPG cylinders. Hence, almost always, the root of the problem is the illegal sale of cylinders, and so you as a domestic consumer must not take this injustice lying down. Invoke RTI to scare the gas agency and compel him to do his duty.

In Pune, for example, a leading LPG distributor stated that around one and a half lakh domestic gas cylinders are sold to commercial establishments, thus the delay in delivering cylinders to homes. The problem is never sternly addressed by the district collectorate and the petroleum company, putting the housewife to constant inconvenience.

Pune-based RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar has made it his mission to help people overcome poor service by gas agencies. His own experience steered him to help others. Way back in 2005, he was hassled with his gas agency who took three weeks or more to deliver the cylinder. He addressed a query under RTI to the Hindustan Petroleum Company (HPCL) asking for details of the distribution of cylinders by Kankaria Gas agency in New Sangvi (a fringe neighbourhood of Pune). The questions in his RTI application were as follows:

1) How many domestic and commercial cylinder gas customers does Kankaria Gas Agency have (the period of information was for one and a half year) and if there was any fluctuation in the number of customers in any month;

2) The number of domestic and commercial customers having one, two, and more than two gas cylinders?

3) Between 1 September 2005 and 30 November 2005 how many gas cylinders did the Kankaria Gas Agency procure from HPCL (information to be given date-wise); and

4) Whether HPCL has taken action against any gas agency in Pune regarding the erratic distribution of gas cylinders-if so, the names of such agencies.

While the officer is allowed by law to take 30 days to answer a query, Mr Kumbhar got a shock when, within two hours of his filing the RTI application, his wife called him to say that the dealer had sent the gas cylinder. This showed a strange nexus between the gas agency and some officials at HPCL.  Ever since, Mr Kumbhar has urged many people to invoke the RTI and remind the respective gas agency that it cannot take consumers for a ride.

There are three main LPG suppliers-Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (www.hindustanpetroleum.com), Bharat Petroleum (www.bharatpetroleum.com) and Indian Oil Corporation (www.iocl.com). In order to file an RTI application under Section 6 of the RTI Act, you should visit their websites depending on which LPG gas you are using and click where the names of Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) are given, depending on which city/town you reside.

As per a central government gazette notification on 26 April 2000, the dealer of LPG is required to display the stock of LPG as follows:

• Every distributor shall prominently display the stock and price of LPG at a conspicuous place on the business premises, including the storage point.
• The opening balance of filled, empty and defective cylinders and regulators.
• The backlog of preceding working day of the filled cylinders to be supplied.
• Every distributor shall ensure that stocks of LPG are available at the business premises, including storage at all times.
• No distributor can close his shop on any working day unless notified by the ministry.

Sometime in 2005, the then Sangli collector Manish Mhaiskar had raided all gas agencies in Sangli and taken action against those indulging in blackmarketing and delaying delivery. For more than a couple of years thereafter, Sangli had the best record of door delivery within the prescribed time. It is necessary for the collector's office to take such action and sustain it.

In case you are harassed by delay in delivery, you may ask the following questions under RTI, addressing it to the PIO of the particular petroleum/oil company under which your gas agency operates:
1)  How many domestic and commercial cylinder gas customers does the (write name here) gas agency have (the period of information could be 10 days) and if there has been any fluctuation in the number of customers in any month.
2) The number of domestic and commercial customers having one, two, and more than two gas cylinders.
3) In the 10-day period, how many gas cylinders did the gas agency procure from the petroleum/oil company (details of demand and supply to be given date-wise)?
4) Details of the demand and supply of cylinders to customers of the particular gas agency (for the 10 days) to be given in the following format.  



5) Whether the petroleum/oil company has taken any action against any gas agency regarding erratic distribution of gas cylinders; if so, the names of such agencies and the details of action taken.

Believe it or not, it works like magic.

Here are some things to keep in mind about your gas connection. 

When receiving the gas cylinder, you should be vigilant about

• The date and serial number of your booking.
• Sign the receipt only after checking the amount written and pay only the specified amount.
• Insist on installation of the cylinder by the company's person.
• Check the cylinder, asking the delivery man to open the seal and fix it to the regulator and check for any signs of leakage and only then accept the delivery.
• Ensure you receive your domestic gas cylinder within the mandatory 48 hours of booking.
• Ask the delivery man to carry a weighing machine to facilitate you to check the weight of the cylinder.

When taking a new connection, remember it is not mandatory to buy the gas stove, mixer, pressure cooker, tea boxes or any other consumer product.
Ask for a complete breakup of the cost at the time of paying for a new connection. This includes the deposit, regulator charges, cost of cylinder, stamp duty, documentation and administration charges, and in case you are not buying a gas stove, some basic charge to inspect the gas stove at your house as a safety measure.

And some safety tips

•   Fix the cap when you are not using the cylinder.
•    Switch off the regulator when you are not cooking and especially at night.
•    Check the gas tube regularly and get it changed at regular intervals.
•    Once in two years, ask your distributor to send a certified mechanic for a mandatory inspection and pay the basic charges for the servicing done.

And if you feel inspired to do more, when you find restaurants using domestic cylinders, report this misuse to the concerned authorities.

(Vinita Deshmukh is a senior editor, author and convener of Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She can be reached at vinitapune@gmail.com.)

Mumbai-Pune Expressway toll collected so far: Around Rs1,000 crore. But why is maintenance so shoddy?

My MoneyLife column of April 20
Mumbai-Pune Expressway toll collected so far: Around Rs1,000 crore. But why is maintenance so shoddy?
April 20, 2011 12:00 PM | 
Vinita Deshmukh

An RTI application has revealed that the MSRDC had entered into an agreement with Ideal Road Builders (IRB), which requires the company to carry out extensive work on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, to ensure convenience and safety of commuters. But despite gobbling up Rs1,000 crore in toll money between 2004 and 2011, maintenance has been shoddy 

According to details of the contract agreement of 864 pages between MSRDC and IRB for the operation and maintenance of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, procured through the Right to Information (RTI) Act, extensive work has to be done by IRB to ensure convenience and safety of commuters.

However, even if you take a cursory glance along the Expressway while you are travelling on it, you will instantly realise that despite the IRB having pocketed around Rs1,000 crore of our toll money between 2004 and 2011, maintenance is woefully lacking.

That IRB is enjoying the fruits of our toll money without adhering to the stringent terms and conditions laid down by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) in the operation and maintenance of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, is extremely clear as per the voluminous 864 pages of the contract agreement which this writer procured under Section 6 of the RTI Act.

According to the terms of the Act, I obtained the relevant details from MSRDC's Pune office after paying Rs1,728 (at the rate of Rs2 per page as per the norms under the Act).

Chapter 4 of this agreement (on page 145) clearly places crucial responsibilities on IRB, the private agency which has taken over operation and maintenance of the Expressway for a 15-year period between 2004 and 2019. Its responsibilities include the upkeep of the road and traffic management. Some of its other crucial duties include patrolling, safety including accident prevention, cleanliness and fencing. IRB also has to plant one lakh trees along both sides of the Expressway, ensure ban on cattle and prevent villagers from straying onto the Expressway.

Here is a description of IRB's specific responsibilities (all relevant sections of the agreement are also provided) along with my observations immediately after each section:

4.2.1.1: Road Maintenance, both routine and emergency, and inspection
This includes cleaning of the road surface by a self-propelled mechanical sweeper with a vacuum system in order to remove all the dirt, small aggregates and pieces of different material fallen on the road. Elements that cannot be removed by the mechanical sweeper will have to be removed by manual sweeping or by hand. This activity will be carried out at the time of least traffic. Cleaning of road surface will be carried out through the year. The areas where the collection of dirt is more frequent such as ear-bridge parapets, underpasses, etc, shall be attended to at least twice a week.

(Today, we find several pockets of the Expressway are filled with litter, especially plastic tea cups.)

4.2.1.8: Garbage collection
This task includes collection of paper, plastic and other such type of material from the area at the way, median, shoulders, at the sides of the road, rest areas, public facilities, interchanges, connector, emergency telephone areas, etc. This activity shall be done manually or mechanically. The garbage so collected shall be put in a yellow or white plastic bag and the bags shall be placed on the beams in order to be removed at the end of the day. The pickup truck that collects the garbage shall transport them to an authorised rubbish dump.

Garbage collection shall be carried once a fortnight at median, shoulders, on the carriageway and at sides of the road. At the toll plaza or places close to the wayside, amenity centres or petrol station area, where many objects are thrown from cars, garbage collection will be done on a daily basis except on holidays.

(Do send us photographs of any garbage that you might have observed along the Expressway to news@moneylife.in.)

4.2.2.9: Renewal of paved shoulders
The following renewal treatment to bituminous surfaces including thermoplastic painting and other road markings will be provided by the contractor when the roughness index is more than 2,000 or after every four years, whichever occurs earlier. Renewal cost of 25mm thick Open Graded Carpet (OGC) layer on paved shoulders with necessary camber corrections.

(Reliable sources in the MSRDC have confirmed to this writer that the shoulders have not been resurfaced even once during the 10 years that IRB has been in charge. The approximate cost of resurfacing is apparently Rs100 crore).

4.3.2.17: Replacement and repairing of road furniture and road signs
- Repair and replacement of road signs and mileage posts
- Repair and replacement of safety reflectors
- Repair and replacement of metal crash barriers
- Repair and replacement of fences
- Repair and replacement of lights
- Repair and replacement of light-posts
- Repainting of road marking and other structures
- Replacement of reflective tapes on metal beam crash barriers and kerbstones

4.2.2.19: Repair and replacement of safety reflectors/delineators
- The above consists of repair or replacing damaged, faulty, stolen or old safety reflectors. This activity includes the providing of new safety reflectors, delineators, removal of damaged or faulty safety reflectors and installation of new safety reflectors.

4.2.2.20: Repair and replacement of metal crash barriers and guard rails
- The above consists of repair or replacing damaged or faulty metal crash barriers due to traffic accidents and vandalism.

4.2.2.21: Repair paint and replacement of fences
The above consists of repair, painting or replacing damaged, faulty or stolen fences located on both edges of the right of way all along the toll road. The activity includes providing and transporting necessary fences to the job site, painting of existing fencing for every three years by two coats of approved paint, removal of damaged or faulty fences. (As per 1.16.1.3:Fence survey consists of inspecting the existing fence located on both edges of the right of way and reporting of quantum of damage or defect. The patrol inspectors on duty will carry out the inspection twice a day).

4.2.2.22: Repair and replacement of lights
- The above consists of replacing faulty lights, including transporting light to the toll plazas, tunnel inside area, removal of the old lights and installation of new lights. Lights replaces shall be of the same, better type and quality than the ones initially installed. Repair and replacement shall be carried out as necessary.

4.3.1: Traffic control and communications
A traffic control room should be established, manned 24x7, which will be the hub of the communication centre, located at the Road Operations and Maintenance office at Kusgaon (near Pune), which will be linked with important persons at all times, by radio or telephone or both.

4.3.3: The control room will also be linked to emergency call telephones installed along the Expressway at regular intervals.

An independent engineering consultant-Stupp Consultants Pvt Ltd-has been appointed by the MSRDC to monitor the work implemented by the IRB. For this, it receives a payment of Rs10 lakh per month. However, despite stringent norms on action to be taken by Stupp in case IRB falters, the former seems to be a mute witness to the inefficiency and the incompetency of the IRB which has shown pathetic maintenance and woeful lack of passenger safety going by the ever-increasing number of serious and fatal accidents.

The RTI Forum For Instant Information has demanded termination of the contract by the MSRDC on both counts-lack of transparency in toll collection amount; lack of proper operation and maintenance of the Expressway and implementation of the latest Central government order issued by the ministry of surface transport where toll collection has been streamlined. For example, a car can be charged a toll of only 65 paisa per kilometre.

In addition, the following issues have not been resolved.

Here are some value-added work orders IRB is required to carry out on the Expressway, but much of it has yet to see the light of day:

Construction of a compound wall in lieu of fencing 5,570 running metres. (Reason: Fencing at certain stretches is being damaged again and again hence it is proposed to construct a compound wall in lieu of fencing.)

Providing cattle traps: Providing metal beam crash barriers as per accident prevention committee report for 15,152 metres (Reason: To prevent entry of animals on the Expressway.)

Concrete crash barriers across the ghat for 3,500 running metres. (An Accident Prevention Committee (APR) proposed that metal beam crash barriers should be erected around the catch pits, around piers of cross structures, at high embankments and at curves, inside and outside.)

Provision of road safety procedures: Cat eyes, thermoplastic paint, etc. (The APR and other government agencies have suggested information and cautionary boards at important locations on the Expressway for a distance of 20km.)

Wayside plantation: It is proposed to provide plantation of 100,000 trees on both sides of the Expressway, near the fencing, up to the side-slopes of the embankment. The plantation was to have been completed in two years.

Redoing paved shoulders: The existing paved shoulders are on an average 2.5 metres wide on both sides of the Expressway and under distress in a number of areas. It has been proposed that the defective portion would be removed, the paved shoulders milled wherever required and the entire length would be provided with a 25 mm thick Open Graded Carpet (OGC) with liquid seal coat to the desired camber.

Will the authorities finally wake up and take some action?

(Vinita Deshmukh is a senior editor, author and convener of Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She can be reached at vinitapune@gmail.com.)

Right to Information: Don’t take it lightly if you are told that a file is “missing”

my RTI column April 27 in MoneyLife
Right to Information: Don’t take it lightly if you are told that a file is “missing”
April 27, 2011 01:16 PM |  
Vinita Deshmukh

In many cases the public information officer might give the excuse that the file cannot be found, simply to dodge your RTI query. Remember, he cannot get away so lightly, for a “missing” document is government property and department officials are answerable for its disappearance

This is a story that began years before the national RTI Act came into being and ended on a happy note two years after the law was implemented.

A resident of a housing society in Sangli was made to run from pillar to post for 18 years at the the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation, for records of some illegal constructions in his housing society. Each time he was told that the file was "missing". Curiously, he had asked for five files, of which he got four, but the fifth one-the most crucial to his investigations-was not to be found. Frustrated, he even sought legal intervention, but the court did not give a ruling in his favour.

When he became familiar with the RTI Act, he filed a query with the public information officer (PIO) of the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad Municipal Corporation sometime in 2007. He received the same reply. He persisted and filed an appeal before the then chief information commissioner of Maharashta, Dr Suresh Joshi. Subsequently, when Vijay Kuvlekar took over as information commissioner of the Pune division, appeals under his jurisdiction were transferred to his office.

When Mr Kuvlekar called both the parties for the hearing, the PIO told him that perhaps the file went "missing" during the transition of Sangli from a municipal council to a municipal corporation. Mr Kuvlekar suspected foul play, as four of the five files were in place. So he asked the PIO what action he would have taken had a computer or a chair been lost. The PIO said that he would have lodged a police complaint. Mr Kuvlekar explained to the PIO that similarly a file or document belonging to any government department was also public property and that he should immediately lodge an FIR (first information report) with the police. He allowed the PIO 10 days to find the file or hand over to him a copy of the FIR. Lo and behold, within 24 hours, the PIO brought the file and the applicant got justice after 18 long years.

This order by Mr Kuvlekar has been among the pioneering decisions that have introduced accountability in the department with regard to missing records. But, have the "missing" files excuses stopped? No, says Kuvlekar. "I have had 50 such appeals since 2007. In several cases I have ordered that an FIR be lodged. In one of the cases, the file requested for was of the 1940s, hence the 'missing' reason was quite genuine. In several other cases, I allowed some time to dig out the files, and in most cases the files appeared miraculously.''

In another case, in Mumbai, Aftab Siddique, a civic activist from Bandra, was repeatedly denied information by the Building Proposals Department of the Bombay Municipal Corporation, with the excuse that the files were lost. Mr Siddique appealed to the chief information commission.

When Dr Suresh Joshi called both parties for the hearing, the BMC official said that 2,000 files in his department were missing. Shocked, Mr Joshi asked then municipal commissioner Jairaj Phatak to appear before the commission. Mr Pathak assured Mr Joshi that all existing files would be computerised within six months. Mr Joshi also asked Mr Pathak to implement the Maharashtra Public Records Act 2005, wherein section 8 contains strict terms to be followed before destruction of any government document and the it sets out a fine of Rs10,000 and five years imprisonment for the official responsible. (Read below)

A performance evaluation done by Arvind Kejriwal's NGO, Parivartan in 2009, found that most information commissioners were indifferent to the cases of "missing records". Following is a gist of the evaluation.
2. Missing records: Many PIOs report "missing records", "records lost", "not traceable", as reasons for denying information. This trend seems to be on the rise, depending upon the response of information commissioners to such pleas. The response of commissioners has been varied.
1. Assam: In the state, the PIO's plea that records are missing is normally accepted. Mostly observations are made stating that, PIO seems to have made stringent efforts to locate records. The department is ordered to conduct a time-bound inquiry and the case is closed.
2. Chhattisgarh: Mostly the plea is accepted with directions that PIO should be careful with records in future. However, in some cases, the commission has ordered the department to fix responsibility and closed the case.
3. Himachal Pradesh: Since the records are lost, they are not "held" by the PIO, according to the RTI Act, and therefore, information cannot be provided.
4. Madhya Pradesh: The department is directed to fix responsibility and take action as per rules.
5. Maharashtra: An information seeker from Sangli (south Maharashtra) found to his delight that a file, considered "missing" for the last 18 years, turned up magically after Pune information commissioner Vijay Kuvlekar pressed the right buttons. (As already described in the article.)

Mumbai-based activist Krishnaraj Rao, who has done a study on the Public Records Act states that: "If a file is lost, there is a clear-cut procedure that the officer designated as "Records Officer" has to follow. (He has also translated the government order for our benefit which is provided below). This may be summarised as "SRF", that is (a) SEARCH, (b) RECONSTRUCT the file, (c) Register FIR.

Here are some relevant sections of the Maharashtra Public Disclosure Act, 1993. 

SECTION 6: 
1. Every records creating agency shall nominate one of its officers as records officer to discharge the functions under this Act.
2. Every records creating agency may set up such number of record rooms in such places as it deems fit and shall place each record room under the charge of a records officer.

SECTION 8: 
1. The records officer shall, in the event of any unauthorised removal, destruction, defacement or alteration of any public records under his charge, forthwith take appropriate action for the recovery or restoration of such public records.
2. The records officer shall submit a report in writing to the Director General or as the case may be, the head of the Archives without any delay on any information about any unauthorised removal, destruction, defacement or alteration of any public record under his charge and about the action initiated by him and shall take action as he may deem necessary, subject to the directions, if any, given by Director General or, as the case may be, head of the Archives.
3. The records officer may seek assistance from any government officer or any other person for the purpose of recovery or restoration of public records and such officer or person shall render all assistance to the records officer.

SECTION 10: 
Whoever contravenes any of the provisions of section 4 or section 8 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both.

Here is another point of view. 
The link http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/blogs/jps50/172-missing-untraceable-records.html has suggested filing another RTI application with the same PIO, who says that a file is missing. It states that legal experts say public documents going missing should invite a criminal complaint against the erring officials. The application should be in the following format.

"Of late, PIOs are routinely replying that records sought by the applicants are missing or not traceable, etc. This is true more in cases where records are sensitive in nature or may adversely affect vested interests. Legal experts say such a loss of records that are required to be kept and maintained permanently, should invite criminal complaint against officials under sections 201 and 217 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). To resist such a trend, the applicant can file another RTI application with the same public information officer seeking the following information:

As per letter no. ___________, dated ________, of PIO__________  [copy enclosed] , I have been informed that following records are missing or not traceable in the office:
a.

b.

c.

I request you to kindly let me know the following details in connection with these missing/not traceable records [hereafter referred to as "said records" for brevity]:

1. Please provide me certified photocopy of pages of registers where the said records were last recorded to have existed.

2. Name, designation and office address of the officers and other staff of the office who had last custody of the said records.

3. Date when your office first came to know that the said records are missing.

4. Details of efforts made to trace out the said records till date of your reply.

5. Certified copy of FIR filed for the missing/non-tracing of said records. In case if FIR is not filed till date of your reply to this application, reasons for it be also made known to me.

6. Certified photocopy of departmental guidelines for preservation and safe custody of records.

7. Certified photocopy of report made by your office to your higher officers and their reply on the matter of the said records.

8. Details of departmental action initiated against erring staff for the missing records.

9. Certified photocopy of last audit queries and replies thereto in connection to said records.

10. Certified copy of record evidencing last periodical verification/inventory of old records undertaken by the department/office as per prescribed procedure. If no inventory/verification is undertaken, reasons thereof be made known to me.

11. Name, designation and full address of public information officer of the office where additional/duplicate copies would be available of the said record.

12. Please let me know if it is possible to retrieve the said record from computers.

13. Please provide me a sworn affidavit to this effect. [refer: CIC decision dated 06-11-2009 in Appeal No.CIC/SM/A/2008/00135 & SM/A/2009/001075]

There is possibility that the said records may be traced, on receiving this RTI application!

(Vinita Deshmukh is a senior editor, author and convener of Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She can be reached at vinitapune@gmail.com.)

PUNEITES, FAST ON APRIL 8 BY MISSING A MEAL. JOIN US

Dear Friends

APPEALING TO ALL OF YOU TO COME OUT IN LARGE NUMBERS TOMORROW, APRIL 8, OUTSIDE PMC ENTRY GATE TO SUPPORT ANNA HAZARE'S FAST. PL FAST FOR ANY ONE MEAL AS FOLLOWS. FOR THE FAST PL COME TO THE PMC'S ENTRY GATE AND SHOW YOUR SOLIDARITY AND SIGN THE PETITION. BE PRESENT THERE AS PER YOUR CONVENIENCE, IT COULD BE 15 MINS, HALF AND HOUR, ONE HOUR, TWO HOURS, YOUR CHOICE:

YOU MAY OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING TIMINGS (MISSING ANY OF THE FOLLOWING MEALS)  TO COME TO THE PMC ENTRY GATE AND SHOW YOUR SOLIDARITY AND SIGN THE PETITION:

BREAKFAST - BETWEEN 9 AM AND 10.30 AM

LUNCH - BETWEEN 12 NOON AND 3 P M

TEA - BETWEEN 4 PM AND 6 PM

DINNER - 7PM AND 9 PM

YOU MAY GET A SMALL MAT TO SIT ON THE FOOTPATH, WEAR A CAP AND YOU MAY SING OR WAVE THE NATIONAL FLAG.

WE WILL DO IT PEACEFULLY. COME IN LARGE NUMBERS - GET YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS ALONG. EVEN YOUR FIVE MINUTES OF PRESENCE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO ANNA' NOBLE MOVEMENT. COME ONE COME ALL AND PLEASE FORWARD TO AS MANY.

PLEASE READ MY ARTICLE ON ANNA HAZARE WHICH WAS PUBLISHED BY MONEYLIFE DIGITAL MAGAZINE TODAY TO KNOW WHAT ANNA IS ALL ABOUT: FOLLOWING IS THE ARTICLE

Moneylife » Life » Public Interest » Anna Hazare, our one, big hope, and why he can do it Anna Hazare, our one, big hope, and why he can do it April 07, 2011 12:38 PM |  Vinita Deshmukh The soldier-turned-social reformer has grabbed the national headlines in the past 24 hours with his campaign for an effective anti-corruption law. But very few are aware of the die-hard Gandhian’s nearly four-decade long struggle to improve the lot of common people from his village in Maharashtra and his continuing agitation for good governance that has succeeded in bringing about citizen-friendly laws in the state  From the Yadavbaba Temple in Ralegan Siddhi, a village in western India's Maharashtra state, to Jantar Mantar in Delhi, is a four-decade long story of soldier-turned-social reformer Anna Hazare's commitment and tenacity in exposing corruption in public office that has often put the government on the mat and compelled it to make people-friendly laws. A true Gandhian, Anna (as he is fondly called) has through his peaceful struggle, using the non-violent weapon of fasting, succeeded in getting some revolutionary laws legislated in Maharashtra. Most of his hunger protests have been undertaken at the Yadavbaba Temple where he lives, and sometimes at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai. (He has not visited his family house in the past 35 years.) So, it's perhaps only a logical sequence that he has now stepped up on the national stage, to become an instant icon of the nation, and especially for our youth. As a soldier, Kisan Bapat Baburao Hazare was posted at the Khemkaran border in the 1965 Indo-Pak War. He was the only survivor in an enemy air attack that killed all his fellow soldiers on 12th October of that year. That's when he felt that God had a purpose for him and he decided to dedicate his life to work for the people. Anna also took a pledge to remain a bachelor. He started work in the gallis (bylanes) of his native Ralegan Siddhi, troubled by the plague of alcoholism among the villagers, their dire poverty, the barren lands and the consequent large-scale migration of people to urban centres. In this situation, Anna stayed calm, and driven by a passion to make a difference, he encouraged fellow villagers to adopt five commandments: A ban on alcoholism; a ban on cattle grazing; water conservation; family planning; and shram daan (voluntary physical labour). And he was able to make a big difference, very quickly, and transform Ralegan Siddhi into a sterling model village that even Mahatma Gandhi would have been proud of. The people built bunds that collected rain water and were crucial in making the village an agricultural hub within a few monsoon seasons. Together with the other commandments, the village soon became a model to be emulated by others, drawing hundreds of visitors from across the country and even around the world, who came to learn and even today draw inspiration from the incredible social and economic transformation. It was during this process in Ralegan Siddhi that Anna experienced first-hand the malaise of corruption in government offices, how the concentration of power in the gram panchayat (a body of a handful of elected representatives), instead of the gram sabha (the people's collective), resulted in corruption and unfair decisions, and led to increasing injustice and poverty among villagers. He realised that fighting corruption at all levels and making people-friendly laws was the only way. Thus began a relentless campaign under the banner of 'Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan' (Citizens' Crusade against Corruption). This led to a series of exposes of bureaucrats and ministers that often embarrassed the Maharashtra government and compelled it to introduce better laws. Anna's best-known crusade was for the introduction of the Right to Information (RTI) Act in Maharashtra. Aruna Roy was spearheading the RTI movement in Rajasthan. Anna felt that the Official Secrets Act of 1923 that the British used to loot the country, must be struck off and be replaced with a transparent system that could only happen through something like the RTI. For this, he undertook a hunger protest at Azad Maidan in 2003, which culminated in the implementation of state RTI Act. But the legislation was toothless and again he campaigned and succeeded in setting up an expert citizens' committee to strengthen the law. Subsequently, much of this became part of the national RTI Act that came into force on 12 October 2005. Not many will know that Anna was also instrumental in working out the Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act, against red tapism, which was enacted on 25 May 2006. He was angry that upright government officers were transferred, sometimes within months of being posted to a place, whereas some corrupt and favoured officials were cosy in their postings for 10, even 20 years. He was also furious over government officials sitting on files that contained important public proposals and decisions. He fought tooth and nail for a law whereby a government servant must clear a file within a specified time and that transfers must take place only after three years. The Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act provides for disciplinary action against officials who move files slowly and also enables monitoring officials who stay too long in a post, or in a department, and for involvement in a corrupt nexus. Anna also campaigned between 1998 and 2006 for amending the Gram Sabha Act, in order that the people (meaning the villagers) have a say in the development works in their village. While the state government refused to bend to his demand, it had to give in due to public pressure. As per the amendments, seeking sanction of the gram sabha (collective of villagers, and not just the few elected representatives in the gram panchayat) for expenditure on development works in the village is mandatory. In case of expenditure without the sanction of the gram sabha, 20% of gram sabha members can lodge a complaint to the chief executive officer of the zilla parishad with their signatures. The chief executive officer is required to visit the village and conduct an inquiry within 30 days and submit the report to the divisional commissioner, who has powers to remove the sarpanch or deputy sarpanch and dismiss the gram sevak involved. Anna was not satisfied, as the amended Act did not include "the right to recall a sarpanch". He insisted that this should be included and the state government relented. Recently, Anna joined hands with Arvind Kejriwal, the renowed RTI activist, to bring in a stronger Area Sabha Bill (at the moment it is still toothless), so that citizens in urban areas will have a say in the expenditure undertaken in their ward. A three-member committee has been set up by the Maharashtra government with Mr Kejriwal as one of the members. Public consultations are in progress. Here is a run-down of some of Anna Hazare's major campaigns. Liquor Prohibition Policy: Anna realised that alcohol addiction of the breadwinner in the family affected the woman of the house who was usually left to fend for herself and the children. He appealed to the government to bring in a law, whereby prohibition would come into force in a village if 25% of the women in the village demanded it. In July 2009, the state government issued a government resolution amending the Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949. As per the amendments, if at least 25% of women voters demand liquor prohibition through a written application to the state excise department, voting should be conducted through a secret ballot. If 50% of the voters vote against the sale of liquor prohibition should be imposed in the village and the sale of liquor should be stopped. Similar action can be taken at the ward level in municipal areas. Thereafter, another circular was issued, making it mandatory to get the sanction of gram the sabha for issuing new permits for sale of liquor. In some instances, when women agitated against the sale of liquor, cases were filed against them. Anna took up the issue again and in August 2009 the government issued another circular that sought withdrawal of cases against women who sought prohibition of liquor in their villages. Curb on sand extraction for developmental works that is destroying rivers and the environment: The sand mafia is notorious in Maharashtra, and it has the blessings of leading politicians of the state. Anna appealed to the government that this loot of natural resources must stop as it is leading to falling water levels and turning fertile lands into deserts. After regular correspondence with the government and a series of meetings, the state government issued a government resolution in August 2009 that empowered gram sabhas to decide on sand extraction and that auctions should be held in front of the gram sabhas, with the attendance of the tehsildar, police officer and talathi being mandatory. Use of biometric system to monitor attendance: Officers and staff at various government offices do not attend office on time, which causes inconvenience to people. Anna demanded the introduction of a biometric system to deal with the problem. Accordingly, on 28 July 2009, the state government ordered that a biometric attendance system should be installed at all government offices. This would help monitor attendance and speed up administration. Warranty tenure of road works: The zilla parishad undertakes road works on which it spends crores of rupees every year, but most of these works are of poor quality, due to rampant corruption. Still, no contractor is taken to task for low quality work. Anna Hazare's campaign resulted in the government issuing a special circular in July 2009 that requires zilla parishads to put up boards giving information of the road works, such as the contractor's name, the date of commencement of work, the total expenditure, the date of conclusion of the work and the warranty period. The contractor is held responsible for repairs of roads during the warranty period to ensure quality of work. Now, with Anna Hazare demanding a joint committee for the Jan Lokpal Bill, it is unlikely that the central government will be able to ignore this much longer. For, he is one face in the country with a crystal clear image. And he is one who will not give up till he has achieved his mission for the good of the people.

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