CNS: RTI

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Modi's economic policy at loggerheads with Gandhi's vision

Dr Rahul Pandey and Dr Sandeep Pandey, CNS Columnist

Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary is an opportune time to assess Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s major policy thrusts on the economic front. His policy contrasts both with Gandhi’s vision and with what is needed to develop long term capabilities in India’s workforce and economic infrastructure. In a nutshell Modi’s economic policy is an accelerated version of that of former PM Manmohan Singh and his United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

[हिन्दी] Shailendra Kumar, a Masters student at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and Mudit Shukla, a volunteer with Lucknow-based organisation Asha Parivar, addressed a press conference at Lohia Mazdoor Bhawan on status of implementation of Section 4(1)(b) of the Right to Information Act, 2005, in Uttar Pradesh; and on the functioning of Janta Soochna Kendra (JSK or public information centres) respectively.

[हिंदी]The just retired Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi is quite agitated about the recent Supreme Court judgement making it necessary for Chief Information Commissioners to have a judicial background and to conduct all hearings in benches consisting of two Commissioners one of whom will have to be a person from judicial background. He put up a spirited argument why a person of judicial background was not necessary for the Information Commission. The task merely involved either taking a decision of either allowing information to be given or not. Some judicial thinking may be required to consider the cases of exemption from the Act. But such cases are rare. In the 20,000 cases that he disposed of, he said, he just encountered two which required some legal interpretation.

[RTI applications] [हिन्दी] The Lucknow youth participants of the ongoing Rights and Responsibilities Summer Training Camp at Professor (Dr) Rama Kant’s Centre in C-block crossing, Indira Nagar, filed applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, demanding information pertaining to poor implementation of development programmes in the city including tobacco control. The youth, Ankur Verma, Diya Pandey, Sanjay Kumar Verma, Shikha Srivastava, Shikhar Agarwal, Shubham Dwivedi, and Udita Chandra, filed many RTI applications on tobacco control and other development schemes.

[English report card] [हिंदी रिपोर्ट कार्ड] A Report Card on Implementation of Tobacco Control Laws in Lucknow prepared by nine young activists was released on World No Tobacco Day, 31 May 2011, organized at SIPS Super Speciality Hospital, Lucknow. These youngsters –Sachidanand, Jatin, Sarvesh, Dileep, Nadeem, Anand, Ritesh, Rahul and Astha - had participated in a week long training programme on Rights and Responsibilities under the guidance of WHO International Awardee Professor (Dr) Rama Kant, Magsaysay Awardee Dr Sandeep Pandey, Shobha Shukla and Bobby Ramakant. This programme included sessions on Right to Information Act and Tobacco Control Laws in India.

[Read the nine RTI applications] City youth found hope in using Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005, in stressing for proper implementation of government health laws including the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003. This group was part of the ongoing Rights and Responsibilities Training Camp (25-31 May 2011) at Professor (Dr) Rama Kant’s centre at C-2211, C-block crossing, Indira Nagar, Lucknow.

[Read the nine RTI applications filed by youth] Using Right To Information (RTI) Act in ensuring proper implementation of government health laws including tobacco control was the issue-in-spotlight at the Rights and Responsibilities Training Camp (25-31 May 2011) held at Professor (Dr) Rama Kant’s centre in Lucknow. Magsaysay Awardee and noted social activist Dr Sandeep Pandey taught city youth how to write applications under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005, to fight corruption, and to increase accountability and transparency, in implementing tobacco control laws. He also appealed to the students to take a pledge never to give or take bribe.

Young people in Lucknow used citizen journalism in tobacco control in the lead up to the World No Tobacco Day. "Citizen journalism was an empowering experience, and we learnt how to write media briefs, take photographs using simple mobile and digital cameras and then document violations of existing tobacco control laws in the city" said Rahul Dwivedi, one of the youth participants of the Rights and Responsibilities Training Camp organized by CNS during 25-31 May 2011.

[हिंदी] 'Tobacco Control' and 'Fight Against Corruption' were the two burning issues-in-spotlight at a youth awareness programme organized by Citizens For Healthy Lucknow campaign, at ALS Academy in Lucknow. Noted social activist and Magsaysay Awardee, Dr Sandeep Pandey exhorted the students to fight corruption, by making full use of the tool of Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005. He also appealed to the students to take a pledge to neither give nor take bribes.

[हिंदी] [Photo] Enforce tobacco control laws by using RTI

Using Right To Information (RTI) Act in ensuring proper implementation of government policies including those in tobacco control was the issue-in-spotlight at Sherwood Academy, Sector-25, Indira Nagar, Lucknow. Magsaysay Awardee and noted social activist Dr Sandeep Pandey who was the Chief Guest, taught students how to write applications under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005, to fight corruption, and to increase accountability and transparency. He also appealed to the students to take a pledge never to give or take bribe.

Magsaysay Awardee Dr Sandeep Pandey taught students how to write applications under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005, to fight corruption, and to increase accountability and transparency. He also appealed to the students to take a pledge never to give or take bribe. Grow up as responsible and honest citizens, said Dr Sandeep Pandey. The students gave Dr Pandey examples of corruption they see or have heard of in their lives. Giving donation for admission in educational institutions, giving a bribe to police agencies, schools forcing students to buy books from a particular shop or publisher, were some of the corruption examples students told Dr Pandey. Dr Sandeep Pandey was interacting with the students of Rani Laxmi Bai (RLB) Inter College, Sector 14, Indira Nagar, Lucknow.

[हिंदी] [Photo] According to The Lancet (April 2011), the underlying causes of many non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are shared and modifiable risk factors: tobacco use, foods high in saturated and trans-fats, salt, and sugar (especially in sweetened drinks), physical inactivity, and the harmful consumption of alcohol. These cause more than two-thirds of all new cases of NCDs and increase the risk of complications in people with NCDs. Tobacco use alone accounts for one in six of all deaths resulting from NCDs. So to stay healthy, discussants made an appeal to about 1000 students at Rani Laxmi Bai Inter College, Sector 14, Indira Nagar, Lucknow, to live a healthy lifestyle - and - neither give bribe or take bribe - for a healthy society.

[हिंदी] Akhil Gogoi, noted Right-To-Information (RTI) activist and leader of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, Assam, was arrested along with 100 others when addressing a press conference against corruption demanding Jan Lokpal Bill in Guwahati, Assam. Within hours, about 100,000 people poured out on the roads in support of Akhil Gogoi demanding his release. The Assam state government then released Akhil Gogoi.

How will an anti-corruption agency function if it has to take permission for conducting inquiry from those in power? Moreover if the anti-corruption agency is only supposed to advise the government but not given any executive power to take action to check corruption, the plight becomes grimmer. Lokpal Bill proposes to establish a single, autonomous apex body empowered to investigate and prosecute politicians, bureaucrats and judges in a defined time-frame, said noted social activist and Magsaysay Awardee Arvind Kejriwal who was speaking at the Panchayati Raj Sammelan organized by Lok Rajniti Manch in Lucknow.

National Alliance of
People's Movements (NAPM)

National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) is organizing its Eighth Biennial Convention in the Narmada Valley, at Badwani, Madhya Pradesh, from 24-26 October 2010. Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), which is entering in 25th year of struggle, and is one of the founding members of NAPM will be hosting the convention this time. The journey that started in 1992 and took the shape of NAPM in 1996 has today reached a critical stage. Read more

National Alliance of
People's Movements (NAPM)

NREGA Social Audit in Unnao

A social audit of national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGS) shall be conducted by Asha Parivar and National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh (UP), during 15-21 January 2010.

"Commitment to transparency and accountability runs through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). This commitment also flows from the right to information Act 2005. The Right to Information (RTI) Act should be followed in both letter and spirit in all matters relating to NREGA. No request (for information) should be refused under any circumstances. All NREGA-related information is in the public domain" says the chapter 10 of the NREGA operational guidelines. Read more

State Information Commission slapped fines on errant officers

In a significant order, the State Information Commisison has slapped a fine of Rs 9,750 (about USD 200) on two errant public information officers of the Nandurbar district administration (Maharashtra) for having caused enormous delay in satisfactorily responding to an application for information filed by a Sardar Sarovar project affected adivasi Siyaram Singa Padvi. Read more

Two days National Convention on RTI and NREGA concludes

Two days National Convention on RTI and NREGA concludes

The two days convention on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), being held under the aegis of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), concluded at Gandhi Bhawan, Lucknow on 10 September 2009. The convention was attended by about 400 people, from UP to Kerala, who projected their problems and solutions.

The first session was chaired by former Justice Mr Kamleshwar Nath, Mr SN Shukla (retd IAS), Mr IC Dwivedi, Mr Rakesh Mittal (retd IAS) and Mr SC Verma. Various problems encountered at the level of implementation of the RTI were highlighted in the presence of social activists Ms Aruna Roy and Mr Nikhil De. On the whole, it came out that the mind set of not giving the information is the biggest problem. It is clear that unless the information providers like Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appeal Authorities and information commissioners’ work with the proper mind-set, the people will not get the relief they want.

In the second session, the focus was on NREGA. The rural development commissioner Mr Manoj Kumar Singh, listened to the views of the labourers, social and political activists. Some of the major problems projected were: non-preparation of job cards, non-acceptance of applications for work, not getting 100 days work, non–abolition of contract system, taking out wages for fictitious work days, charging money forcibly after it is withdrawn from the bank account, improper social audit, persecution and assaulting the workers (or social activists for instance). Ms Aruna Roy suggested that every month a two day open session, at the state level, should be arranged between the workers, the concerned minister and officers for listening to the complaints and suggestions from the workers, and act upon these too. Mr Manoj Kumar Singh, rural development commissioner, welcomed the suggestion for providing 70-80 days of work to every labour family.

SR Darapuri (9415164845), Urvashi Sharma, Sandeep Pandey, Arundhati Dhuru

National Convention on RTI and NREGA opens in Lucknow

National Convention on RTI and NREGA opens in Lucknow

A two day convention on Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) began today at Gandhi Bhawan, Lucknow under the aegis of National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI). Activists and common citizens who have used the RTI Act to access information came to attend this convention from all over UP, as well as, from other parts of the country like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Delhi. More than five hundred participants were present. They shared their experiences with using this Act.

The highlight of the convention was the active participation by the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), UP, Mr Ranjit Singh Pankaj and Information Commissioner, Mr Virendra Saxena. It is noteworthy that any Information Commissioner in UP has come out after a gap of two years to interact with people on an open platform. Activist groups have been trying to engage the Information Commission as well as the administration to ensure proper implementation of the RTI Act, as well as, effective coordination between the Information Commission and the public at large. However, the administration had chosen not to participate in the past.

The issues raised by activists and citizens include: no response from Public Information Officers (PIOs) within the stipulated 30 days, lack of proper information and training at the level of PIOs, inactive role played by First Appeal Authority, First Appeal Authorities tend to protect the PIOs of their department, harassment of applicants at the level of PIOs sometimes leading to registration of criminal cases against them, large pendency in Information Commission, applicants have to make a number of visits to the Commission, PIOs not penalized under Section 20 of the Act which is mandatory and even if they are penalized the fine is not realized, non-compliance of Section 4(1)(b) by various departments. The inefficient functioning at the levels of PIOs and First Appeal Authority creates huge volume of complaints and appeals at the level of the Information Commission.

The CIC agreed that applicants should not be harassed by the PIOs and should not avoid fulfilling their responsibility by giving lame excuses. People also lamented the fact the PIOs come to the Commission at government’s expense whereas the applicants have to bear the expenses from their pockets.

Shri Pankaj, the CIC, assured that he would streamline the working of the Commission and would solve all the problems faced by applicants in the next 6 months.

Tomorrow, former IAS officer, Magsaysay Awardee and a noted social activist Aruna Roy and senior social activist Nikhil De will participate in this convention and give a boost to people’s campaign to ensure the effective implementation of the two Acts - RTI and NREGA. Commissioner, Rural Development, Mr Manoj Kumar Singh, will also attend the NREGA session in the afternoon to interact with labourers and activists.

Former IPS officer and vice president of People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) SR Darapuri, noted author of books on RTI Dr Niraj Kumar, Izhar Ansari, Devdutt Sharma, journalist Akhilesh Saxena, Bahnu Pratap Dwivedi, noted RTI activist Urvashi Sharma, social activist Chunnilal, and Magsaysay Awardee (2002) and national convener of NAPM - Dr Sandeep Pandey had chaired the sessions of the first day of the two days convention.

- National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI)

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