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by kushal | 
We are happy to announce RTI INDIA is now available to all its subscriber via Free SMS. Now you can know the latest news, success stories, important events and much more about Right to Information by subscribing to our SMS channel.
Please visit our channel link to subscribe to our Free SMS service.
http://labs.google.co.in/smschannels...be/RTIINDIASMS
Alternatively you can subscribe to RTI INDIA SMS by sending an SMS:
ON RTIINDIASMS to 9870807070
Thank You for being part of our community.
RTI INDIA TEAM
At any point of time you want to unsubscribe from RTIINDIASMS channel, send an SMS <off rtiindiasms=""> to 9870807070
</off>
This service is an additional but free subscription based service and you are not automatically subscribed to the channel by us while you register at our site. | | |
by kushal | On our second Anniversary I said 'Let us Connect, Network and Reach out', the dream was not Myopic. On 27th September 2009 just over 3 years of our existence we are 100,000 member strong community. With more than 4 lakhs pages of community posts at our website, surely we are proud of our members who either posted a question, or an answer, or wrote a blog which made Right to Information worthwhile.
Do you have a success story to share with us: Now Post your video at RTI INDIA!
On this occasion we are introducing a new forum at RTI INDIA, RTI Community - RTI Videos at rtiindia.org which is meant for all our members to upload and share videos via YouTube. I invite all of our community members to take part in the forum.
We are also announcing the launch of RTI INDIA Video Channel at YouTube. Visit YouTube - RTIINDIA's Channel
We intend to share and bring together all Right to Information related videos at one place through this channel. To become more familiar with the functioning kindly visit the thread here.
Continuing our zeal to bring all cross section of people to be part of our community we have opened many more mediums to do so via social networking sites.
- Facebook: Join us via Facebook, become fan of our site here: RTI INDIA | Facebook
- Twitter: Follow us on twitter here: RTI INDIA (rtiindia) on Twitter. We post interesting threads selected at RTI INDIA website here. Also we intend to use it as our minor site announcement portal.
- Orkut: Join us if you are available at orkut, visit the link here orkut -
Very importantly, our core team has decided to accept the following members as our 'Community Builders' and we are happy to welcome them as our team members on this very important milestone event:
Dillip Kumar Mohapatra, Sunaab Sarkar, Jayeshbheda & Ajay Kumar Bhal
I am sure the hard work they have done to help the community grow till date, will surely enrich all of us in times to come.
Lastly, this official post cannot end without the acknowledgment of our team members untiring efforts, those voluntary monetary supporters who made their contribution towards running this site, and all those contributory members who by way of their knowledge and desire had been enriching all of us from the journey we performed from 1 member to 100000 members.
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by ganpat1956 | Today, September 28, is the International Right to Information Day. On this day in 2006, RTI India .Org was started by Dr Kushal Pathak, a physician by education, but who nevertheless took up Civil Services to a lucrative career in medicine. His penchant for curing the ills of the society and the encouragement provided by the younger generation of his like-minded friends in the bureaucracy, led him to float this web site. In the three years time, this site has now grown into a membership of 90,000 socially conscious persons throughout the length and breadth of this country, besides several NRI members. They hail from every walk of life—retired people, commoners, teachers, advocates, professionals, entrepreneurs, serving officers, house wives et al.
The founders of this portal being part of the civil services, there is an imperative need to ensure that this site is not used by anybody to demean the govt nor to conduct a crusade or campaign against it. To that extent, we believe in active moderation . This portal is only meant in a very strict sense to help citizens and others in the rightful interpretation of Act and helping in the queries they have, by the shared resource of the members at large. We are happy that by and large our members have understood the boundaries we have set for ourselves and have extended their due cooperation on this count.
RTI India has earned a niche for itself in the web world thanks to the dedicated efforts of all the activists. The site carries over 3,35,000 web pages of discussions, spread out in various sections and sub-sections. The search engines simply love this site and at any point of time one can observe the presence of not less than a score or two of various search engine bots and spiders crawling around for information. With the result, anything that gets posted here can be located through a web search in the next five to ten minutes. This has led to increased new member registrations, which are in the order of 300 to 400 everyday, making the task of our Community Builders, a challenging one. Site statistics reveal that about 80% of the visitors to our portal every day are new entrants.
From a handful of Info Warriors who started it all in 2006, we were 1100 at the time of our first anniversary, 12000 on our second anniversary and now with a 90000+ vibrant membership, we are marching ahead to the six digit figure, which we shall be reaching before the end of this year.
To repeat the words of our Chief Dreamer & Architech, " We are proud of our Members who had made our community efforts a success, either by way of a question or by posting a solution or simply being here with us. We are also thankful to those who contributed by way of assimilating news about Right to Information and shared with all of us in the RTI News section. Many appreciation would go left unnoticed if we did not mention those who contributed in the blogging, guide and directory segment. Again a Big Thanks to all those who made monetary contributions for meeting the bandwidth cost and thus reaffirmed their faith in our community work."
Discuss this Announcement Here:
"http://www.rtiindia.org/forum/31322-...niversary.html" | | |
by ra_10 | | Since past few years the State Urban Development authority had been pumping sewage water into our land, which was having an ill effect on the quality of our land. We filed an RTI application seeking information on the intended route of the sewage water, why it was diverted to our land, the compensation we would be granted for the harm done and the penalty to the officers responsible. The reply to the application stated that there was no such thing being done - no sewage water was being pumped and no further action was to be taken on this. Although the reply wasn’t directly helpful, RTI helped because the authorities completely diverted the route of sewage water away from our land and it has stayed like that since. Hence, we achieved the desired results.:) | | |
by karira |
26-yr-old visually challenged man will receive first Rahul Mangaonkar RTI Award
Ratna Ala, a visually challenged 26-year-old youth, who used RTI to expose the improprieties of the local administration and got development to his village, will become the first recipient of the Rahul Mangaonkar Award for Best Use of RTI for Common Cause.
The award was conceptualised to cherish and perpetuate the legacy of TOI journalist Rahul Mangaonkar, who had pioneered the use of Right to Information in journalism. Ala will be felicitated at Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry Auditorium on Sunday at 10.30 am.
A native of Rangpur in Wankaner taluka of Rajkot district, Ala is visually impaired. He used the RTI to replace a stony path connecting his village to the main highway by a two-kilometre pucca road. His family belongs to below the poverty line.
Ala, a class X passout, used RTI to get information on several schemes that the panchayat had claimed it had implemented but had not done so.
Rahul Mangaonkar, an activist-journalist, passed away on May 5, 2009. He used RTI as a tool to expose irregularities in the local administration and provided a non-confrontational attitude to the RTI movement.
The award is not just a tribute to Mangaonkar but an encouragement to common citizens who use the tool to make a difference to the society at large.
As reported in ahmedabadmirror.com on 19 July 2009:
26-yr-old visually challenged man will receive first Rahul Mangaonkar RTI Award , News - City - Ahmedabad Mirror,Ahmedabad Mirror | | |
by kushal | On 15th May 2009, RTI INDIA reached the registration count of 50000 members. Please join us on our celebrations here!
Our immediate goal is to make rtiindia.org an even more welcoming place and make it easier for users to find the information they're looking for regarding Right to Information.
Over the past few months, we've been actively ramping up team and reorganizing it so the team can be bigger, faster, and better than ever before. In the same effort we are pleased to announce following active members as our team members:
- Sandeep Baheti (sandeepbaheti): Has been given additional responsibility as 'Moderator' of RTI INDIA.
- Atul Patankar (Atul Patankar): Has been inducted in our team as 'News Digger' at RTI INDIA
- E.V.DEVENDRANATH (evdnath), G.MARUTHI (GM VISHNU) & Prabhakar HL (prabha.hl) has been inducted as 'Community Builders' at RTI INDIA
We think the new additions to our team are great assets to rtiindia.org - something we think you'll agree with as you get to know some of our new team members over the coming months. Please visit our Team Members Page here.
While in the past discussions were a bit freewheeling, we're going to renew our effort to keep discussions focused, in accord with our published posting guidelines. Polite discussion and constructive criticism will be welcome, but we are going to be better about moderating discussions to keep them on topic.
With Best Regards,
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by aparnakarmarkar |
My name is Aparna Karmarkar. I live in Pune and practice as an architect. I had filed my Income Tax Reaturn for the Finincial year 2007-08 on July31st ,2008. I had claimed a refund of Rupees Four Thousand and Thirty Six rupees.
I waited patiently for the refund till June,2009. No action from Income Tax Office. When I told this story to Mr.Atul Patankar, he was very kind to introduce me to the idea of RTI !!
He made the application ready, we filled in the necessary details and filed the application on June 10th, 2009. I was surprised when the sleepy department started calling me. The concerned officer told me that he has posted the cheque and could I please widraw the application? Again Mr.Patankar advised me not to do so , till I had a cheque in my hands.
Thanks to RTI and Mr.Atul Patankar, I received my cheque on July 2nd, 2009. What's more, I did not pay a single paisa as a bribe!!!
With best regards,
Aparna Karmarkar
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by dhanabalan |
RTI Act is really helpful to me. Police officials were misused the FIRs. Each FIR contains 6 sheets. Police used only 3 sheets to register the case. Other 3 sheets were used to threaten the innocents to get the bribe and then destroyed the 3 sheets. I unearthed through RTI.
FIR printed numbers and Crime numbers are not tallying. In some cases FIRs were reserved for later use. In some cases, crime numbers were reserved. Further, 5 crime numbers were booked in one FIR. Some FIR copies were not sent to court. Some FIR copies are not available in station, in DSP office and in court. I unearthed all this through RTI. Now I filed a petition in High court to direct the Vigilance & Anticorruption to register FIR against the police officials.
One person murdered his illegal second wife and the body was destroyed in fire without informing to police and Village Administrative Officer. That person paid bribe to police for not registering FIR against him. I sent application under RTI. DGP replied "on enquiry she died due to eating of poison". The ADGP destroyed the file connected with the reply of DGP. I filed a petition at High Court to register FIR. FIR was registered under IPC 176, which is non cognizable offence. Even the FIR was not sent to the JM court. ADGP and other police officials would be booked for not registering FIR under section IPC 201.
Police received bribe from the criminals and FIR was not registered for the theft complaints from 2005. I complained to IGP. IGP directed to register FIR. Afraid of departmental action by the IGP for the refusal to register FIR, police officials received signature from the petitioners in blank empty white paper and they later filled as they like. Some petitioners complained to the IGP and SP. No action. I sent complaint to DGP. No reply. Appealed at Information Commission. Enquiry was conducted by Information commission. PIO gave a non speaking, incomplete and evading answer. I again appealed to the Commission.
RTI Act is a powerful tool. But the Information Commissioners are very lienient. The PIOs are exploiting the leniency.
Thank you.
Dhanabalan
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by sujy40 | dear all,
I would like to share my experience of getting IT refunds which had been pending for 10 Assessment Years ie from1996-97 till date by using the RTI Act. I am indebted to this website for the information provided without which the refunds would not have marerialised. During the process i have gained insights which i would like to share with all members.
Numerous representations and meeting IT Dept officers yielded no results. After seeing this website I filed an application under the RTI Act. Information regarding status of my refunds was denied by the ITO(Income Tax Officer) under Sec 8(1)(j) stating that info sought was of a personal nature and was not inthe larger public interest. The letter also stated that the application would be treated as a Grievance petition and action taken expeditiously.
I filed an appeal against this to the First Appellate Authority on the following grounds . I based my reasons for appeal on a judgement given by the delhi High Court which i found on this website and is reproduced below.
] Judgement of HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF DELHI
in WP(C) No. 3114/2007 decided on 03.12.2007 :
“………As is reflected in its preambular paragraphs, the enactment seeks to promote transparency, arrest corruption and to hold the Government and its instrumentalities accountable to the governed. This spirit of the Act must be borne in mind while construing the provisions contained therein. Access to information, under Section 3 of the Act, is the rule and exemptions under Section 8, the exception. Section 8 being a restriction on this fundamental right, must therefore is to be strictly construed. It should not be interpreted in manner as to shadow the very right itself.”
I also gave the following grounds for my appeal.
1.denial of information by the PIO(public Information Officer) amounted to denial of justice of a genuine grievance.
2.Transparency was lacking since no reason whatsoever was given for the inordinate delay.
3. the IT Dept and and its instrumentalities had not been accountable to the governed.
4. The letter of the law was being followed while the spirit of the law was being ignored.
5. This went against the High Court judgement qouted above.
6. The assessing officer had failed in carrying out one of his main functions which is to ensure that all taxpayers grievances are attended in time and redressed in a fixed time bound manner.
Within 20 days of the appeal cheques for the entire amount of approx Rs 3 lakhs were received by me in Regd Post/Speed post letters.
To strengthen my arguement, I had included following details downloaded from the IT Dept's website :
.
EXTRACTS FROM CITIZENS CHARTER (IT Dept Website):
WE BELIEVE :-
ØIn transparency and fairness.
ØIn encouraging and assisting taxpayers
WE AIM :-
ØTo redress/dispose off a complaint/grievance within two months from the end of the month of its receipt.
Functions of Assessing Officers . (Extract from IT website)
No 3 &4 are relevant.
(1)
1.Allotting PANs wherever required
2.Making IRLA operational and ensuring that all demands are entered into this system
3.Seeing that all tax payers grievances are attended in time and redressed in a fixed time bound manner
(1) 4. Ensuring timely collection of demands and issue of refunds.
5.Selection of cases for scrutiny in time and ensuring their timely disposal
6. Controlling all computer hardware and software of the range and ensuring its maintenance replacement and updating. Providing technical support
and guidance for operation of the computer system.
(1) 7.Taking all necessary steps for widening of the tax base.
(1) 8. Internal Audit functions.
9.Ensuring that appeal effects are given and central scrutiny
(1)reports are submitted in time.
10.Statutory functions.
St
(1)I would advise following steps to ensure refunds materialise quickly :
STEP I . Forward a grievance petition to the ITO where the IT Return has been filed. Wait for 60 days. This 60 day gap is required since IT dept has stipulated 60 days as time by which grievance petitions are to be disposed off.If no response-go to STEP II.
STEP II. File an application under RTI Act to concerned PIO (Public Information Officer). Usually it is the ITO of the concerned ward Where the IT Return has been filed. Make sure to state at the end of the application " If you are not the concerned officer, please forward it to the concernrd officer in accordance with Sec 6(1) of the Act. If no reply for 30 days, file an application to the first Appellate Authority. If info sought is denied under Sec 8(i)(j) then also appeal to First Appelate Authority stating grounds which i have listed earlier. Download forms available in this website for filing applications as these forms are comprehensive and the PIO cannot wriggle out on techncalities.
The refund will materialise.
Happy hunting.
Col S V Sundar
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by vijaygarge59 |
I think Information is the power.
and in true sense it is the confidence
we can serve humanity and nation through it.
thanks to rtiindia.org..
|
All About RTI RTI Buzz Forums Start A Thread | RTI News & Discussion |  False affidavit row: Court summons Athagarh... | |
As reported in expressbuzz.com on 11 March 2010:
False affidavit row: Court summons Athagarh MLA
False affidavit row: Court summons Athagarh MLA
SALEPUR: The sub-divisional Judicial Ma g i s t r at e (SDJM) , Athagarh, has summoned Athagarh MLA Ramesh Rout to the court on April 5. Hearing the case filed by Athagarh sub-collector-cum-retuning officer for Athagarh Assembly constituency Aravind Agrawal against Rout for allegedly filing a false affidavit, SDJM Saumendra Kumar Rajguru issued the summons notice to Rout.
According to reports, at the time of filing of nomination papers for Assembly poll on April 4, 2009, Rout had shown in his affidavit that he had passed Class IX from Biswanath Bidyapitha. After Rout won the election, one Siba Narayan Patnaik sought information under the RTI Act from Biswanath Bidyapitha and came to know that Rout was not at all a student of that school.
Alleging that Rout had filed a false affidavit, Patnaik then filed a case against Rout in Athagarh SDJM court.
Different petitions were also sent to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) as well as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Orissa. On the advice of CEC, the CEO then sought a report in this regard from the retuning officer. The returning officer conducted an inquiry and submitted a report to the CEO, finding Rout guilty. Acting on the direction of the CEO, Agrawal filed a case against Rout in Athagarh SDJM court on March 2.
The SDJM took cognisance of the matter on March 4 and issued notice to Rout through the Assembly secretary.
| | KPCL powerless to stop staff exodus | |
As reported by Niranjan Kaggare in bangaloremirror.com on 11 March 2010:
KPCL powerless to stop staff exodus, News - City - Bangalore Mirror,Bangalore Mirror
KPCL powerless to stop staff exodus
Hundreds of its engineers have been lured away over the past few years by lucrative private sector offers
Not enough in a time of power crisis that the state’s apex power generation body, Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd (KPCL), has to contend with shortages of water and coal, it is also losing its human ‘resources’ to the private sector. The alarming attrition rate — close to 400 engineers have quit over the past few years — has raised concerns over the state government’s ability to augment power production through new projects.
<script type="text/javascript" src="link inside type="text/javascript"> GS_googleAddAdSenseService("ca-pub-8048660860005691"); GS_googleEnableAllServices(); </script><script type="text/javascript"> GA_googleAddSlot("ca-pub-8048660860005691", "BM_ROS_468x60_Top"); </script><script type="text/javascript"> GA_googleFetchAds(); </script>
According to information obtained by Bangalore Mirror under the RTI Act from KPCL, the company — which has a proud, 100-year history of generating power in the state — faces a shortfall of around 300 engineers, while the current vacancies for engineers are around 265. The company has 665 engineers at various power generating stations across the state.
According to sources in KPCL, hefty pay packets offered by private power companies are luring away its engineers. The situation is compounded by the fact that the last pay revision for government engineers was in January 2004. Besides, the company has stopped recruitments since 2005. The exodus has had a cascading effect, with current staffers, especially junior engineers and assistant engineers, marking time before they bag a lucrative private sector offer, said a KPCL official.
A break-up of the vacancies reveals that 52 assistant electrical engineer’s posts, 41 assistant mechanical engineer’s posts,
72 junior electrical engineer’s posts, and 44 mechanical engineer’s posts are left unfilled in KPCL. In the last seven years, 95 engineers have quit while 276 engineers have decided to take voluntary retirement. In 2007 alone, as many as 50 engineers quit to join the private sector. In 2009, 11 engineers quit the company and 12 engineers took voluntary retirement.
The rash of resignations has affected the major generating stations more than the smaller ones. The Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS) at Shaktinagar, Raichur district, which generates close to half of the total electricity produced in the state, faces a shortfall of 86 engineers, including 27 electrical engineers. The Bellary Thermal Power Station (BTPS) is itself short of 48 engineers, including 24 electrical engineers.
The state’s hydro-electric stations have not been spared either. The Sharavathy Valley project in Shimoga has a shortfall of 45 engineers, including 28 electrical engineers. The Kali hydro electric project is short of 40 engineers, including 27 electrical engineers.
RUSH TO LEAVE
<table summary="" width="200" align="left" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td> Year
</td> <td> VRS
</td> <td> Resigned
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> 2003
</td> <td> 92
</td> <td> 04
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> 2004
</td> <td> 80
</td> <td> 03
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> 2005
</td> <td> 63
</td> <td> 04
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> 2006
</td> <td> -
</td> <td> 11
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> 2007
</td> <td> 10
</td> <td> 50
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> 2008
</td> <td> 19
</td> <td> 12
</td> </tr> <tr> <td> 2009
</td> <td> 12
</td> <td> 11
</td> </tr> </tbody> </table>
| | Contract workers’ records: Zagade promises action... | |
As reported in indianexpress.com on 10 March 2010:
Contract workers’ records: Zagade promises action against errant officials
Contract workers’ records: Zagade promises action against errant officials
The State Information Commissioner (SIC) recently passed an order that the commissioner of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will be held responsible if the departments of the civic body fail to maintain a record of contract labourers and their wages. The order passed by the SIC Commissioner (Pune division) Vijay Kuvalekar states that it is the responsibility of the PMC commissioner to ensure that all records pertaining to employees of private contractors executing its development projects are maintained.
“I am yet to receive the order. If I find department heads not keeping the record of contract labourers, strict action will be taken against them,” said PMC Commissioner Mahesh Zagadeon Tuesday.
The order came after the PMC failed to furnish information on the pending wages of 58 contract labourers of the water supply department. The order, passed on February 20, had asked the PMC to furnish the information about the contract labourers to SIC by March 5.
The PMC had given the contract to Surat-based Enviro Control Associates (India) Private Limited for constructing a sewage treatment plant near Bhairoba Pumping Station in the 1990s.
The 58 contract labourers have been working as valve men since 2001 and their last wages were Rs 3,675 per month. “According to the Minimum Wages Act, we should be getting Rs 7,500 per month,” said Raju Shelar, one of the contract labourers.
When the labourers decided to move the court, their counsel advocate Ajay Patil and Sachin Palse filed an RTI application in the PMC asking for records of their attendance and payment of salary, employment provident fund (EPF) and Employees State Insurance (ESI) given to the workers by the contractor. “The PMC furnished incomplete information in the beginning and later submitted the contractor’s reply of all the provisions of labour law being complied by it. We then filed an appeal with the Information Commissioner of Pune division saying the information furnished to him by the PMC was incorrect and contradictory to that obtained from the Provident Fund (PF) office in Surat,” Palse said. He said that the total outstanding amount to be paid to the 58 labourers between 2001 and 2009 was Rs 29.74 lakh.
| | What are the changes in upsc examination format... | |
What are the changes that the govt. of india has agreed to do in the UPSC examination format?
Pls specify...
| | What are the changes in the format of UPSC... | |
What are the changes that the govt. of india has agreed to make in the UPSC examination format?
pls specify..
| | RTI appeal on Hek filed | |
As reported in telegraphindia.com on 10 March 2010:
The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Northeast | RTI appeal on Hek filed
RTI appeal on Hek filed
Shillong, March 9: RTI applicant B.D. Wanshnong who had sought information on BJP legislator A.L. Hek’s joining the Congress, has again filed an appeal with the Assembly to provide him with the necessary papers after the latter rejected his first application on February 19.
The applicant wanted to verify the statements of Speaker Charles Pyngrope’s ruling which exempted Hek, the lone BJP legislator who joined the Congress, from the purview of the anti-defection rule.
Hek joined the Congress in June last year. Wanshnong hails from Pynthorumkhrah, Hek’s constituency.
| | Info panel's orders stayed | |
As reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com on 10 March 2010:
Info panel's orders stayed - Chandigarh - City - The Times of India
Info panel's orders stayed
CHANDIGARH: Justice K Kanan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday stayed till further directions the orders of December 4, 2009, and January 27 of Punjab Information Commission vide which the latter had asked Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to provide information sought by private respondents.
The SGPC, through its assistant secretary Avtar Singh of Chandigarh sub-office, had sought directions to stay the information commission orders which it argued were without jurisdiction and against the norms governing its minority education institution status.
While staying the information commission orders, justice K Kanan also issued notices for July 19 to Punjab chief secretary, state information commission, Kulvir Kaur, resident of Seervali village, Muktsar district, Gurbachan Singh Sohi of Sangrur and Harbir Singh of Charan Bagh, Patiala, asking them to file their response to the SGPC plea in the context of the RTI Act. <!-- google_ad_section_end --><script language="javascript">var zz=0;var sldsh=0; var bellyaddiv = '
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| | Over one lakh liquor bottles mount up at police... | |
As reported by Sameer Kumar Sharma in indianexpress.com on 09 March 2010:
Over one lakh liquor bottles mount up at police stations
Over one lakh liquor bottles mount up at police stations
Even Bachhus — the Greek God of liquor and intoxication—¿ may be taken by surprise when the statistics pertaining to the amount of liquor stored in different police stations as case properties is revealed. The total number of liquor bottles lying in different police stations of the city touches a whopping 70,625. These bottle— ¿ seized under the Excise A—t ¿have been lying at police stations as case properties. Some of these have been lying for over 20 years.
Information received under the Right to Information Act reveals that apart from the 70,000-odd liquor bottles, there are 2,381 half bottles and 12,869 quarters or nips stocked in all police stations put together. The number of pouches seized by the police adds up to 12,834. Date for the Sector 31 police station, however, is not available.
The maximum number of liquor bottles are lying at the Sector 39 police station whereas 40,625 bottles are lying at the Industrial Area police station .
The Chandigarh police registered as many as 234 cases under the Excise Act in 2008 and 245 cases in 2009.
“It is true that liquor seized under the Excise Act is stored in large quantities in different police stations, but it is also true that cops can only look at the ever-increasing quantity and never taste them,” a senior police officer remarked in a lighter vein while speaking about the ever-rising quantity of liquor in police stations.
The police seize illegally carried liquor under Sections 61, 1, 14 of the Excise Act. Seized liquor is then stored till the time the court comes to a decision on the case.
An officer said there was a need to develop a mechanism so that it became easier for the police to dispose off liquor in time.
| | Doctors recruitment scam by PPSC - reveals Tribune... | |
As reported by Chitleen K Sethi in tribuneindia.com on 06 March 2010:
The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Main News
MBBS in 11 yrs, but makes it to PPSC merit list
Chandigarh, March 6
An aspirant for a doctor’s job in Punjab — the selection process taken care of by the Punjab Public Service Commission — had done his MBBS from a private college in Maharashtra with 58.3 per cent marks. Let alone the low percentage, he took eleven long years (1993-2004) to complete his five-and-a-half-year duration medical course. PPSC result: Among top five!
link inside Another candidate seemed so sure of his prospects that just before the interview he switched over from the reserved category of sports, where he would have competed with only a handful, to the general category. PPSC result: Among top 10!
link inside Yet another aspirant cleared her MBBS with 57 per cent marks. Her attempt certificate reveals that she cleared her first prof exams of MBBS in two attempts, II in two attempts, III prof in five attempts and the final in three attempts, a total of 12 attempts instead of four. PPSC result: Among top 20!
These are a few of the surprising entries in the PPSC merit list of doctors — the list comprising of “chosen ones”, Punjab’s rich and powerful, desperate for the elusive government job. A Tribune investigation has found that the selection of 312 doctors last year by the PPSC was done through a process that barely veiled the intentions of those involved in the selection process, with 50 per cent marks allocated for the interview alone.
Sources have told The Tribune that the posts were up for sale and anything between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 20 lakh per post was gathered by several conduits across the state allegedly on behalf of those running the show at the PPSC.
The most used channel for the purpose, as per sources, was an ASI-level cop who worked in connivance with a revenue department official, who allegedly had an access to those who mattered. A senior vigilance bureau official, too, reportedly had his men contacting applicants, offering “competitive” rates.
Several senior doctors of the state, as also some candidates, are also said to have turned into “middlemen”. A former MLA of the state, it is alleged, charged a fee for getting names of certain candidates into the “sifarish list” — allegedly drawn up by the state’s political bigwigs.
Documents gathered under the RTI Act by The Tribune also show that the selected doctors include close relatives of judges, ministers, MLAs, IAS and IPS officers. The selections were made in two lots of 100 and 212 for which interviews were held between February and October last year.
The RTI documents reveal that PPSC’s merit list of the first lot of 100 medical officers was a collection of below-average students, many of whom had done their MBBS from private colleges in Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Nepal on a paid seat. Also, many of them had cleared their medical degree in several attempts and had failed in one or more subjects during the course.
While these candidates were selected, the meritorious ones, some of them even toppers in pre-medical entrance tests, colleges and universities, were ignored.
A “topper” scored a mere 57.4 per cent in MBBS. Yet another top-ranker, son of a bureaucrat, scored 58 per cent marks in MBBS, which he took six-and-a-half years to complete. An MBBS from Jammu University, with 56 per cent marks, also made it to the top ten positions.
PPSC chairman Sanjit Sinha could not be contacted. However, PPSC member Brig (Retd) DS Grewal said the commission had selected the medical officers through a proper process in which the interview boards left no room for any discrepancy. “No complaints whatsoever were received by the PPSC alleging that money had exchanged hands for filling up these posts.”
(To be concluded)
| | RTI papers reveals dilution in remediation... | |
As reported in expressbuzz.com on 09 March 2010:
link inside =
RTI papers reveals dilution in remediation stand
CHENNAI: Environmental organisations and activists have called for an inquiry into the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), based on RTI documents that indicate their alleged collusion with Hindustan Unilever in downgrading remediation standards for mercury contaminated sites in Kodaikanal.
“TNPCB and NEERI colluded with HUL to keep the public in the dark and dilute cleanup standards from the originally proposed 10mg/kg to 25mg/ kg of mercury in soil. This standard is 25 times lower than what Unilever adopts in its home country, the UK, which has a standard of 1mg/kg of mercury in soil for even residential areas,” says Rajagopal Durairaja of Tamil Nadu Alliance Against Mercury (TNAAM).
The result: more than 100 kg of mercury will now be left behind in the soil even after cleanup in the site, which is ecologically sensitive and houses 17 endemic species of plants. “The mercury factory lies entirely within the Pambar Shola watershed. Every drop of water from the factory drains out into the Pambar river, which gradually joins the Vaigai, an important source of drinking water, raising safety concerns,” says Nityanand Jayaraman, advisor to TNAAM.
Activists also allege a conflict of interest. “Even while serving as a member of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on mercury contamination in Kodaikanal by HUL, NEERI consented to serve as the company’s paid consultant, in a blatant display of conflict of interest and abuse of office. How can one expect stringent norms when the consulting authority itself is paid for by the company in question?” asks Jayaraman.
In a letter to TNPCB in 2005, the Supreme Court monitoring committee had expressed concern over HUL directly financing the consultant, which was not in keeping with the committee’s directions.
The dilution of standards, according to activists, happened over a period of time starting in 2005, when the existing public monitoring committee set up in 2001 with people’s representation by the then TNPCB chairman Sheela Rani Chungath, was sidelined and an experts’ committee comprising scientists alone took over.
| | | | Ask for RTI Query | | regarding shortlisting for interviews for 2010-12... | |
I Nikhil Bansal as a candidate for CAT 2009 wanted to query the final marks(after incorporating the marks of 10th, 12th, work exp., graduation etc.) along with the criteria for calculating the final scores, on which the shortlisting is done, of all the students who have been shortlisted for interviews.
| | pf withdrwal | |
Dear Sir
My self Himanshu Chandna , i have sent the pf withdrwal form to the mumbai office on 10 of march 2009 same was rejected by the pf office because correction in my father name .
Second Time i have send the pf form again on 22 october 2009 but till date i have not received any amount from the pf department after completing all the formalities neither they are picking phone since jan 2010.
Kindly suggest me the way to receive my pf amount.
| | First Appeal mandatory with same PA | |
I filled an RTI application with a PA seeking information on an illegal construction.I didn't get answer within 30 days.Now I want to file First Appeal.According to rules I have to file First Appeal with the same Authority.
But the problem is that I had several meetings with the top of this PA other top officers(one of them also being the PIO) regarding this illeagal construction before filling RTI application. So I am sure that my First Appeal with the same authority wont bring any result.
Is it mandatory to file First Appeal with the same Authority?
The said PA is a small municipality in West Bengal.
Can I File First Appeal to District Information Commission or to District Magistrate or to State Municipal Affairs Ministry?
| | For Information | |
Dear sir,
Iam Srikanth from Guntur.I have applied for passport in the year of 2007.At that time iam studying BTech final year.police verification is done.he has canceled my passport because of iam not submitted my BTech study certificate in the passport application.Only i mentioned intermediate and 10th certificates.and all other like residence proof,photo identity,house hold card all are submitted.Thats why my passport has rejected for the first time.
Now i want fresh passport for further studies in abroad.Then how much penaulty will be applied for the new passport?
And let us know if any issues regarding this.
Awaiting for your reply.
Thank you,
Srikanth.
| | need rti form | |
hi all,
can you let me know how to ownload rti form
| | helo | | | | procedure of asking for fees return | |
hello there,
i was selected in mba-hr program in amity university for the batch commencing from july 2010.they asked me to pay an amount of Rs.3,43,000.by this march 15th. but as i have applied for other colleges and have to attend their interviews also. i'm not sure whether to stick on to this university. what will happen if i have paid this amount but later on withdrawn my admission and ask for repayment of fees? what amount will be deducted from the fee.when i asked the same they said it will be done according to ugc rules and norms but when i referred to the act i couldnt find any information regarding this please help me providing the necessary information as soon as possible 'cauz i'm getting tensed here??????
| | Provide information | | | | Need passenger list | |
I NEED A PASSENGER LIST OF WHO ARE TRAVELL IN Flight# WY 212
Oman Aviation Flight# WY 212 Thiruvananthapuram (TRV),India
Departs:14 Mar, 07:20 AM to Muscat (MCT),Oman
Arrives: 14 Mar, 09:30 AM
Aircraft: 738 : Economy : Duration: 3hr 40min
| | gme reply | |
how can i find out the adress of the person with thier mobile num
| | Start A Thread |
| RTI Success Stories | | RTI Works (my experience) | |
Hi,
this is Ajai Vikrama Singh...
My father, Ret. Chairman - Regional Rural Bank and Ret. AGM - U.P. Co-operative Bank LKo., died on Nov. 26th 2008. He owned a SBBL gun with a license. After his death I applied for a gun license(death case) on 27th of Jan. 2009 for keeping his gun as a responsibility he left out as the other assets and family members, cause i'm the only son in the family.
I spent more than 11 months for tracing out the proceedings of my requisition suddenly RTI flashes in my mind Like a MANTRA. I write an application under the RTI act 2005 to know the proceedings regading to my Arms License application, on 19th of Dec. 2009. On 24/02/2010 I've got informed that all the reports and papers works related to my application has been completed now i can represent my self before the District Magistrate of the city to ask for a License.
This is only possible with help of The RTI ................
| | MY EPF Claim - Hyderabad EPFO | |
I have claimed my EPF amount by sending the forms to my employer on 19/Dec/2009 duly filled through courier.
Today my employer confirms that he has already sent the forms to the PF Office for process. Now how will I know on what date the PF office in Hyderabad will send the cheque or DC to my Bank in chennai. I could n't get information in EPFO site for claims in Hyderabad office.
Kindly help me as to what I should do now? I have checked my bank account also. I did not receive my PF amount till now.
| | CIC directed CAW Cell, Delhi to supply details of... | |
Hi
My wife filed complaint against me in CAW Cell and upon completeion of enquiry by CAW Cell , Nanak Pura and upon its reccomandation and FIR was registered u/s 498a/406.
I filed RTI asking them to proivde the details whether as per some circular whether IO asked for source of Stridhan in the form of Bills as well as source of income to purchase the same before reccomending FIR.
PIO and AA CAW Cell denied the info.
I filed Appeal in CIC. There representative of CAW Cell orally stated that in this case chargesheet submitted in court and hence my appeal dismissed that I can get the info from Court.
Wherease while approaching court next day found the no chargshee is available in court. So I filed RTI to CAW and Concerned PIO of case asking them the details with certified copy of doucment relied while giving oral statement in CIC.
I also filed one RTI to CIC that under what rule cic accepted oral statement in the absence of any supporting document and action on the concerned officer for abusing the provision if no rule exists. I also raised the point that why my decisions has not been released on CIC website and inform the action taken on negligent staff for not displaying the info on CIC web site. I used Life and Liberty clause.
Within 7 days I received the copy of CIC decision in my favor asking CAW Cell to release full info.
But they said no info is available that why it is not updated on CIC Website.
Vijay Naru:)
| | RECOVERED Rs.5000/-FROM BANK THOUGH RTI | |
A leading public sector bank had recovered Rs.10000/- from account of my friend’s son towards various service charges while closing the account in Nov 2009. The bank did not respond to normal channels of redressal of complaint. At my guidance, RTI application was filed on 07-12-2009 followed by first appeal for no reply on 07-02-2010. On 05-03-2010 bank contacted him and requested him to collect refund of Rs.5000/- and withdraw RTI application and first appeal.
RTI does work.
| | Success Story for IT fefund due from AY 1996-97... | |
Friends,
I am following RTI Act and this website since long but did not had courage to write under the same. However, few days back after having frustation with the Income Tax Dept, I wrote an application on 01.03.2010 for the refunds.
Surprisingly, just after 2 days i.e on 03.03.2010, I recd a letter from ITO saying they do not have the records and requests to send the duplicate return copy and a bond and they will refund immediately.
I am thankful to this forum.
| | 2007 Scholarship D.D received from CBSE | |
Central Board of Secondary Education is sanctioning scholarships to those students who got good ranks in AIEEE and pursue higher studies. A girl from Guntur got selected for sanction of scholarship in AIEEE, 2005 and 1st year scholarship amount of Rs.12,000-00 was received through demand draft since she joined in Engineering. In the 2nd year, scholarship was renewed but she did not get the demand draft. But 3rd and 4th year scholarship amounts received promptly. She wrote many letters to CBSE. No reply received. As the matter came to my notice, I searched the website of CBSE list of cheques/drafts which were returned by postal department. Not finding the name of the girl in the returned list, I preferred a RTI application in the name of her father to the CBSE in the month of November, 2009. Within 30 days, a reply received stating that the demand draft was not encashed by any one and advised to submit an Indemnity Bond to the Bank duly enclosing the format of the Indemnity Bond. Immediatrely the Indemnity Bond was submitted to CBSE. In Feb, 2010, the father of the girl received a duplicate D.D for Rs. 12,000-00 which is encashed.
The father of the girl who has no hope of getting the amount pertaining to the year 2007 received the amount with the help of RTI Act only.
| | Goc (gazetted officers certificate) | |
Dear Ambrish.p /Kushal,
Thanks i got in ur email but i was not satisfied with your reply u just directed me to the site without reading my post clearly i just asked u IS A MUNICIPAL COUNCILLOR A GAZETTED OFFICER.
I M ATTACHING A DOCUMENT FOR YOUR REF. AND PLS TELL ME IS THIS A VALID DOCUMENT GO THROUGH IT CAREFULLY. WILL PAN CARDS BE ISSUED ON THIS DOCUMENT WHEN ATTACHED AS ADDRESS PROOF AND IDENTITY PROOF.
is the attached document valid and in the site u directed did the website of nsdl mentioned that municipal councillor is a gazetted officer do let me know and email me correct link
ALSO PLS LET ME KNOW Y WAS THE THREAD CLOSED without proper reply if ur work is directing then my visitin ur website was useless wat do u both moderaters say reply
| | New Ration Card in chennai......Success | |
Dear Friends,
I would like to share my experience while obtaining a new ration card in chennai.
I had applied for new ration card in thiruvottiyur civil supplies office in chennai in the month of september. I had to submit mine and my wife's deletion certificate and my son's birth certificate along with the application. I had obtained my deletion certificate from mumbai, it was in marathi language and the name was also not written completely. It was not accepted by them. They asked me to get it in english. But, going back to mumbai and getting the certificate again was impossible for me then.
After enquiring with other officers in the ration office, i came to know that i can bring a true translation of the deletion certificate on an affidavit duly stamped and signed by any NOTARY PUBLIC who is a lawyer, you'll get many at high court. I had to pay Rs. 200 for the affidavit.
I could attach it along with my deletion certificate. i had to produce an address proff for which i used the postal address proof card provided by indian post office. After submission they gave me a slip (kind of acknowledgement card).
I was told that i will get the ration card in 60 days. It was nearing 60 days but no official came from ration office for verification which is supposed to happen after 10-15 days of form submission. Exactly on 61st day i sent them RTI application. I got information on ration offices in chennai, heads of ration offices from following links:
link inside link inside link inside link inside
Exactly on 30th day from RTI application date, officer arrived at my residence for verification. He verified our details and signed on the slip marking completion of verification process. Now the next step was only to get the ration card. The officer told me that after verification they send the details for ration card printing which takes generally takes more than a month (It depends on the printing dept.). On 1st of february i got an email from ration card office (CIVIL SUPPLIES AND CONSUMER PROTECTION DEPARTMENT) that my ration card is ready and i have to collect it after 15 days. Fortunately, i got my card in my hands on 16th feb as mentioned by them without further delay.
I forgot to mention that, the officer came for verification to our residence explicitly mentioned that it is because i applied for RTI, they came so early for verification else it would have taken months and months. Anyway i got my card.
For all those who would like to apply for ration card in chennai, i would like you to ensure the following things:
1). If you do not have anything to be used as an address proof. immediately apply for postal address proof card. You will get it in may be 15-20 days
2). While obtaining deletion certificate, ask the officer to provide it in english necessarily. Ensure that your names are written correctly and completely (FIRSTNAME MIDDLENAME(father) LASTNAME(surname))
3). Immediately after 60 days apply for RTI. Dont forget to attach the acknowledment slip. Unlike other government organizations which take Rs.10, civil supplies needs Rs.50 DD in favour of "Public Information officer, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department"
You'll get the address of your nearest ration office in the above links.
While applying for RTI you can use the same format available in this website, modify it little bit for ration card. I am attaching my application.
During this whole process i strongly felt that there should be a way to apply for RTI along with the application (let them take some extra money) but time to time update should be sent to us instead of making us wait for the stipulated time for applying for the RTI.
This is the second time i used RTI successfully, the first was for my passport from lucknow paasport office which i got after 9 months of application (after 1 month of RTI application) as if they were delivering a baby.
I would like to mention that i did not spend even a penny as a bribe........Thanks to RTI
| | Refund of security amount (from RTO alwar... | |
i was dealer of 2 wheeler in alwar rajsathan , as my 2 wheeler company stop the production , i surrendered my trade certificate by paying all my dues as i stopped the selling of vehicles . in self registration categary i deposit 25000 thousand as security and i applied for refund to RTO alwar in june 2006 and i followup the matter by sending reminders and personnel visit . in the mean time i was busy with some other business asingments but follow up was continuee
after joing the rti india and read so much material i applied in RTI act why my refund is pending . local office replied that your sanction was not recived from jaipur head office of RTO rajathan , i filed one RTI application in jaipur office after 1st appeal i got my refund as jaipur office send senction and alwar (local office) cleared and moved the file in 2/days now i got my refund in 5 months after filling RTI application .
thanks to rti india and mr kushal pahtak and form all helped me
i will take advantage to get work done throught RTI act
still government official have not changed their atitude and they try to stop to give information by lot of if and buts
anil nakra
alwar rajasthan
| | Income Tax Refund success after 13 years - Reason-... | |
My RTI application
Quote
Sub:Information request under RTI act, 2005
Ref: Income-tax return Ack No.xxxx filed on xxxx, Asst yr.1996-97
Sir,
I, Mr. xxxxxx, citizen of India, request the following...
1) Kindly provide certified copies of the follow-up papers for the abovementioned return.
2) Kindly provide the name and designation of the Assesing Officer of Ward 4 who signed the intimation u/s 143(1)(A) dated xxxx 97 (sent to me).
3) Kindly provide the name of the Officer who was supposed to process my refund.
4) Kindly provide the name of the Officers who have not processed my refund, that were supposed to and details of action taken on this Officer(s).
5) If the papers for my refund are not available, kindly provide the photocopy of the file movement register or any such register, that contains the last entry of these papers.
6) If the papers are destroyed, kindly provide a copy of the rules under the provisions of which, records of my refund due from your office, are treated as such.
7) Kindly provide the certified copies of the follow-up papers on my reply dated xxxx-2009 to your ref No. xxxxxx.
Charges as applicable for the copies, will be paid.
Bankers cheque of Rs.10/- towards the application fee is atteched.
Thanking you,
Unquote
In seven days of this RTI query, ITax office sent me a letter
Quote
...It is requested to furnish a copy of your return income for the A. Y. xxxx-xx and an Indemonity Bond for non-receipt of refund so as to enable me to process your claim.
Your compliance is requested on or before 24-02-2010.
Yours faithf.....
Unquote
This is definitely a quick success due to RTI.
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