Gujarat information panel scores well above Central one: Kejriwal

[ganpat1956]

Ahmedabad, April 7: All praises for the Gujarat State Information Commission (GSIC), Arvind Kejriwal, noted Right To Information Act(RTI) activist and Ramon Magsaysay 2006 award winner, said that 70 per cent of RTI applications are filed by government employees _mostly regarding promotion or dues_ which illustrates that the government is the worst employer in the country.

Stressing on making RTI more accessible to people in the next phase, Kejriwal said that in Bihar people can file petitions under the RTI Act on telephone, fee for which is later added to the phone bill. While the Central Information Commission is struggling hard to live upto the expectations of people, GSIC tops the performance score, he said.

According to Kejriwal, GSIC leads the performance chart among other state information commissions.


Kejriwal, who was in city on Saturday, told Newsline that he also met with the State Information Commissioner and State Chief Secretary.

“While the State Chief Secretary was lukewarm in his response, State Information Commissioner R N Das appeared very proactive,” Kejriwal said.

“He has also passed some very good orders, which is not so easy in other states,” he added. “Das had told us that so far, he has not come across any kind of pressure or interference from any department or political party as far as the functioning of the commission is concerned,” Kejriwal said. “There might have been cases of some orders which were not quite satisfactory for petitioner,” he said, adding that in such a situation, the civil society need to ‘constructively engage itself with the SIC to further the right use of the act.’ “With a proactive person like Das as SIC, I don’t think there there should be any problem in dialogue here,” he added.

Elaborating on the act’s use, Kejriwal said that 70 per cent of petitions are still being filed by the government employees.

“Mostly such petitions are filed regarding their promotion or dues, which only shows that the government is the worst employer in the country,” Kejriwal added.

Citing the ‘popular’ Bihar experiment, he said that one needs to call up the given number, seek the requisite information and give their name and address.

The query is recorded in the call centre set up by the state government and serves as a petition. Fees for the petition is added to the phone bill, he said. “Now, we are advocating such a facility which would make the act accessible to illiterates as well,” he added.

Gujarat information panel scores well above Central one: Kejriwal

[Dr.R.K.D.Goel]

29.06.2008.
No doubt that Mr R.N.Das GSCIC IS PASSING GOOD ORDERS BUT HE IS ALSO NOT GIVING ORDERS / JUDGMENTS IN SEVERAL CASES. My RTI APPEALS JUDGMENTS IN THREE CASES ARE PENDING, AS STATED BELOW. Dr. R.K.D.GOEL, VADODARA.
From: Dr.R.K.D.Goel <rkdgoel@aol.com>
To: gscic@gujarat.gov.in

Cc: secrev@gujart.gov.in; securban@gujarat.gov.in; vmccomm@gmail.com; rkdgoel@aol.com; vmssdymc@gmail.com; csguj@gujarat.gov.in

Subject: REQUEST TO THE Hon. GSCIC TO PASS FINAL ORDERS IN THE MATTER OF Dr.R.K.D.Goel VS REVENUE Deptt. AND VADODARA MAHANAGAR SEVA SADAN VADODARA.
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 5:10 pm
Attachments: Appeal_to_GSCIC-1-_KH=22.02.2006.doc (26K), 24-RTI=25.05.2007=_Revenue_deptt_Dy.Secretary_L_Br.do c (81K), 211007=WILL_NOT_ATTEND_THE_Hon_Commision_on_22.10. 2007.doc (42K), 240308=To_PIO_Rev_Deptt_for_FILE_Notings..doc (39K), 050607=Reply_of_PIO_letter_datted_18.5.07_to_GSCI. doc (38K), 261007=reply_of_1845_to_comm._to_attend_on_291007. doc (33K), 180907=UNDER_PROTEST_I_WILL_NOT_ATTEND_THE_HEARING _OF_Hon.doc (38K), 121007=letter_to_CS_for_File_Notings.doc (77K), CIC_FILE_notings.doc (29K), 010108=R_in_RTI_now_means_redressal.doc (39K)
FORUM OF WHISTLE BLOWERS OF INDIA
Association of Fearless, Courageous, Intelligent, Honest, Citizens with Vision, Credibility & Integrity
Fighting against Corruption in India is like Committing Suicide. - We are one of them. - Join Us.
President-Dr. R.K.D.Goel, 1414-A, Akasdeep Soc., behind Akaswani, Makarpura Rd. Vadodara 390 009
Ph: 0265- 2647677 E-mail: // rkdgoel@aol.com // rkdgoel@yahoo.com // drrkdgoel@hotmail.com
14.06.2008
To
Respected Mr. R.N.Das IAS
Hon’ble Gujarat State Chief Information Commissioner.

I personally congratulate the Hon. Gujarat information Commission for their bold, important and historical orders / Judgments of RTI Act 05 in favor of an applicant against the State Govt. and its bureaucrats.
Recent orders of the Hon'ble Commission in the case of Mr. Rajeev Gupta IAS to give his property details has made a land mark Judgment in Gujarat.
It is requested to please pass orders / Judgments on my pending appeals with the Hon. Commission.
My appeals are heard by the Commission with both the parties in October, 2007. But till date the orders are pending.
My appeals were against the Revenue deptt. Govt. of Gujarat and Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan Vadodara.
Thanking you
Yours truly,
Dr.R.K.D.Goel
As reported by Amit Gupta in telegraphindia.com on 14 June 2008:
The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Frontpage | RTI rap to cost varsity 4 lakh
RTI rap to cost varsity 4 lakh
- PIO fined Rs 40,000 for withholding information
Ranchi, July 13: The state information commission has slapped a fine of Rs 40,000 on Ranchi University and its former public information officer for withholding information on RTI applications filed by two professors alleging they had been superseded in promotions.
In his order, state information commissioner Gangotri Kujur also ruled that the professors, Amitabh Hore and P.N. Pandey, who sought information from the varsity on the method it adopted to determine seniority, be compensated by paying Rs 2 lakh each. While the compensation amount was to be borne by RU, Kujur said the fine of Rs 40,000 was to be deducted from the salary of the former PIO, Sudhandhu Kumar Verma.
Kujur told The Telegraph the university was refusing to answer the queries on frivolous grounds and the PIO was dilly-dallying. “After being denied information by RU’s information cell, Hore approached us in August 2007. We gave RU nine chances to provide the information.
But we cannot wait indefinitely. So we took the punitive action,” she said.
The issue too was serious, Kujur said. “Given that RU has a bad name… seniority is being decided on fake and frivolous grounds by top university officials from time to time for decades in lieu of nepotism and financial kick-backs,”
she added.
At the centre of the professors’ query was the 2005 promotion of K.N. Dubey as head of the postgraduate zoology department. This was challenged by the two, both in the same department, in 2006 alleging they had been unfairly superseded as they were senior to dubey .
Before that, Pandey had approached Governor Syed Sibtey Razi’s office — the RU chancellor — on September 29, 2005. Later, he moved the Jharkhand High Court even alleging that Dubey’s recruitment as teacher in 1973 was through unfair means. The court, however, referred the matter back to the chancellor
Both Hore’s and Pandey’s querries to RU centred around whether the chancellor’s rules had been adopted to judge seniority — known as the substantive date of appointment as recommended by the state service commission.
They also sought to know how the name of a teacher was allegedly “interpolated in the list of teachers supposed to be appointed temporarily by the then vice-chancellor in 1973”.
RU teachers welcomed the information commission’s ruling in their favour. “Different standards were being adopted in promotion of teachers,” rued a senior professor demanding a thorough inquiry into the matter
While Hore and Pandey may have got the information commissioner on their side, their dispute with the university was far from over. The chancellor’s office is yet to rule in the matter.
Re: RTI rap to cost varsity 4 lakh
Such decisions will make others take RTI seriously and common man will be benefited. It will improve system of the public authority. Nice to have such decisions. Hats off to SIC.
JOURNEY OF COMMON MAN OF INDIA FROM 'BECHARA' 2 'MALIK' THRO RTI! permalink


jps50
Re: RTI rap to cost varsity 4 lakh permalink

14.06.2008

This is an excellent order / Judgment of the Bihar Chief Information Commission.

But in Gujarat though Mr. R.N.Das IAS, Chief Information Commissioner has passed several land mark and historical orders / Judgments in favor of RTI applicants against the State of Gujarat ant its IAS bureaucrats. But he is not giving any orders / Judgments in my RTI Act 05 applications cases related to the Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan Vadodara and the Revenue department of State Gujarat govt.

He has heard the appeals and both the parties in October 2007 but till date not giving any orders / Judgments. The reasons are best known to him only. My all the applications are of Public interest only and nothing for any my personal complaints / grievances

If the Commission will dispose my applications, Mr. R.N.Das Hon. GSCIC feel it will expose the rampant corruption going on in the Municipal Corporation of Vadodara. Mr. R.N.Das IAS was the Municipal Commissioner of Vadodara from 1995 to 1997 & GHB Commissioner from 1997. My quires of RTI Act 2005 applications are related from 1995 onward.

I request through this column to request Mr. R.N.Das Hon’ble Gujarat State Information Commissioner to please pass orders in my pending applications for which I and Vadodara citizens will be highly thank full to the Hon'ble Information Commission of Gujarat.

Dr.R.K.D.Goel, Vadodara. President Forum of Whistle-Blowers of India. Ph:0265-2647677, Mobile:9427341041-E-mail-rkdgoel@aol.com; drrkdgoel@hotmail.com;rkdgoel@yahoo.com


POST COPY OF MY E-MAIL Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 5:10 pm