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PART C: Information on & Around
RTI activist stabbed in Ahmadabad:
Another Tragedy
An RTI activist, known for his opposition to various illegal activities in Juhapura area of Ahmadabad was hacked to death. Nadeem Saiyed, 38, who was also an eyewitness in the Naroda Patia riots case, was stabbed 25 times with a butcher’s knife and axes.
The gruesome murder has once again sparked off a controversy about policing in the state. Saiyed was also suspected of being a police informer. He is believed to have informed senior police officers that the people who were arrested following a recent incident in which a police vehicle was torched while trying to rescue cows brought for slaughter in Juhapura, were not the real culprits.
The sources said that because of Saiyed’s past of exposing criminals, the real motive behind the murder could be of eliminating him from Juhapura for good.
RTI Impact:
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said that he does not take decisions in haste as, “I am aware that I have to face the Right to Information Act.”
A decade ago, there were no problems but now, one moves with caution. “There is cautiousness in the administration. Nobody is willing to take a decision,” he added.
Post mortem Centre at JJ Hospital, Mumbai:
A STARTLING expose made by an ‘aam aadmi’ using the Right to Information Act, has revealed that the chief of postmortem centre at JJ Hospital has been neglecting his primary responsibility at the hospital and instead, has been running a private hospital in Badlapur. Moreover, he continues to derive benefits of the Non Practicing Allowance (NPA)while he is busy treating patients at his private hospital.
Fed up with the delay in securing an autopsy report of a deceased relative who was admitted at JJ hospital in April, Asad Patel, a resident of Jogeshwari, decided to investigate the reason for this delay.
Having decided to expose Rathod, Patel got admitted at the Rathod Hospital in Balapur on April 27, complaining of tension and chest pain. According to Patel, Dr. Rathod personally treated him and had carried out an ECG and a blood test. Patel was later discharged after paying Rs. 750.
After collecting various documents from Dr. Rathod’s hospital, Patel filed an RTI query, enquiring about Rathod’s presence in the hospital on April 27. Patel was in for a rude shock as the hospital authorities in their reply stated that Dr. Rathod was present at the hospital on April 27, and was even paid Rs. 7,368 as NPA.
Following this revelation, Patel lodged a complaint against Dr. Rathod on August 24 with Health Minister Suresh Shetty, demanding action against the doctor.
“I have also learnt that Dr. Rathod visits the hospital just once a week and is bribing the clerks to mark his attendance for the remaining working days,” alleged Patel.
Penalty on PIOs:
The central Information Commission is handling babus with “Kid gloves” for not providing information within the prescribed timeframe or flouting rules of the Right to Information Act, statistics have revealed. Under the Act, the information commissioner can impose a penalty or order compensation and disciplinary action against erring public information officers.
Since 2006-07, the CIC has imposed penalties in only 648 cases (less than 1%) under the Act, even though it has disposed of 75,284 appeals/complaints out of 94,209 since 2006-07. Of these 648 cases, the CIC recovered penalties in only 532 cases in five years, amounting to around Rs.60 lakh. Thus, the CIC is yet to recover penalties in 18% cases.
The CIC sanctioned compensation in only 134 cases in six years. In 22 cases, disciplinary action against the chief public information officer (CPIO) was sanctioned.
Part D : RTI & SUCCESS STORIES
Mr. Dhiraj Rambhai’s success story
WHAT A SURPRISE! THINGS WHICH WERE NOT DONE IN 90 DAYS GOT DONE IN 9 MINUTES
Government departments which were working at lesiure at tortoise speed have started working at hare speed due to RTI ACT, 2005. Here is one more example.
Kanti Gada & Priti Gada stay at Mulund Vinanagar having business of plastic drum manufacturing.
They own a farm house in the outskirts of Mumbai at Asangaon district, Thane. On 5th June 2011 due to heavy rains the wires supplying electricity to their farm house got short circuited and the power supply to their farm house was cut as safety mea-sures. After 2-3 days when the weather was normal Preeti Gada requested local MSEDCL office to re-store the supply but no action was taken on their repeated complaints. They lodged the complaint in writing 5-6 times but it went to files only and their farm house remained in dark for almost three months. One fine day they read one of the success story of the RTI in Dhiraj Rambhia column ‘JAN JAGE TO SAVAR’ on the RTI in Gujarati news paper MUMBAI SAMACHAR. Inspired by the column they approached TARUN MITRA MANDAL, Thane RTI guidance centre on 27th August. After listening to Preeti Gada’s problem, Thane centre volunteers prepared the RTI application asking for the information on (1) steps taken on Preetiben’s earlier complaints (2) the reasons recorded regarding delay in action on complaints (3) the name and designation of the officer responsible for the delay in action. On 28th August, Priti Gada went to local MSEDL office to submit the application, When the officer in the office read the application his fuse got blown. He immediately pleaded to Priti Gada not to make the application and immediately phoned the concerened line men to connect the electric supply Thus, action which was not taken for 90 days was done in 9 minutes.
