Travel on Delhi Buses:
Data accessed through RTI has revealed that around 600 drivers of Delhi Buses are reportedly colour blind but are in service with the help of fake medical certificates. The issue has been highlighted by Information Commissioner M. Sridhar Acharyulu to Delhi CM Arvind Kejariwal.
RTI extortionists
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has prepared a list of 77 regular complainants who file bulk applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, seeking details of building plans to allegedly extort money from property owners.
The P-North Malad ward office has compiled a list of individuals who send RTI applications seeking details of under-construction or existing buildings and shops. Ward officials have received complaints from shop-owners that these applicants then demand money from them or threaten them with action.
“Minor irregularities such as putting up a grill or extension of a shop’s entrance by a few feet can be demolished by the BMC or regularized after paying a penalty. But these professional complainants extort money in exchange of a promise that no BMC action will be initiated on the structure,” said a civic official from the ward.
Worse, in case ward officials initiate action against the structures, these very complainants write to politicians and municipal commissioners against their initiative.
He added that while RTI is a useful tool, several individuals have started misusing it. “We conducted this exercise since it is getting difficult for us to differentiate between genuine RTI applications and frivolous ones. After the list was prepared, these 77 people have stopped sending in their application.”
Pay Rs. 55.43 lakh to get information!
Two senior regional transport officials in Thane face disciplinary action for demanding a “fee” of Rs. 55.43 lakh for providing information that is supposed to be given out free of cost under the Right to Information Act.
The complainant, Anil Mahadik, filed an RTI application at the regional transport office, seeking details of the number of autos and permit-holders in Thane. All it required for Public Information Officer I S Muzumdar, who is the Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Dole was to take a printout of the details-73,993 autos of which 36,887 had permits-which were readily stored in their computers, and hand them over to Mahadik. Instead, the two officials chose to harass the RTI applicant and demanded Rs 55.43 lakh from him as a fee for the information that they promised to compile in a CD.
After being apprised of the incident, Chief Information Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad rebuked Muzumdar and Dole for “irresponsible behaviour and ignorance of law” while disposing the RTI application by Mahadik. He directed transport commissioner V N More to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the two RTO officials and inform his office of the action by next month. Also ruling that the information should be provided to Mahadik free of cost and that all RTOs should display details of vehicles in their areas on their websites. Gaikwad told More to comply with the orders and submit a compliance report to his office.
(From the Times of India dated 24.01.2014)
