Chief Minister’s office (Maharashtra ) paying nearly Rs. 8 lakh a month to eight officers on special duty: An RTI query filed by activist Anil Galgali has revealed that the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) incurs a monthly expenditure of Rs. 7.7 lakh to pay the officers on special duty (OSD). Galgali feels that the performance of these officers ought to be evaluated and appraised to justify the remuneration.
The CMO, however, feels these OSDs are discharging important duties. “All these officers have contributed immensely in various projects and flagship programmes of the government and the chief minister monitors their performance personally”, the CMO reacted in a written note. It mentioned that governance programmes, such as Aaple Sarkar, Right to Services Act and War Room that led to “good and speedy governance” were handled by OSDs.
The state is also using modern communication platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp. These candidates are handling it for the government to make the state schemes and decisions reach out to people. The OSDs have played an important role in the recent Make in India Week. The CMO still has vacancy for two OSDs.
‘Make In India’ logo designed by foreign firm
The logo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much-hyped Make in India initiative, which aims to brand India as a manufacturing hub is designed by a foreign company’s Indian arm, reveals an RT I query. Replying to query by a Madhya Pradesh-based activist, Chandra Shekhar Gaur, Union Commerce and Industry ministry replied, “No tenders were invited for designing Make in India logo. In 2014-15, tenders were invited by the ministry for appointing a creative agency. And on the basis of this tender, Weiden+Kennedy India Limited, was chosen”.
While replying to another query, the ministry informed that Weiden+Kennedy India Limited was hired for Rs. 11 crore for advertising and promotion of Make In India campaign, for 3 years — Rs. 4.32 crore for financial year 2014-15, Rs. 3.6 crore each for 2015-16 & 2016-17, said the reply in the last week of December.
Speaking to TO I, Gaur said, “It feels good to hear about ‘Make in India’ and the campaign also talks good about our country. It’s a good initiative, but it would have been better and sent a stronger message if this was done by an Indian firm. There is no dearth of creative talent in India.”
HC refuses info under RTI for want of manpower
The Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Madras High Court Bench has refused to furnish information sought for by an advocate under the RT I Act, since “it is not readily available and collection of the same involves verification of voluminous records and huge manpower which is not possible.”
K. H. Elavazhagan, Registrar (Administration)-cum- PIO of the Bench, had said so in a written reply sent to the RT I applicant, A. Kannan, who had sought details of private cases filed by law officers representing the State government before their appointment to the posts of Special Government Pleader, Additional Public Prosecutor and Government Advocate in June 2011.
10 Janpath bigger than PM’s 7 RCR
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has one of the largest residences among politicians in the country, bigger than even the Prime Minister’s official abode at 7 Race Course Road in size. President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari are the only others who can boast of set-ups more palatial than the politically potent 10 Janpath. But while Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Vice- President’s residence and 7 RCR are official residences, Gandhi’s home at 10 Janpath is specifically allotted to her, irrespective of her status as Member of Parliament. The Gandhi residence is spread over 15,181 sq. m. while the Prime Minister’s is smaller at 14,101 sq. m., according to the Central Public Works Department.
Apex Court refuses to share pending ruling data
Fifteen years after its verdict that the confidence of litigants would be shaken if judgments were kept pending for years, the Supreme Court recently refused to share information under the RT I Act on the cases reserved for judgment. It also dismissed a plea to maintain the data on its pending judgments and make the information public under the RT I Act.
Closing the option for litigants and public-spirited persons to know details of cases which have been waiting endlessly for final decision, even though arguments are long over, the apex court refused to interfere with a Delhi High Court decision which said the court registry could not be directed to collect information on how long judgments on cases remained pending under the Right to information Act.
After a case is heard by a court, it reserves its verdict in the case. There is a certain time gap between this and declaration of the court’s decision or judgment. The case remains pending till the judgment is delivered. However, the Supreme Court’s refusal to be made accountable under the RT I Act is despite the Central Information Commission (CIC) ruling to disclose the number of pending or “reserved” judgments.
60% of discretionary fund used for Karnal, Gurgaon ignored
Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar had released Rs. 14.30 crore for the state in 2014-15 under the discretionary fund. However, an RT I reply from the government has revealed that it has not spent a penny of this fund in Gurgaon.
The government in its reply said Rs. 8.76 crore, a whopping 60% of the entire amount was spent in Karnal, the CM’s constituency.
Chief Ministers’ discretionary fund is meant to provide immediate relief during calamities, disasters and other similar incidents when the other government machinery is slow and bound by rules and regulations. The apex court in 2011 had upheld this quota stating that the power of the chief minister to give monetary relief was power accompanied with duty.
While the funds in the CM’s discretionary quota are meant exclusively for an emergency, what is surprising is that Khattar has bestowed a major part of his largesse to only six villages in Karnal for development work.
