Re: [HumJanenge] Success Story of RTI Activism in Orissa

As you belong the state of Karnataka, I will be glad if you post
sucess stories of Karnataka.

On 10/8/11, SHASHI KUMAR.A.R. <rudreshtechnology@gmail.com> wrote:
> Mr. Pradip Pradhan
>
> Dont think the facts narrated by you with reference to Orrissa Information
> commission is more or less equal to Karntaka information commission , In
> karnataka information the complainants have to wait more than 6 months and
> more than 20000 applications pending before the commission , Here each
> information commissioner is working in his own style , some of them starts
> at 11 am , but chief information commissioner starts at 11-45 am , Most of
> them not hearing the cases in the afternoon , Each information commissioner
> is hearing around 12 to 15 cases per day , but some of them
> finish the hearing within Half an hour and enjoy the salary , perks ,
> priviliges etc , One most corrupt information commissioner recently resigned
> , Most of the information commissioners are retired bureaucrats they came to
> information commission to enjoy the facilities , some of the information
> commissioners are the persons loyal to the ruling party , All of them are
> trying to protect the government employees from malpractice and exposure of
> corruption , Instead of providing the information they are teaching and
> guiding the public information officers how to escape and how to evade to
> provide the information and how to reject the request of rti applicants ,
> None of the information commissioner interested in bringing transparecny
> ,good governance corruption free governancce , Even after complaint to the
> commission and after several hearings the information commissioners are not
> using section 20 of the act , If the information seeker not present before
> the commission as on the date of hearing
> the commissioners will not verify whether the information is provided or not
> , but simply the cases will be closed without providing any information ,
> Getting information in information commissions by using section 18 and 19(3)
> of the act became very tough , The motto of the information commissioners is
> to protect the corrupt government servants instead of serving the citizens
>
> Regards
>
> ARS KUMAR BE LLB MA JOURNALISM
> SOCIAL ACTIVIST & JOURNALIST
>
> On Sat, Oct 8, 2011 at 10:32 AM, Pradip Pradhan
> <pradippradhan63@gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> *Success Story of RTI Activism in Orissa*
>>
>> *Awareness campaign on RTI is no more in the domain of Orissa Information
>> Commission*
>>
>> Dear friends
>>
>>
>>
>> It is fact that when the Govt. enacts a law, it always keeps provision
>> for
>> public awareness campaign about it. Accordingly, Central Govt. while
>> enacting the RTI Act has made a clear-cut provision in the law for
>> awareness
>> campaign and fixing responsibility on particular institution i.e.,
>> State or Central Govt. Section 26 of the Act says that the State Govt.
>> shall organize public awareness campaign on RTI, Publish booklets and
>> conduct training for Officials in the state. As the Information and
>> Public Relation Department is nodal Dept. in Orissa for implementation of
>> RTI, the Dept. has to organize such awareness programme in the state. But
>> the tragedy in Orissa is that since beginning, Orissa Information
>> Commission
>> itself was found busy in conducting the awareness programme, publishing
>> booklets and organizing training for officers. The Officials of I and PR
>> Dept. remained sitting idle without contributing anything for propagation
>> of
>> RTI in the state. Neither State Information Commissions nor Central
>> Information Commission was found involved in doing such awareness campaign
>> on RTI in their respective states or at National level. It is exception
>> in Orissa. Within long span of five years, it was found Orissa
>> Information Commission (OIC) spending around Rs. 3 crores sanctioned by
>> Govt. for awareness programme . Nobody knows what the output is.
>>
>>
>>
>> As the OIC remained busy in conducting awareness programme and
>> inaugurating such programme as Chief Guest and Chief Speaker, their
>> primary work of disposal of complaint and 2nd appeal cases suffered
>> and pendency of large number of cases was found increasing in the
>> office of the Commission. It needs to be mentioned here that presently *
>> more than 15000 cases are pending in the office of the Commission for
>> disposal because of sheer negligence and inefficiency of the Information
>> Commissioners for the same. *
>>
>>
>>
>> Being terribly disturbed by illegal activities of the Commission, the
>> Civil Society Groups and RTI Activists in Orissa , since beginning
>> opposed the Commission's involvement in the awareness campaign and
>> demanded their withdrawal from these activities. But the Commission
>> remained hell-bent in their illegal activities and did not care the
>> criticism of Civil Society Groups. During that time, a question cropped
>> up in the mind of RTI Activists that who decides and how the decision
>> has been taken at Govt. level to sanction fund to the Commission for
>> awareness programme. Accordingly, RTI Application was submitted to the
>> Dept. of I and PR, Dept. of Planning and Coordination, Dept. of Finance
>> and office of Orissa Information Commission to get the information about
>> it. Astonishingly, the PIOs of all Depts. Continued to forward the
>> application each other without providing any information. The PIO, office
>> of
>> Orissa Information Commission supplied the information about only
>> expenditure of the fund.
>>
>>
>>
>> Finding no information through RTI, RTI Activists decided to get the
>> information through MLAs putting the question in Orissa Assembly.
>> Accordingly, Mr. Karendra Majhi, Hon'ble MLA raised Non-Star question in
>> the assembly in the month of August 2009 to the Hon'ble Minister for
>> Information and Public Relation about how the decision was taken at Govt.
>> level to sanction fund to the Commission for awareness campaign in the
>> state going against the provision of RTI Act. Response of the Minister
>> was " *Collection of Information is under Process"* . The Information was
>> never supplied to the Hon'ble MLA.
>>
>>
>>
>> Then, RTI Activists under the banner of *Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan
>> *staged a day-long Dharana before Raj Bhawan, Bhubaneswar on 26.11.2010
>> demanding enquiry into misappropriation of 3.25 crore Rupees by the
>> Commission in the name of awareness programme and appropriate legal action
>> against the Commission at the earliest. A memorandum was submitted to
>> Hon'ble Governor, Orissa in this regard. At the same time, Mr. Raj
>> Kishor Singh, Political Activist and a Senior Citizen has filed a PIL
>> Case in Orissa High Court praying for enquiry into misappropriation of
>> huge fund for awareness campaign by CBI and demanding action against
>> the Commissioners in March 2011.
>>
>>
>>
>> In the meantime, Mr. Tarun Kanti Mishra former Chief Secretary, Orissa
>> assumed
>> the responsibility as Chief Information Commissioner in the state in the
>> month of Novemebr'2010. When he was appraised about the illegal
>> activities of the Commission, he decided not to be involved in the
>> awareness campaign and accordingly wrote the letter to the State Govt.
>> not
>> to take fund for the same. Now the fund for awareness programme is
>> available with Dept. of I and PR, Nodal Dept. for RTI in the state from
>> the financial year 2011-2012.
>>
>>
>>
>> To conclude, it took five years of protracted struggle of RTI Activists
>> and Civil Society Organisations to force Information Commission to act as
>> per the letter and spirit of the RTI Act.
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> * *
>>
>> *Pradip Pradhan*
>>
>> *M-99378-43482*
>>
>> *Date-6.10.2011*
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>

--
Anand S.
Coordinator, Anti Corruption Forum
Bangalore 560 085.
Cell No. +91-98450-39699