Hi all, 

I filed three RTIs in 2008.

One pertained to Section 25 and the Second asking monthly disposal of cases and third UP SIC budget and expenditure details.

PIO UP SIC did not reply my:

RTI of 19 Feb 2008 requesting UP SIC's MONTHLY DATA for the period 12 Oct 2005

till 31 January 2008 on Appeals and Complaints received, number of cases  disposed of and number of cases pending at the end of each month....has not even been replied.

.....................................................................................................
And in case of following RTI, dated 19 Feb 2008 about compliance of Section 25.

Q.1.     Please give the information about the compliance in reporting the requirements of Subsection (3) of Section 25 by the various Ministries and Departments to the Information Commission, in the following format:

-Name of Ministry or department required to report,

a)Number of applications received, and upto which date

b)Number of applications where access was denied

d)Particulars of action taken for violation of the Act

-Number of first appeals received

-Number of second appeals or complaints received for the Ministry or department
           

Q.2.     If any of the departments/ministries have not been submitting the data to the Commission as per Section 25 regularly, particulars of any communication sent by the Commission to them for this default, and their answers and explanations to these. Please indicate number of pages these communications consist of. After receipt of reply to this application, If necessary I may seek copies of the said communications after making payment as applicable.   

PIO UP SIC RESPONSE dated 14 March 2008 below :

Quote:

"With regard to points Nos. 1 and 2 of the above application it is to inform you that due to acute paucity of staff no such a statement could be prepared by the Commission as desired by you so far nor it is still in such position as to prepare and provide the same to you in near future.

Unquote

.........................................................................................................

Another RTI filed on 21 May 2008 (see below)

On May 21, 2008, I filed an RTI asking for :

Budget & Expenditure details under different Heads for the Financial Years :
 
F.Y.2005-06,F.Y. 2006-07, F.Y.2007-2008 and F.Y. 2008-2009(for current year expenditure requred till 30 May 2008).

Don't get shocked to read reply below.

PIO UP SIC RESPONSE dated 14 March 2008 below :

QUOTE

Kindly refer to your letter dated May 21, 2008 on the subject noted above.

With regard to above I am directed to say that the informations sought for by you are related to Budget of the Commission and it is not possible to give the informations relating to Budget.

Kindly be informed of accordingly.

UNQUOTE

Some one has to remind U.P. SIC that on 15 June 2008 RTI act has become three years old and RTI Section 4(1)(b)(xi) was required to be complied with by 11 Oct 2005 that is within 120 days of enactment of act (15 June 2005)

You would not know whether to Laugh or Cry.

This is U.P.SIC

rgds,

Commodore Lokesh.K.Batra (retd.)
Social & RTI Activst
Noida
  

http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/india/rs-10,000-awarded-to-rti-applicant.aspx

The AsianAge

New Delhi

03 July 2008

Rs 10,000 awarded to RTI applicant

BY OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi

July 2: In a rare ruling, the Central Information Commission awarded Rs 10,000 as compensation to an RTI applicant after the ministry of social justice and empowerment failed to locate a file containing the information sought by him.

Pulling up the ministry for its failure to answer the query of Mr F.C. Thomas, the CIC remarked that there was a lack of accountability on the part of the government. "It is inferred that there is lack of existence of accountability mechanism in so far as the implementation of the RTI Act is concerned. In effect, there is lack of preparedness for providing information as per the provisions of the act," central information commissioner M.M. Ansari said.

"The secretary, ministry of social justice and empowerment, government of India, is directed to arrange to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation to the applicant before July 30," the commission said.

The commission turned down the plea of the ministry which contended that information sought by the applicant pertains to 1952 and it was not possible to locate the relevant files. "If such an explanation is accepted, how can an ordinary citizen realise his right to seek information from a public authority?" Mr Ansari said.

Every CPIO can take such a stand to deny information related to government departments. Such attempts would indeed make a mockery of the RTI Act, the commission said.

http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/india/no-staff,-can’t-give-info,-says-up-panel.aspx

The Asian Age

New Delhi

03 July 2008

No staff, can’t give info, says UP panel

BY SONAL KELLOGG

New Delhi

July 2: Totally disregarding the provisions of the Right to Information Act 2005, the UP State Information Commission is denying information to applicants on the plea that it does not have enough staff to keep record.

Further the UP SIC seemed to be totally unaware of the stipulations of the RTI Act. The public information officer of the UP SIC refused to give information about the budget, saying that it was not possible to give information. This is actually a requirement under the RTI Act pointed out Commodore Lokesh Batra (Retd) who filed the application to ask for information from the UP SIC.

Mr Batra, an RTI activist, said he had filed two applications asking for information of disposal of cases by the SIC and also by the various departments.

He also asked for number of denials of information and the number of cases where violation of the act was found. Mr Batra informed that under the RTI Act Section 25, sub-section (3), various ministries have to prepare an annual report on this and submit it to the SIC. Based on this, the SIC prepared its annual report.

But the UP SIC’s public information officer informed Mr Batra that they could not provide the information as the report was not prepared due to paucity of staff.

News just coming in that Justice (retd.) M.A. Khan UP CIC has been suspended. He is not even allowed to visit UP SIC offices.

While details are awaited.

Hindi newspaper Dainik Jagran has already filed story that can be read at following LINK;

. http://in.jagran.yahoo.com/news/national/general/5_1_4615702.html

--- On Mon, 7/7/08, Shahid Burney <seniorjourno <at> yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Shahid Burney <seniorjourno <at> yahoo.com>
Subject: [HumJanenge] UP Information panel in perpetual denial mode
To: "Hum Janenge" <humjanenge <at> yahoogroups.co.in>
Date: Monday, July 7, 2008, 12:11 AM

http://epaper.sakaaltimes.com/default.aspx?selPg=65&page=07_07_2008_001.jpg&ed=987&BMode=100&artHigh=12   UP Information panel in perpetual denial mode By: Narendra Kaushik       bureaus <at> sakaaltimes.com   New Delhi   One look at Uttar Pradesh and you will know why the RTI Act is not having its desired effect in the country. Magsaysay award winner RTI activist Sandeep Pandey claims it’s difficult to get information from the Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission (UPSIC). Forget about getting information about Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party government, the UPSIC does not even provide information about its own budget and expenditure. Recently, when an RTI activist from Noida, Lokesh Batra, wanted information on UPSIC’s yearly budget and expenditure since inception, information officer Mata Prasad said it was ‘not possible to give information’. To another question posed by Batra, the PIO said information can not be collected due to ‘acute paucity’ of staff. Apparently, RTI activists in UP are up in arms against the RTI regime. “We’re starting a campaign against UPSIC,” claims Pandey. Cases in the UP SIC drag on for several hearings and information officers engage lawyers on government expenses to justify the denial of information. When it comes to the poor, the reach of the RTI is almost negligible. A recent survey among over 22,000 Below Poverty Line (BPL) households by Transparency International shows that in all states except Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, less than one per cent of the households resorted to RTI last year. In Maharashtra, the number of BPL households which invoked RTI last years to know about basic and need-based services, was only a meager 0.1 per cent.   Right to Info: What's that?  1. A recent survey shows among 22,000 BPL households shows that in all states except Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, less than one percent of households resorted to RTI last year.   2. Sttes don't have money to construct buildings for information commissioners and pay salaries to their staff.   3 - Department of Personnel and Training has mooted a plan to give central financial assistance to SICs. The plan is awaiting FM's nod. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ messages in archives can be accessed only by members, but all are welcome to join hum janenge group. visit http://indiarti.blogspot.com to know everything on rti. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/HumJanenge/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/HumJanenge/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:HumJanenge-digest <at> yahoogroups.co.in mailto:HumJanenge-fullfeatured <at> yahoogroups.co.in <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: HumJanenge-unsubscribe <at> yahoogroups.co.in <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://in.docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/