शिमला में मौसम..

यह मेरा पहला हिन्दी पोस्ट है। अभी अभी हम सब चाय के बाद कंप्यूटर लैब में आयें हैं। बाहर का मौसम बहुत अच्छा है। बादल छाये हुए हैं। हलकी सी बरसात भी हो रही है। ऐसे में अब सिर्फ बर्फ गिरने का इंतजार है। शिमला का मौसम देखकर मन में बैठी हुए हिन्दी की भावनाओं ने जोर मारा। इसमें कुछ हिन्दी के ब्लोग्स पर बेबाक कमेंट्स ने भी मदद करी और यह एक्सपेरिमेंट कर बैठा।

उम्मीद करता हूँ की आगे भी यह मौका मिलता रहेगा। अब लोग खाने के लिए जाने वालें हैं और में भी लंच मिस नहीं करना चाहता इसलिए अब कलम को विराम।

Shimla Diary: Arriving at Shimla

Summer Hill railway station

The foothills started after an hour’s journey from Chandigarh and the first thing noticed upon entering the hill terrain is that it is in the process of being converted into a hub of concrete. A feature one commonly attributes with the hazards of urbanization especially in the plains. All thanks are due to Brahspati Tripathi, a former student, for his efforts in making things smooth during the short stay at Chandigarh. Meeting Tripathi was somewhat due and apart from reminiscences we were quick to grab the opportunity to discuss future too.

I woke up to find that the HP State Road Transport Corporation bus had stopped for a tea break at Parwanoo, the foothills. As I disembarked the bus I realized that the tea joint was of HP Tourism Development Corporation and not a private venture. So, the government is atleast working in this part of the nation. A talk over the cup of tea, with the staff at this joint revealed that all the staff was on government roles and that they were completely HP government run outlets. Although the incharge was quick to voice the shortage of staff but also did not forget to emphasize that their good service was due to being a government owned outlet. The franchise mode has not caught up here.

Soon after recommencing the journey and getting engrossed with the scenic environment of the place, a phone call from an old University class mate Amber Raj, now a Major with the Indian Army, breaks my awakened slumber as he required me to attend to some of his personal financial work. The remaining journey to Shimla was also not free from disturbances in the form of phone calls being attended on and off.

As I arrived at Shimla’s Victory Tunnel and searched for some transport to take me to Summer Hill, the destination where the HP University is located, the sun was signing off its daily routine and dusk settled with cold rapidly engulfing the environment. The first unforgettable sight at Shimla was that of an old man carrying a plastic water tank of 5000 liter on his back. I would never stop cursing myself for not being able to click a photo of this spectacular sight.

Perhaps, years of association with the academic community has made Narendra Narwal apt at handling this clientele. This Manger of City Inn acted as my route guide over the phone ever since I started from Jaunpur to attend this Refresher Course at the Academic Staff College at Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla. He did send Yashpal to receive me at Summer Hill bus stand. It was almost half past six and the hilly cold was drifting down soon and certain, as I reached the reception of this preferred dwelling of participants. An hour’s wait also introduced me to Dr. Diganta Dutta a statistician from DDR College, Chabua, Dibrugarh, Assam. Starting 10th December, we were lodged by Narendra to spend three nights at the retiring rooms at the Summer Hill railway station.

Retiring Room at Summer Hill

Staff at Summer Hill station

Railway tracks at Summer Hill

The first sight of the railway station did bring faint memories of some bollywood movie where this station was featured. As night sets in and I ventured out of the retiring room, the hill terrain made it evidently clear that the romance of the wintry hills would not be the same for me as for the characters in the movie, whose name I have not been able to recall till now. The sensation of something dripping down the right ear was haunting at regular intervals, and the next toll of cold was felt in the morning when a molar reported pain.

(Photos credit Dr. Diganta Dutta, on his Nokia 6060. Photo of Retiring Room, Summer Hill credit my Nokia 3110C)

RTI effect: Examinee shown answer scripts

The Telegraph :
Sunday : February 04, 2007
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070205/asp/jamshedpur/story_7350648.asp

The Board of Secondary Education (BSE) has for the first time provided photocopies of answer scripts of the high school certificate examination to an examinee.

Toshalina of Kendrapara has been given photocopied answer scripts of all nine subjects following a directive from the state information commission. The girl, who wrote the examination in 2002, had moved the panel invoking the Right to Information Act after the BSE turned down her plea.

The board, meanwhile has taken a policy decision on the matter. “We have decided in principle to provide photocopies of answer scripts to examinees on request,” BSE secretary Minaketan Pani told The Telegraph. Examinees can get answer scripts for a period of eight months on payment of a nominal fee.

Student allowed to see re-check process

Times of India : Ahemdabd
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Source: http://indiarti.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html

For the first time in Gujarat, a student from Patan, Kuntilal Parmar, who had taken his Primary Teacher College (PTC) exams, has been granted permission to remain present while his answer sheets are being re-checked. Parmar had sought permission under the Right to Information (RTI) Act to remain present during the re-checking of his answer papers.

He was allowed to do so by state information commissioner (SIC) RN Das on Friday. Relevant oral orders were passed by SIC to GEB. The GEB holds certificate and diploma exams in subjects such as home science, PTC, physical education and a number of vocational courses.

However, to inject transparency in the entire process Das ordered that Parmar be allowed to be present while his answer sheets were being rechecked. The decision comes with a rider: SIC's orders were limited to re-checking, which involves only re-totalling of marks. The other aspect of exam rescrutiny - which is re-assessment of all answers provided by the examinee - has not been allowed.

INVITATION : RTI Seminar at LUCKNOW

INVITATION : RTI Seminar at LUCKNOW
Action Group for Right to Information cordially invites you to participate in the
Two day NATIONAL SEMINAR & WORKSHOP on people’s right to information
on Nov. 22 & 23, 2008 TENTATIVE PROGRAMME

VENUE : NBRI Auditorium, Sikandar Bagh, Ashok Marg, Lucknow.
Presided by : Mr. Justice Kamleshwar Nath (Retd.)
President Transparency International, UP Chapter

Chief Guest : Mr. Wajahat Habibullah
Hon’ble Chief Information Commissioner
Central Information Commission,New Delhi

Experts : Mr. Prashant Bhushan, Senior Advocate Supreme Court of India
Dr. Sandeep Pandey
Afzal Ansari, President CSHR
Prof. Balraj Chauhan, Director RML National Law University
Shri C.B. Pandey, Senior Advocate High Court
Dr. Niraj Kumar (Author of Treatise on RTI ACT,2005}
Shri Divya Jyoti, Advocate High Court, Delhi (RTI Specialist)
Shri Vaibhav, RTI Activist, Delhi
Shri Manish Sisodia, RTI Activist

TOPICS
(i) An overview of the implementation and administration of the RTI Act.
(ii) Performance of Central and State Information Commissioner.
(iii) Media & RTI
(iv) Open public hearing
(v) Role of public Information Officers Problems & Solutions
(vi) Workshop : How to use RTI Act. (Specially Sec. 6 & 7 of the ACT)

NOTE : Please send your confirmation so that we can make your stay arrangement at Lucknow.
Contact person: Izhar Ansari
Mob. : 09935382406, 09415763426, 0522-2325607
E-mail : rtiactiongroup@gmail.com, rti.lucknow@rediffmail.com,
PROGRAMME
Day One : Saturday, November 22, 2008
NBRI Auditorium, Sikandar Bagh, Ashok Marg, Lucknow
Inaugural Session 10.00 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.
Lunch : 1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.
1st Business Session 2.30 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.
2nd Business Session 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. (Open public hearing)
Tea Break 6.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Cultural Programme 6.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.
Dinner 8.30 p.m.
Day Two : Sunday, November 23, 2008
NBRI Auditorium, Sikandar Bagh,, Ashok Marg, Lucknow
1st Session : 9.30 to 12.30
2nd Session : 12.30 p.m. to 1.30 p.m.
Lunch : 1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.
Valedictory Session : 2.30 p.m to 5.30.
Tea 5.30 p.m.

Pl. Confirm your programme. If any organisation wishes to SPONSOR any event they are cordially welcome. For Sponsorship details kindly contact:
IZHAR AHMAD ANSARI, Convener
Mob. : 09935382406, 09415763426, 0522-2325607
E-mail : rtiactiongroup@gmail.com, rti.lucknow@rediffmail.com
---------

Dr. NIRAJ KUMAR
C-4/8, RIVER BANK COLONY
LUCKNOW-226 018, INDIA
Mob: + 91 9415787095

Give answer copy to students: Information Commission, Bihar

The Economic Times
Patna : 21 Sep, 2008
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Services/Education/
Give_answer_copy_to_students_Information_Commission/articleshow/3508936.cms

Bihar's transparency watchdog has directed universities to provide photocopies of the examined papers to examinees, if they so desired.

The State Information Commission recently passed an order on a petition filed by a student of B Com first year of L N Mithila University (LNMU), Murari Kumar Jha, who wanted to inspect his answer copy.

The university, taking refuge under Section 8 (1) (e) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, had rejected the student's plea on the ground of fiduciary relationship between the authority conducting the examination and the examiner.

Fiduciary relationship refers to the special relationship of trust between persons in the eye of law such as between a doctor and a patient or a lawyer and a client.

Rejecting the university's plea, Information Commissioner P N Narayan said "This Commission does not find any merit for allowing a claim of fiduciary relationship under Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act which would not come in the way of allowing the request of Murari Kumar Jha to inspect the examination copy.

"Allowing of a fiduciary relationship between the University or the Commission and its examiner as the reason for not allowing the student or the candidate to scrutinise answer books puts them in a position in which they may suffer wrong without remedy," the Commission observed.

The Registrars-cum-Principal Information Officers of universities have been asked to make available photocopies of answer sheets within a month of receipt of any such application by examinees, Commission Secretary S K Mishra said.

The Commission's order said that RTI Act is a law intended to promote transparency in such a way that the interersts of, among others, students of the university and the candidate before a Public Service Commission were protected.

The transparency watchdog noted that the university and the Commission had a much more stronger fiduciary obligations toward students or candidates instead of the examiners.

While disposing of a similar case filed by an examinee Ashutosh Chand of Magadh University, the Commission, in a recent order, made it clear that the university could not arbitrarily fix fee for providing answer scripts.

In his complaint, Chand had said that the university authorities had asked him to deposit Rs 1500 for securing a photocopy of his answer script.

"The Commission is of the view that the power to determine the quantum of fee for getting photocopies of the answer sheets vests in the state government, which would decide the fee rationally," Mishra said, adding the panel had suggested to the university to submit a proposal to the government regarding the charges it intended to impose for approval.

RTI to let students view answer sheets

The Indian Express
Ahmedabad : May 11, 2008
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=235940

THE Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, an initiative of Janpath, will set up guidance centres in different parts of Gujarat on Saturday to help students studying in Class XII view their answer sheets under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The results of Class XII (Science) will be declared on Saturday. Guidance centres will be started in Ahmedabad, Naroda, Dholka, Surat, Vadodara, Jamnagar, Bharuch, Surendranagar and Mehasana. Students can file RTI applications to get a copy of their answer sheets in 48 hours with the help of these guidance centres.

The guidance centres will function for three days. Apart from guidance centres, a citizens’ orientation camp will also be organised in Ahmedabad. Talking to the media about these guidance centres, Harinesh Pandya of Janpath said, “A lot of procedure needs to be followed to get one’s answer sheet but if a student applies under Section 7 (1) of the RTI Act which says that the information needs to be provided within 48 hours if it concerns the life and liberty of the person, then the burden of the proof is on the PIO if he chooses to reject the application.”

The Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel also revealed its data for the whole year which included the number and the kind of calls made on its helpline. While 12, 427 calls were made last year on the helpline, a majority of calls were made by people seeking information from the State Revenue Department. Fourteen percent calls on the helpline was made by government functionaries and 86 percent calls were made by the citizens.

BPSC asked to give break-up of marks on RTI application

BPSC asked to give break-up of marks
The Hindu, Friday, Oct 31, 2008
http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/31/stories/2008103154860800.htm

Patna: In an order which could be handy for the students to assess themselves, the Patna High Court has upheld the order of the State Information Commission (SIC) directing the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) to disclose question-wise break-up of marks obtained by them.

A single bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Tripathi has dismissed the petition filed by BPSC challenging the order of SIC directing it to provide the detailed marks to the examinees.

Dismissing the petition, Justice Tripathi on Thursday said that information and knowledge are critical for realising human aspiration. Only a knowledgeable society can assert its fundamental rights and demand quality life.

The court said that the Right to Information Act was meant to facilitate transparency in every sphere of life. The Act has been put into effect with the objective of open and a participative government which shall fulfil the needs of the people as envisaged under the Constitution of India, Justice Tripathi observed in the recent judgement.

The court did not find any fault in SIC's direction to the BPSC to provide question-wise marks to the examinees of 46th Combined Competitive Examination. The court has some difficulty in accepting the stand of the petitioner (BPSC) that they are not duty bound to furnish the information demanded by respondent no. 3 (the examinee), he stated.

The bench observed that the State Information Commission has not transgressed its power in directing the petitioner (BPSC) to furnishthe information to the examinee. –PTI

Seeking information on PERFORMANCE OF INFORMATION COMMISSIONS IN INDIA : Both CIC and SICs

Seeking information on PERFORMANCE OF INFORMATION COMMISSIONS IN INDIA : Both CIC and SICs

The Right to Information Action group of Uttar Pradesh is organizing an event where the issue of PERFORMANCE OF INFORMATION COMMISSIONS IN INDIA will also be taken up. All activists and RTI workers are requested to please send in their views on the performance of their State Commissions and also the Central Commission.

The review may include information on the following areas: (only an indicative list)

1. Date of establishment of the SIC – Whether within the date / period prescribed by the RTI Act or not. (Say for example, the SIC in Uttar Pradesh was established very late, beyond the statutory limit prescribed by the Act.)

2. How much is the CIC / SIC equipped to handle and dispose of the cases? Say in terms of infrastructure and manpower support.
3. Does the CIC / SIC follow the suo-moto disclosures as prescribed in Section 4 of the act? If yes to what extent?

4. Cases filed (say upto a cut-off date)
5. Cases disposed (upto cut-off date)
6. Percentage of cases heard and disposed
7. Average time taken to dispose off a case
8. Fines levied : Extent and in how many cases
9. How many cases are disposed in favour of the applicants?

10. How many cases were not in favour of the applicants?
11. What are the general pleas taken on record by the CIC / SIC to deny information?
12. Does the CIC / SIC levy penalty as a deterrent for concealing information? So that other A/PIO feel the pinch.
13. Commentary on any landmark order by CIC / SIC that has a long term impact on the future of RTI in India.
14. Any blot (negative order) that is likely to be a hamper in the path of RTI in India.
15. Major grievances of people / applicant against the CIC / SIC.
16. Does the SIC has a website
17. Is the website regularly updated by the commission
18. Does the website provide details of cases coming up for hearing, cases pending, cases disposed and the decisions of the commissions?

19. Any other information that you feel important.

This is only an indicative list and not an exhaustive one. RTI workers and activists are free to include any other detail which they feel may be relevant in this regard. We are attempting to present a PERFORMANCE REPORT CARD of the information commissions before a wider audience. You may also send in your experiences.

All of your are requested to please provide the information available as there is no central source for capturing and maintaining such information. You may also take the above questions as a survey and send your personal feedback.

Your feedback and cooperation is very crucial in this fact finding mission. All contributions shall be duly acknowledged. The closing date is November 12, 2008.

Please feel free to get in touch over email of phone for any further discussion.

Regards,

Sachin Agarwal
Secretary
Society for People’s Action, Change and Enforcement (SPACE)

Email: tellsachin@yahoo.com
Phone: +91 94152 55042

Pvt medical, engg colleges under purview of RTI Act

By Vaibhav Ganjapure & Ranjit Deshmukh,
Nagpur - TNN 27 Sep 2008,
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Nagpur/Pvt_medical_engg_colleges_under_purview_of_RTI_Act/articleshow/3533077.cms

Private medical and engineering non-aided colleges can no longer choose to hide information sought under the Right to Information Act, 2005.

In a landmark order, information commissioner for Nagpur and Amravati Vilas Patil has made it compulsory for all private engineering and medical colleges to reveal information under RTI to every applicant. These colleges had earlier refused to provide information on the pretext that they were beyond the purview of the Act.

The order was delivered in response to an appeal filed by Rajkumar Bhoyar against first appellate officer, principal of Yashwantrao Chavan College of engineering (YCCE), Wanadongri and YCCE public
information officer.

Earlier, private engineering and medical institutions refused to divulge information under RTI to applicants as they "were not governed by the government nor they received any government grant and hence the RTI was not applicable to them, Patil told TOI and said he took help of two Supreme Court judgments for passing the order.

"As per verdict of apex court, all private engineering and medical institutions were governed by the University Grants Commission (UGC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Medical Council of India (MCI)," Patil said.