The Brave Pedestrian

Maharashtra Government‘s RTI Rules are almost identical with Central Government’s RTI rules, with only tiny differences. The rules are: Form of application. RTI application should generally be filed in format given as Annexture A of the Rules. Word limit and subject: Each RTI application should only be about one subject, and the queries or requests under the heading ‘Description of Information‘, should not exceed 150 words. You can file additional RTI applications on same subject, if your queries exceed 150 words, or you want information on more than one subject. For Central government, the word limit is 500 words. Application fee. Application fee of Rs.10/- are to be paid by affixing Court Fee Stamp or Indian Postal Order (IPO) or bank’s demand draft or banker’s cheque in favour of public authority from whom information is sought, or in cash at the concerned office against receipt. Copying charges. Information in A-3 o...

1. What is Right to Information (RTI)? Right to Information means our right to get information from “public authorities”. Broadly speaking, RTI means that We The People have the right to procure copies of documents from State and Central Government, and other organizations that are controlled, or substantially owned and financed by the government. Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI Act 2005) is called the “Sunshine Act” , because it helps people like you and I -- the citizens of India – to make the government transparent. Also, just as sunlight destroys germs, the Sunshine Act helps the common man to fight against corruption, and to fight for getting his rights from various government authorities, and also from government-regulated private parties such as suppliers of various goods and services, builders and contractors, utility companies, etc. 2. What does RTI Act say? In a nutshell, the Right to Information Act says that any citizen of India has the righ...

The main center of corruption in any Redevelopment scam is the managing committee of the housing society. Often managing committee members betray the society members’ trust by unduly favoring a particular builder. They barter  away the society’s bargaining points for money and favours. On 3rd January 2009, Govt of Maharashtra’s Co-operation Department issued strict guidelines for redevelopment. This is contained in Circular No. CHS 2007/CR554/14-C. It contains a Directive under Section 79(A) of Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act 1960 for Housing Societies in Maharashtra regarding procedures and safeguards to be followed by societies seeking redevelopment. Corrupt office bearers who collude with builders usually violate these guidelines. •    REDEVELOPMENT CIRCULAR IN ENGLISH: http://tinyurl.com/English-Redevelopment-GR •    REDEVELOPMENT CIRCULAR IN MARATHI: http://tinyurl.com/Marathi-Redevelopment-GR You can try and stop the process by exposing bre...

Maharashtra's Chief SIC Dr Suresh Joshi issued a stern ultimatum to officials playing the roles of Public Information Officers (PIOs) and First Appellate Authorities (FAAs).    The warning extends to all public officials who play a role in providing information in response to an RTI application. This is in response to information-seekers and RTI activists who have been crying themselves hoarse for stringent implementation of RTI Act 2005. After six rounds of discussions spread over 10 days with all the State's Secretaries, Dr Joshi wrote a letter to Chief Secretary Johny Joseph clearly stating that all the PIOs and FAAs must act strictly in accordance with the RTI Act, or else! This letter,  which has been widely circulated by General Administration Department (GAD) among all state government departments,  may be roughly divided into three components: a)      Lucidly explaining the main points and the intention of the RTI Act b) ...

May 17, 2011, Mumbai: After our world-cup victory, our government awarded each member of the cricket team one crore rupees, and the coaches and others Rs 50 lakhs each. Overjoyed though I was at our team’s achievement, my heart sank. Rs 16 crore — roughly what the government gifted to the team — is the annual budget of our cash-starved Maharashtra State Information Commission. Over 13,000 RTI appeals are languishing because our SICs don’t have funds and stenographers. And my heart sinks every time the government announces Padma awards for people like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar. I have no malice towards celebrities, but isn’t it absurd to hand out Padma awards to screen heroes and play-field heroes while there are thousands of real-life heroes out there? People like Subhash Chandra Agarwal and Prashant Bhushan, for instance, who have taken on the heroic task of making the Supreme Court answerable to the common man? Must the government ignore such merito...