What people say about us !

This is one of the highly informative website on Indian Bureaucracy and Corporate sector. Thanks to Dr Suresh Mehrotra.

Vikram S. Meena MMTC

Aaj Ki Aawaz

At Cannes PM said that 'market forces should decide prices' ... he should put this into practice!!! Petrol prices: NY 44.44, Karachi 44.49, Beijing 48.05, Dhaka 48.07, Colombo 53.85 (converted into IRs./litre)..... so 'market rate' is in the band 45-47!!!! The logic, though abs warped, is that as there is no tax on the Farm Sector this is an indirect way of recovering the lost revenue!!! Middle Class that pays taxes faces a double whammy!! Food prices shoot up because of huge middlemen and retailer margins..... so in effect all Tax payers also pay a Middleman tax for food items!!! And then they bear the brunt of high fuel prices!!! Such abnormally high fuel prices fuels inflation and also affects growth!!!! If fuel prices are made realistic inflation will come down to 8%!!! Middleman is king and Sarkaar refuses to put a control on middleman's 'extraordinary' profiteering!! And Sarkaar also refuses to counter the wastage from farm to fork!!!! Is our Economist PM sleeping????

This extraordinary taxing of fuel does not make sense!!!
As it is our food security now referred to in past tense!!

Agnivesh has made a joke out of himself by agreeing to go into Big Boss House!!! The Lord has his ways of 'settling scores' with those who misuse His Name!!! First Agnivesh was caught talking to Kapil Maharaj, who the Media has proven is none other than Kapil Sibal, and squealing about Team Anna and demanding that Government was 'giving too much to Anna'!!! He lost his Swami tag that day!!! Now with his going into Big Boss House he's got the tag... Dhongi!!! Agnivesh is giving every excuse to go into Big Boss House.... fact is the man is at a loose end and he wants to be in camera glare... the man has a huge weakness to be in camera glare!!

Agnivesh says he'll reform the 'inmates' in Big Boss's House!!!!
His two face fame has spread far and wide and he'll go in like sher but come out like a mouse!!

Court has ordered CBI to hand over the 2 G License Policy file which has PC-Raja's correspondence..... CBI has till now kept this file 'underground'!!!! CBI has shown that it's on PC's side and those in the know say CBI has the 'technology' to make files 'irrelevant as needed by it'!!!! Court should have asked CBI why it has treating the file as if it contained State Secrets???? Without a doubt if PC is made accused in 2G case he'll have to resign!!! PC's been sending messages to Sonia and PM that 'today it's me and tomorrow it'll be PM'!!! I hear PM seems least perturbed as he feels his 'keep and arms length. Advice will stand him in 'good stead'!!!

Court has been delaying decision on Swamy's plea include PC in 2 G accused list!!
You talk about this issue and people respond with 'tareeq pe tareeq' and show 'the fist'!!

With elections approaching Amrinder has gone ballistic on the Badals... called father and son Big Chor and Small Chor!!! After the scams that were revealed after his stint as CM , many would say Amrinder would stop calling others chor!!! I think very soon Badal Junior will call him Choron ka Raja!! In UP political temperatures are going to rise...but this time as Mulayam does not have Amar with him he's going to feel handicapped to badmouthing opponents!! In Uttrakhand seems Khanduri's presence will have a calming effect!!! Bye elections are also going to be held on Nov 30 in Haryana... in all probability one seat will go to Bishnoi and the other to Chautala!!! I say Bishnoi because I hear he's already in two minds about his alliance with BJP.... arre Bhai aaya Ram gaya Ram Bhajan Lal ka chorra (son) hai!!

Come elections and Netas rip into each other!!!
Don't even have respect for ek doosre ke Bhen and Mother!!!

PS... seems Amar has had a miraculous recovery... he's not going to Singapore for treatment... he's politicking in UP!! Of course he keeps his face mask in his pocket and whenever he seesa camera he put on the mask and start breathing in laboured way... he says he has info on Cash for Votes .... this is to keep Congress in line... his message to Congress is... sanam humm toh doobe hee doobe aap ko bhi le ke dooben ge!! Mamtha now saves face by saying 'if there is a fuel price hike again TMC will not stay in UPA'.....actually she's not the same old Mamtha, abh nahi rahi Mamtha mein woh shamtha, poorani Mamtha mein dumm tha...rather than getting Government to rollback prices Mamtha does a back roll!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Does Anna have political ambition?
It is heard that there are discussions in the Anna camp to form a secular political outfit .

Division of UP on cards
It is heard that BSP Supremo Mayawati will table a resolution in the UP assembly on November 21, 2011 to divide the state into four parts - Western UP (Harit Pradesh), Central UP, Bundelkhand, and Eastern UP (Purvanchal). As regards Congress, it has agreed to support the division.

Lavasa may be off the hook by November 11, 2011
It is heard that Lavasa will be out of hook by November 11, 2011 and that hectic backdoor parleys are going on in the Capital in this regard.

Trouble for Konkan strongman Narayan Rane
Congress leader and Maharashtra's Industry Minister Narayan Rane has trouble brewing for him in his hometown Chiplun. There is a duel between him and Konkan Minister Bhaskar Jadhav who has thrown a challenge to the Konkan strongman. The war of words went to the extent of violence and even the Mumbai- Goa highway was road blocked till late last night.

BUREAUCRACY

Railway GMs' proposal to become official today
The much awaited proposal relating to postings of General Managers (GMs) in Railways that was cleared by the PMO on November 8,2011 is expected to be made official in shape of an order very soon. The file has reportedly been cleared by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth as well. Thus, orders are expected anytime on November 9,2011.

Mystery shrouds delay in appointing Additional Secretaries
Mystery shrouds the delay in appointing Additional Secretaries in the Government of India (GoI). There are at least two vacancies at this level in the Finance Ministry and a vacancy in the Commerce Ministry.

AVP Prasad Adithela to be Joint Secretary, Fertilizers
As the grapevine has it, AVP Prasad Adithela, on central deputation, is poised to be Joint Secretary, Fertilizers. Presently Prasad is Principal Secretary (PS) -Animal Husbandrywith the Himachal Pradesh Government. He is an IAS officer of 1986 batch who belongs to the Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Radha Krishna Mathur takes over as Secretary, MSME
Radha Krishna Mathur, Special Secretary, Ministry of Defence has taken over as Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Mathur, who is a 1977 batch IAS officer of Manipur-Tripura cadre has succeeded Uday Kumar Varma, a 1976 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on October 20)

Ms Loreta Mary Vas appointed Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals
Ms Loreta Mary Vas, Special Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, has been appointed as Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers. She is a 1977 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre. The post fell vacant after the retirement of Mukul Joshi, a 1975 batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre.
(We said this only yesterday)

K K Pant to be Director, Revenue
As the grapevine has it, K.K. Pant, on central deputation, is poised to be a Director Revenue. He is an IAS officer of 1993 batch who belongs to the Himachal Pradesh cadre.

DoPT V/s Railway Ministry
It is not the first time that DoPT and Railway Ministry have differed on postings; but this time around the knives are out. The DPC found Rajiv Bhargava fit for GM level posts but not for open line (zonal) GM and the Railway Ministry accepted the recommendations of the DPC. The ACC found Bhargava fit as Zonal GM also. Undeterred the Railway Ministry proposed Bhargava's promotion as GM of a Coach Factory and not as a Zonal GM. Moreover, there are proposals for transfers of two GMs one of which is from Kolkata. The Railway Ministry has now told the PMO that it will not modify its proposal and the ACC may order transfers as it wishes if they do not agree with the Ministry. So, the railway zones will remain headless till either of the two sides (CM, West Bengal or PMO) blinks.

Elaine Mathias to be Director (Finance) BEL
Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) has recommended Elaine Mathias, General Manager of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), for the post of Director (Finance) of the company at a meeting held on Tuesday. The Board took the above decision after interviewing six persons.

Ms. Kavita Gupta to be Jt. DG in DGFT, Mumbai
As the grapevine has it, Ms. Kavita Gupta on central deputation is poised to be Mumbai based Joint Director (Jt. DG) Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). She is an IAS officer of 1985 batch who belongs to the Maharashtra cadre.

Arvind Kumar to join as FSI in Shimla
As the grapevine has it, Arvind Kumar on central Deputation is set to join the Shimla located office Forest Survey of India (FSI). He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 1984 batch & is from the Himachal Pradesh cadre. It's a CCF level post.

Santosh Gauriar elevated as Member, Postal Board
Santosh Gauriar (IPoS 1978 batch), who is presently CPMG Madhya Pradesh, has been elevated as Member of the Postal Board. He will look after Operations. Gauriar who has been awarded Silver Medal (2nd rank) in the Advance Professional Programme in Public Administration (APPPA Course) from Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, has visited several foreign countries including USA, UK, France, Germany and Singapore and has as Chief PMG, Madhya Pradesh circle, implemented the Directorate's orders on Mail Network Optimization Project (MNOP) besides monitoring and improving performance of all the Project Arrow Post Offices.
(We said this on Sept 26, 2011)

Onkar Kedia is new Joint Secretary Sports
Onkar Kedia, Additional DG, Media and Communication (M&C), I & B Ministry, Government of India (GoI) has joined as Joint Secretary, Sports, GoI. He is 1984 batch IIS officer.
(We said this on October 17)

Iraa Joshi is now ADG (Home) in PIB
Indian Information Service officer Iraa Joshi has been appointed ADG (Home) in the PIB.

Saha is new Chairman Bihar PSC
K C Saha has been appointed new Chairman of the Bihar Public Service Commission. He is a 1975 batch IAS officer.

Meena promoted as Joint Secretary
CSS officer R S Meena has been promoted to the rank of Joint Secretary in the Department of Social Justice in the Government of India.

Trouble brewing for ex CJI
It is heard that there is trouble brewing for ex Chief Justice of India (CJI) Balakrishnan due to his links with a corporate fixer who operates between Dubai and Kerala.

Many bureaucrats from Gujarat are doing Ph.D.
There are many officers from Gujarat who are doing or have completed their Ph.Ds. Main among them are ex Chief Secretary Dr Manjula Subramanyam now VC Gujarat, Guru Mahapatra (1986 batch IAS), Hasmukh Adiya (1981 batch); Amarjeet Singh(1983 batch),V. Thirupugazh (1991 batch) is about to complete his Ph.D. in disaster management from Australia and Jayanti Ravi (1991 batch).

Planning Commission and Ministries in GoI?
There are reports that most of the Ministries are having tiff with the Planning Commission on different issues.

SEBI Chief U. K. Sinha in troubled waters
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chief U. K. Sinha is sailing in troubled waters as his appointment has been challenged through Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court. The petitioner is being represented by none other than former solicitor general Gopal Subramaniam.

Will Srivastava join GoI?
Will S.N Srivastava, Joint CP, Delhi Police join the Government of India as Additional Director, Enforcement, Ministry of Finance. Name of 1985 batch IPS officer of UT cadre is also in circulation.

Will Vipin Kumar get extension?
Vipin Kumar, Security Advisor, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.Government of India Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas has requested Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Government of India for an extension of 8 months on his central deputation tenure. Will an IPS officer of 1975 batch who belongs to the Haryana cadre get the extension.

DG CISF asks for withdrawal of GPF
NR Das, DG, CISF has reportedly requested Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Governmen of India for the withdrawal of GPF as he will be retiring shortly. He is an IPS officer of 1973 batch who belongs to the WB cadre.

Pulok Chaterji gets Bungalow No 4 in Moti Bagh
Pulok Chatterjee, Principal Secretary to Prime Minster, has reportedly been allotted New Moti Bagh site Bungalow No. 4.

West Bengal faces shortage of IAS officers
As the grapevine has it, the West Bengal government has been facing a shortage of nearly 100 IAS officers.

SK Sehrawat's deputation extended till August 2012
Central deputation of S.K. Sehrawat as Chandigarh based Regional Director in the GoI's Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) which was to conclude soon, has been extended till his retirement i.e. till August 2012.He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of 1986 batch who belongs to the Chhattisgarh cadre.

Mrs. Manju Rawat is chief of IASOWA's in MP
Mrs. Manju Rawat has become new president of the IAS Officers' wives association (IASOWA) in Madhya Pradesh.
1990 batch IRS (IT) to get in-situ promotion
Once the list of promotion of 1990 batch IRS (IT) officers is released they will be reportedly given in-situ promotion.

Kerala High Court gets four addl Judges
Four additional Judges have been appointed in Kerala High Court for a period of two years. They include: Vaidyanathan Chitambaresh, Abdul Mohammed Shaffique, Kunjupillai Harilal and Krishnan Vinod Chandran.

Guwahati HC Chief Justice, Lokur transferred to Andhra Pradesh
Chief Justice of the Guwahati High, Madan Bhimarao Lokur has been made Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court. He has been asked to assume charge before November 15.

IAS changes in Uttar Pradesh
Mukul Singhal has been appointed MD PICUP. M K S Sundaram will be Special Secretary Medical Education. Alok Kumar has been made IG, Stamps.

IPS reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh
There is IPS reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh. New postings are :- Mssrs Mohammad Jawed Akhtar, IG Lucknow, B P Jogdand, IG Allahabad, Ashish Gupta, IG Budget Allahabad, Harish Chandra Kashyap, IG Security Headquarters, Prakash D, DIG Allahabad and Rajkumar, IG Barelley.

1978 batch empanelment list approved (UPDATED)
Suspense over the empanelment of 1978 batch IAS officers to the rank of Secretary in the Government of India is over. Final list has been approved and it will reach to the DoPT either today or on Friday.Names of those officers who are retiring in 2013 have now been included in the original list of 26.

Prof Balachandran to be Chairman of Coir Board (UPDATED)

Prof G Balachandran is being appointed new Chairman of the Coir Board.Minister is believed to have cleared his name.

Varun Bharatwar to be GM, ECR-Hajipur (UPDATED)
Varun Bharatwar GM Eastern Railway (ER) will be GM East Central Railway (ECR) Hajipur.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

G. N . Asthana to be GM, SCR- Secunderbad (UPDATED)
G. N. Asthana GM West Central Railway (WCR) will be GM, South Central Railway (SCR)-Secunderabad.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

Rajeev Bhargawa to be GM RWF,Bangalore (UPDATED)
Rajeev Bhargawa Additional Member -Works in Railway Board on elevation will be GM Rail Wheel Factory (RWF) Banglore.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

B. N. Rajsekhar to be GM RCF,Kaputhala (UPDATED)
B. N. Rajsekhar Additional Member -Planning in Railway Board on elevation will be GM Rail Coach Factory (RCF) Kapurthala.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

Arunendra Kumar to be GM SECR- Bilaspur (UPDATED)
Arunendra Kumar Additional Member -Production Unit (PU) in Railway Board on elevation will be GM South East Central Railway (SECR), Bilaspur.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

Mahesh Kumar to be GM Western Railway (UPDATED)
Mahesh Kumar Additional Member -Signals in Railway Board will be GM Western Railway.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

A. K. Khanna to be GM ICF-Chennai (UPDATED)
Abhay K. Khanna Additional Member -Budget in Railway Board will be GM Integral Coach Factory (ICF) Chennai.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

S. K. Jain to be GM Central Railway (UPDATED)
S. K. Jain Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Western Railway will be GM Central Railway.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

A. K. Verma to be GM SER-Kolkata (UPDATED)
A. K. Verma Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) will be GM South Eastern Railway (SER) Kolkata.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

G. C. Agrawal to be GM Eastern Railway (UPDATED)
G. C. Agrawal Principal Chief Engineer Eastern Railway will GM Eastern Railway- Kolkata.
(We said this in first week of October 2011)

Indra Ghosh to GM East Coast Railway,Bhubaneshwar (UPDATED)
Indra Ghosh Chief Operations Manager(COM) Northern Railway (NR) will be GM East Coast Railway,Bhubaneshwar.

Sunil Arya to be GM West Central Railway (WCR) (UPDATED)
Sunil Arya Additional GM Central Railway will be GM West Central Railway (WCR),Jabalpur.

Addl DIT Ms Puja Jindal goes to Civil Aviation (UPDATED)
Consequent upon her selection for appointment as Director in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, New Delhi, on deputation basis, the services of Ms Puja Jindal, addl. DIT (Infra), New Delhi are placed at the disposal of Ministry of Civil Aviation, New Delhi for a period of five years with effect from the date of assumption of the charge of the post or until further orders, whichever event takes place earlier.

Railway GMs' postings to be announced shortly (UPDATED)
The much awaited proposal relating to postings of General Managers (GMs) in Railways that was cleared by the PMO on November 8, 2011 & was cleared by Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth as well has been telepphonically consented by Minister for Railways Dinesh Trivedi. Chairman Railway Board (CRB)Vivek Mittal too consented verbally over telephone Thus, orders are expected anytime on November 9,2011.

(DEBATE)
EMPANELMENT IN GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Whether administrative procedure for empanelment of Additional Secretary and Secretary in the Government of India is fair and legally sound?
Mail your views to suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com or mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com

CORPORATE

Does Formula 1 and IPL have same financiers
The tax authorities are intrigued about the same names being owners of Formula 1 races and of Indian Premier League (IPL). Sharukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Jai Mehta, Mohit Burman, Subroto Rai Sahara are some of the prominent names that are owners of teams in both the places. The authorities are mulling a probe in Formula 1 as well.

Now a cover up job by the oil ministry
The oil ministry including the oil PSU's having started with a cover up job of why there is a continuous price increase. First, there was an explanations sent to all journalists by the ministry, next there was an explanations given by Indian Oil in New Delhi and now to save face in Mumbai there is a Press conference held by HPCL.

Mannapuram's growth jilts investors
The growth of Mannapuram Gold loan has begun to raise questions in minds of many investors. The Mannapuram, till 2007, was a local Kerala based Non Banking Finance Company (NBFC) carrying out the business of lending against gold. The company caught the eye of private equity firms and from there on the growth was at breakneck speed. It has a very strong resemblance to micro finance companies that grew too fast with initial private equity backing and are now struggling for survival. Mannapuram in 2011 has 2280 branches spread across the country, the number of branches has grown by at least twenty five times in the last five years. The company's turnover has grown from Rs 43 crores in 2007 to Rs 1100 crores in 2011, a jump of over 25 times. The stock has been a multibagger giving returns of around 25 times since 2006. The stock has been helped by generous bonus issues with two 1:1 bonus since the last two years. Given that gold itself is in an uncertain quandary how is Mannapuram able to sustain such a spectacular growth level?.

Edelweiss promotes Kaji
Edelweiss Financial Services promotes Himanshu Kaji from Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to post of Executive Director ED

Shah resigns as Director, Pidilite Industries Ltd
J L Shah has resigned as Director of Pidilite Industries w.e.f. November 8, 2011.

Sreeram appointed Whole-time Director, Pidilite Industries Ltd
R Sreeram has been appointed as Whole-time Director of Pidilite Industries Ltd who is now designated as Director (Factories Operations) w.e.f. November 8, 2011.

Rastogi resigns as Company Secy. Eldeco Housing and Industries Ltd
Ms. Neetika Rastogi has resigned as Company Secretary of Eldeco Housing and Industries Ltd with effect from October 22, 2011.

Khurana appointed Company Secy. Eldeco Housing and Industries Ltd
Ms. Poonam Khurana has been appointed as the Company Secretary of Eldeco Housing and Industries Ltd with effect from November 1, 2011.

Khopade appointed Company Secy. Speciality Papers Ltd
Speciality Papers Ltd has appointed Ms. Priyanka Anant Khopade as the Company Secretary with effect from October 22, 2011.

Ashar appointed Company Asst. Company Secy. UNI Abex Alloy Products Ltd
Milind S. Ashar, Assistant Company Secretary has been appointed as Deputy Company Secretary of UNI Abex Alloy Products Ltd with effect from April 1, 2011.

Gupta resigns as Director, Aban Offshore Ltd
Satish Chandra Gupta has resigned as Director of Aban Offshore Ltd with effect from November 8, 2011.

Gottimukkala resigns as Director, Kernex Microsystems India
Kishore B. Gottimukkala, Director of Kernex Microsystems India has resigned from the Board of Directors of the company.

Jain appointed Addl. Director, Dalmia Bharat Enterprises Ltd
V. S. Jain has been appointed as an Additional Director on the Board of Dalmia Bharat Enterprises Ltd with effect from November 7, 2011.

Maloo re-designated as Senior VP and Group CFO, Parsvnath Developers Ltd
R. N. Maloo, Senior Vice President (Finance) has been re-designated as Senior Vice President (Finance) and Group Chief Financial Officer of Parsvnath Developers Ltd with immediate effect.

On corruption

A suggestion on corruption. Many Govt servants at senior level in both central and state level often buy properties from private parties. It is accepted fact that all private sellers take good part of sale value in cash which is not recorded. Govt should therefore order enquiries in all cases where Govt servants buy properties from private sellers-- particularly where more than one such property is purchased. Such officers should be kept under watch.

Dominique

News papers should stop printing lopsided articles

Recently, Learned Writer Khuswant Singh in his article published in 'Hindustan Times' has given his view that Ms. Kiran Bedi has failed to give justification for TA Claims and she should be ashamed on her self. If you consider what has Ms. Bedi has indulged is less than peanut that too not for pure personal gain but what is happening in this country about the corruption cases presently has not come to the attention of the Writer or he has purposed did not comment on these issues which are far far bigger in value and conduct. The time has come when management of news papers stop printing lopsided articles so that public is not misled.

Adarsha Gupta

Need to restore media glory

It is the foibles and frailties of a few only that impose fine on all others. All the government servants, all the ministers, all the judges are neither corrupt nor corruptible. But the media is quick to kill reputations even without cross checking with the concerned person, oblivious of the legal provisions for defamation and the damages to be paid .They have lost objectivity. Nothing can be more destructive than a TV channel acting utterly irresponsible.

Like it or not, paid news is playing havoc with social, political, economic & judicial rights of the aam aadmi in India. The common man has been living under the illusion of "democracy". India has no functional democracy- it is a strange kind of democratic feudalism. It has given birth to very interesting but meaningful expressions like coalition dharma/compulsion or friendly contest/fire or personal view as distinct and opposed to the cabinet view. This neo-feudalism is responsible for politicians, bureaucrats, judges and media persons exceeding their professional limits for illegitimate gains. The tone & tenor, speech & manner, tilt & built of the electronic media leaves very much to be desired. It hurts good sense in every respect.It insults the power of the pen. It is not only the case of "little knowledge is a dangerous thing" but also "ignorance is power" ! Either the electronic media wakes up or Kathju is hot after it. Better to regain the lost glory before someone else less forthright replaces him and damages the independence of the media. Also remember: the 99% are watching you !

M L Gupta

Thus spake Markandey Katju!

Controversy is chasing Retired Justice Katju.His sermons to the Fourth estate do not seem to end. Deprecating the prevailing self-regulatory mechanism , he wants the electronic media, to be accountable to the PCI . Former CJI J S Varma says: "irresponsible talk is best ignored.". Ambika Soni and Katju ji are on the same page. She sermonizes the Media to sensitise itself. A perfect Quid pro quo deal,it is to implement the Congress's mandate. Katju ji tries to justify his viewpoint by stating the since the lawyers are accountable to Bar Council and Judges could be impeached by the Parliament, the electronic Media must be accountable to the PCI or the Lokpal. This is specious and misleading. The menace of 'Paid Journalism'is certainly a stigma on the Fourth estate.But, why paint the entire Media as corrupt? Why not file defammation suits in courts against the Media. Making the Press subservient to the Executive is liable to be misused and manipulated by the Executive. This will be worse than 'Paid Journalism'.

Let the browsers ( WIC Nov 8,11) not forget the contribution made by the print and electronic media in exposing successive scams. Demand for Media accountability is anathema to Freedom of Speech flowing from the Right to Life, enshrined in the Constitution of India.

A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)

Consultancy Scams in GoI?

Thanks for exposing consultancy Scams going on in Ministries of Central Government. Appointments of consultants would definitely damage the national identity and reliability of a Ministry. In an establishment, such kind of scandal is not possible without involvement of higher decision making officers directly or indirectly of Ministry. Government should ban all kinds of extensions/ consultancy/ re-employments, which are normally given to the near and dear ones. Nobody is indispensable in government of India. It is transpired that there are offices like Custodian office under the Ministry, where many posts had/have been manned through re-employed staff. There are certain officials who have crossed the age of 62 years and continued as re-employed for more than 5 years. In other ministries/ departments, very capable officers fail to get even 6 months extension. The Ministry of Finance/DOPT should issue guidelines for immediate stopping of re-employments after retirements. In no circumstances, officials should be kept on re-employment. If any office keeps them, there may be silly excuses/reasons for retaining such re-employed officials. This is also a kind of corruption. The sanctioned strength should be reviewed from time to time with reference to the quantum of work in office, which is rarely happened in Government. Appointments of consultants are destroying office decorum in day to day function in various manners.

Sukumaran T

Penalty for delay without any reasonable cause The applicant sought information about unauthorised construction in Paschim Vihar and related information. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) directed the PIO to supply the photocopies of building plans to the Appellant within 15 days which was not complied with. The name of the individual responsible for not obeying the orders of the FAA was pointed out to the CIC. Observing that the deemed PIO is guilty of not furnishing information within the time specified and has further not obeyed the orders of his superior officer without any reasons, the CIC imposed the maximum penalty of Rs. 25000/- on the deemed PIO and directed that the amount be deducted at the rate of Rs. 5000/- every month from his salary.

Comments
The level of the FAA offers a safety valve to the PIO to correct any lapse. Not obeying the orders of the FAA compounds the mistake and should never be attempted by the PIO.

[Mr. Deepak Yadav v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi in Decision No. CIC/SG/A/2011/002249/15070Penalty].

- Weekly article by Dr. (Mrs.) Anuradha Verma
(dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in), RTI Consultant to IIM, Indore and Co-author of the book: RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE by Taxmann. (The views are Personal)