Dear, reading all the posts that the surfers are posting on your web, it feels man you are doing a good job and service.
Vishwamanav

Aaj Ki Aawaz

Manmohan Singh's Diary.

Anxiously awaiting info on reshuffle of my Cabinet from 10 Janpath!! Tried a couple of times to get some leads but seems Madam Ji has sealed all the 'leaks'! I just hope she's not reshuffled me!! Yesterday when I met her she had said, ' Manmohan Ji we need a economist as the FM and from now PM will have to do a lot of fire fighting'!!! So she could be hinting that Pranab and I will interchange places!!! Pranab was my Boss at one time and he did not crib on working under me when I became PM, so I would also not be expected to crib if now he becomes my Boss!!! But then she could also be meaning that she'll get an economist to be the FM and she expects me to do fire fighting!!

Really I must send a bouquet of flowers with a thank you note to Sushma Ji! Really her jig at Rajghat took the wind out of BJP Satyagraha!! I'm sure outside Rajghat BJP's favourite chaat waala would have been on hand....... this is Satyagraha BJP style!!! Next day she reached Ramdev's Ashram and I understand Ramdev had made arrangements to ensure Sushma did not break into a jig in the Ashram..... she was hemmed by Ramdev's Istri Sena!!! Seems now she'll need an OSD..... Officer to Stop Dancing!!

Ramdev and his sidekick released the total Capital of his 'dhanda'..... but cleverly he did not declare the assets!!! I'm sure he'll be practicing his 'wriggle out aasan'!!! It's the same old story...... challenge in camera glare and grovel back channel!!! Ik, doh tinn (1,2,3 in Punjabi) Baba Ramdev on black money created a din, but his own kaali kartoots did him in!!!

I've advised Chiddy to go easy on his RSS stick.... he beat Ramdev with it.... and rightly so!! But trying to beat Anna with this stick will ricochet!!! I'm all for PM being brought into the ambit of the Lokpal!!! But Madam has this habit to look into the future...... seems she does not want Rahul to be under any pressure!! Speaking of Rahul Baba.... the lad's grown a beard...... maybe.... I'm saying maybe...... he could be thinking of becoming Baba Rahul..... holy man.... I like the lad but as a Neta he's going nowhere......maybe by becoming a Baba he can try becoming PM!!! Indians today are no longer gullible when it comes to Netas.... but to Babas Indians are still gullible!!

I was going through the 'business interest declarations' of Ministers and I had a good laugh!! What a pack of liars????? Own a mountain and show a molehill is their yardstick!! Going by his 15% fixation I'm sure Kamalnath has declared just 15%!!! And recently many UPA Leaders have been visiting Dubai officially and unofficially..... shifting base of their overseas holdings (putting it politely)!!! Rumoured Praful Patel has made Dubai like his second home and also rumoured Pawar visited Dubai with Balwa and Balwa assisted him in shifting his overseas assets to Dubai!!! New Sheikhs in town!!!

Gursharan seems to be tiring of the Security and pressures of my being PM!! She's itching to be free from 7 Race Course..... she calls it a 'golden cage'!!! Till now ultimately she's got her way...... don't know for how long I will be able to hold out......I've grown to like to trappings of being PM and then Madam ji has only my abidance but Gursharan Ji has my allegiance!!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Contact-suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com> &

<mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com>

Law and order worst in Maharashtra
Which is the worst Indian state as far as law and order is concerned? No, not Bihar, definitely not Jharkhand or naxalite infested Chhattisgarh. It is Maharashtra, if the recent report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is to be believed. The Maharashtra state led by Prithviraj Chouhan heading the Congress-NCP alliance, already reeling under severe charges of corruption, has reported the maximum number of thefts and burglaries as per the NCRB report.

BUREAUCRACY

SURVEY REPORT : Does ACC system have its relevance for all posts?
Does the ACC system has its relevance as far as appointment of incumbents for all posts was concerned? No. If one was to go by the views of the respondents to the survey conducted by the whispersinthecorridors.com. Majority of the respondents said that it was not only time consuming but ministerial arbitrariness, which politicizes bureaucracy to a large extent, also defeats the whole purpose.

While some respondents said that the whole exercise was a sham as its implementation lacks honesty and public purpose, others opined that the system has been exploited so much by vested interests that honesty, devotion to duty, functioning as per the law etc are no more virtues.

Add to it, several respondents said that the CSB should have the final authority on all appointments in the Central Secretariat even as the CSB should have one member each from the IAS and two from Central Services to ensure fairness in selection and afford other services a chance to serve the Centre on their own merit rather than on
extraneous considerations.

For detailed report, read June issue of the Whispers in the Corridors.

Will Cab Sec seek Ministers' views on Secretaries?
Will the new Cabinet Secretary, Ajit Seth, take into account the views of the different Ministers' while posting personal staff and Secretaries in their departments? This is the question doing the rounds of the corridors of power these days as Seth gears to formally take up his new assignment next week. The convention followed so far was that the official wanting a posting in a specific ministry or personal staff of the minister must get a recommendation from the concerned minister. However, with a series of scams denting the image of the government and officials failing to act as a check and balance to stop misappropriation, the very policy of posting people who are close to the ministers are at
key posts is being questioned.

Anurag Jain to be Joint Secretary Finacial Services
Anurag Jain Informaion Technology Secretary with the Madhya Pradesh Government on central deputation has been appointed as Joint Secretary Financial Services He is an IAS officer of 1989 who belongs to the Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Cadre of IAS officer changed
The cadre of Shashank Mishra, an IAS officer of the 2007 batch who belongs to the Manipur-Tripura cadre has been changed to Madhya Pradesh on the grounds of his marriage with Ruchi Srivastava, a 2006 batch IPS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Inter-cadre transfer for Orissa cadre IAS officer

Temjenwapang, an IAS officer of the 2000 batch who belongs to Orissa cadre is going on inter-cadre transfer to Nagaland for five years.

Sen is new CMD of DVC
R N Sen has been appointed new Chairman of the Damodar Valley Corporation. He is presently CEO of the NTPC-SAIL Power Company Limited (NAPCL).
(We said this on May 1 )

R. Aeron Insrael Jebasingh is Vice President SREI
R. Aeron Insrael Jebasingh, a 2004 batch IAS officer hailing from the West Bengal cadre, has been appointed as Vice President SREI Sahej. SREI Sahej is pioneering community service centers across India and Jebasingh is the third IAS officer with SREI now.

Gupta to be Director (Finance) MMTC
M G Gupta is being tipped to be new Director (Finance) of the MMTC.He is presently CGM and FA in the company.

Pankaj is new CMD of NEEPCO
North Eastern Electric Power Corporation has appointed P.C. Pankaj has been appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO).He was serving as an Executive Director in PowerGrid Corporation .
( We said this on May 21 )

Rasika Chaubey joins President's Secretariat
Rasika Chaubey has joined the President's Secretariat as Joint Secretary and FA. She is a 1986 batch IDAS officer.

Saurabh Vijay is Dy Secy, Rashtrapati Bhawan
Saurabh Vijay is Deputy Secretary in the Rashtrapati Bhawan. The 1998 batch IAS officer hailing from Maharashtra cadre has succeeded Faiz Ahmad Kidwai.

Bhatia to join SAFEMA
Chief Commissioner of Income Tax in Chennai V.K. Bhatia is all set to join the SAFEMA. He is 1974 batch IRS (IT) officer.

Did CoS make query about Sheila Sangwan?
Did the Committee of Secretaries queried about Sheila Sangwan never having held the post of Chief Commissioner? She figures in the panel prepared for the post of Member, CBEC.

Will they become members of the CBEC?
Will Donald Ingty, R.S. Siddhu and Vineet Kumar become Members of the CBEC? Their names figure in the panel. The guidelines state that an officer having less than a year's service left cannot become Members to the board. However, in certain cases the Government waives the criteria. Will the Government do it again? One will have to wait.

Chaturvedi is now Principal Commissioner, Revenue in MP
Rajesh Kumar Chaturvedi will be first Principal Commissioner, Revenue in Madhya Pradesh. This post has been created for the first time in the state. Chaturvedi, a 1987 batch IAS officer has returned to the parent Madhya Pradesh cadre after completing central deputation.

N. K. Nanda has an edge for NMDC's CMD
As the grapevine has it, N. K. Nanda, Director (Technical), NMDC has an edge for the top post of NMDC. He is one of the two top contenders for the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the NMDC. Interviews for that are slated to be held on June 27, 2011.

1979 batch IRS (C&CE) to be Chief Commissioner
Altogether 43 IRS officers (C&CE) belonging to 1978 and 1979 batch have been cleared for the promotion to the rank of Chief Commissioner. Last in the list is 1979 batch officer Jagjeet Pavadia.

Five IPS officers allocated Rajasthan cadre
As many as five IPS officers who had qualified for the all India Police service during 2009 civil services examination have been allocated Rajasthan cadre. They are Gagandeep Singla, Vikas Sharma, Rajeev Pachar, Deshmukh Paris Anil and Rathod Vinit Kumar Trikamlal

Ms. Kavitha Kestur promoted as Principal Accountant General
Ms. Kavitha Kestur, Principal Director of Audit, South Western Railway, Bangalore, has been promoted to the grade of Principal Accountant General. Ms. Kavitha, on her promotion and relief from her present duties, will take over as Principal Accountant General (A&E), Jharkhand, Ranchi against an upgraded post.

Kumar to return to Bihar
K. Senthil Kumar is returning to the parent Bihar cadre. The 1996 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer is currently on deputation to the Government of India.

4 posts of EDs for SEBI advertised
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has advertised four posts Executive Directors (EDs). Of them three will be general and one post will go to a legal expert.

H.S. Kingra soon to be CMD, NSCFDC
As the grapevine has it, Hardip Singh Kingra is poised to be Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the National Scheduled Caste Finance and Development Corporation (NSCFDC). He is an Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer of the 1980 batch who belongs to Himachal Pradesh cadre.

Justice Kapadia is above board !
Chief Justice of India, Justice S.H. Kapadia, has restored the credibility of the Judiciary to a great extent the manner in which he has delivered the judgments in the recent past. He is 38th Chief Justice of India.

Process on to appoint Dir (Finance) for POWERGRID
Process for appointing a new incumbent for the post of Director Finance in POWERGRID is on.

T. Radhakrishnan is ACS public grievances in Chhattisgarh
T. Radhakrishnan who so far Director General (DG)of the state Academy of Administration in Chhatisgarh has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) public grievances. In addition to this he will continue as DG of the state Academy of Administration. He is IAS officer of 1978 batch who belongs to Chhattisgarh cadre.

Puneet Yadav is MD,Health Systems Corporation-WB
Puneet Yadav has been posted as Managing Director (MD) of the West Bengal (WB)Health Systems Corporation. He is IAS officer of 1999 batch who belongs to West Bengal cadre

Hirdeysh Mohan is new Health Secretary West Bengal
Hirdeysh mohan has been appointed new Secretary Health in West Bengal.1990 batch IAS officer Mohan is presently Divisional Commissioner Burdwan.

Vijay Chhibber IAS, bereaved
Ms.Malati Chhibber mother of Vijay Chhibber (IAS: Manipur Tripura cadre,1978 batch), Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser in the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways had passed away on June 8, 2011.A prayer meeting will be held on Monday i e June 13, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. at Chinmaya Mission, Lodi Road, New Delhi, on Monday i e June 13, 2011 .

Kunte is PS Planning Maharashtra
Sitaram Janardan Kunte has been postedas the Planning and development Commissioner, Maharashtragovernment. He is an IAS officer of the 1985 batch who belongs to Maharashtra cadre.

Shrivastav PS Finance Maha govt
Sudhir Shrivastav PrincipalSecretary, Planning has been posted as Principal Secretary, Finance MaharashtraGovernment. He is an IAS officer of the 1983 batch who belongs to Maharashtra cadre.

Singh MD, MPVC
Baldev Harpal Singh has beenposted as Managing Director, Mahatma Phule Vikas Corporation in Nagpur. He is an IASofficer of the 1989 batch who hails from Maharashtracadre.

Mukherjee now Excise Comm Mumbai
Dr Sanjay Mukherjee Chairman of NagpurImprovement Trust (NIT) has been posted as the Excise Commissioner Mumbai. Heis an IAS officer of the 1996 batch who belongs to Maharashtracadre.

Vipin Sharma now Collector Latur
Dr. Vipin Sharma who was earlierMunicipal Commissioner Latur has now been made Collector of Latur district in Maharashtra. He is an IAS officer of the 2005 batch whobelongs to Maharashtra cadre.

Wagh now Collector Buldhana
B.G. Wagh who was earlier CEO,Nashik has now been made Collector Buldhana district in Maharashtra.He is an IAS officer of the 1999 batch who belongs to Maharashtracadre.

Dawle now Commissioner, Animal Husbandry, Pune
Eknath Rajaram Dawale who wasearlier Collector Latur has now been made Commissioner, Animal Husbandry Pune. Heis an IAS officer of the 1997 batch who belongs to Maharashtracadre.

Newly formed ATM woo people against the incumbent govt.
The saffron dalit rally that wasattended by around one lakh people at Mumbai's Azad Maidan could set the toneof Maharashtra politics of the future. Beingcalled as ATM, (the Atawale- Thackarey- Munde), after newly formed combinationof Shiv Sena, BJP and RPI- the trio made fiery speeches condemning theincumbent Congress - NCP government. Uddhav Thackrey said that a lot of fun is beingmade out of the ATM, and that this ATM is the one for the youth and the poormasses. Ramdas Athawale (RPI Chief) who is a poet politician set the tone ofthe rally with prose that combined rains and the newly formed political equation.The ever eager crowd that waited in pouring rain to listen to their leaderscheered them with slogans of 'Aage badoThackerey hum tumhare saath hain' !!!

Creative slogans at Dalit rally
Creative slogans caught the attentionof people at the dalit rally at Mumbai. Oneof them was Cong -men is equal to Con Men the other being 2 Gis Sonia G and Rahul G.

Chandrasekharan appointed Secretary Parliamentary Affairs
S Chandrasekharan has been appointed as Secretary Parliamentary Affairs .
1975 batch IRAS officer Chandrasekharan, who is at present Additional Member (Finance) at Railway Board will Usha Mathur.
( We said this on May 31 )

Atul Chaturvedi appointed Member PESB
Atul Chaturvedi has been appointed Member, Public Enterprises Selection Board for a tenure of three years or until the age of 65 years or until further orders. He is 1974 batch retired IAS officer of UP cadre.
( We said this on March 28 and again on June 8 )

DEBATE

Next Lok Sabha-Congress and BJP to get less than 100 seats ?
If today's political scenario is taken into account, both the Congress and the BJP will get less than 100 seats in the next Lok Sabha elections. In such a case, what could be the emerging scenario? Mail your valuable views to us at -

mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com or suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com

CORPORATE

No suitable candidate for NEPA
The PESB could not find any suitable candidate for the post of CMD NEPA. Interview was held early this week.

K Naresh Babu to be MD (BC) HAL
K Naresh Babu is being tipped to be new MD (Bangalore Complex ) of the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Khan to be Dy Governor RBI ?
Latest information says that H.R. Khan is being appointed as the new Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). He is presently Executive Director of the RBI. The post of Deputy Governor with RBI is falling vacant on June 20 following the superannuation of Shyamala Gopinath.

N.C. Jha as CIL head gets 3 months extension
N.C. Jha Director Technical in Coal India Ltd (CIL), who is the acting Chairman of CIL from March 1, 2011 has been on three months extension as CIL chief. He had succeeded Partha S. Bhattacharyya who had retired on February 28, 2011.

Eight IRS officers in panel for CBEC's members
As many as eight officers of the rank of Chief Commissioner have reportedly been cleared for being appointed Members in the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). They are:Praveen Mahajan, Ms.Sheela Sangwan, Sreela Ghosh, M.S.Badhan,Donald Ingty,Mary Jain Shantisundaram,R S Siddhu and Vineet Kumar.

Eight IRS officers in panel for CBDT's members
As many as eight officers of the rank of Chief Commissioner have reportedly been cleared this afternoon for being appointed Members in the Central Board Direct Taxes (CBDT). They are: S S Rana,Madhavan Nair,S P Jaini,Sudha Sharma,R K Tiwari,S S Bajpai,Vijay Sharma and S Pradhan.

Bansal designated as President & CFO, Omax Autos Ltd
Puspendra Kumar Bansal, Chief Financial Officer of Omax Autos Ltd has been designated as President & Chief Financial Officer of the Company w.e.f. June 6, 2011.

Mehta appointed Independent Director, Bliss GVS Pharma Ltd
Bliss GVS Pharma Limited has appointed Mayak Mehta as Independent Director of the Company.

Rangarajan resigns as President, Indbank Merchant Banking Services
G. Rangarajan President and Whole Time Director (Nominee of Indian Bank) has resigned as Director on the Board of Indbank Merchant Banking Services on May 26, 2011 consequent to nomination by Indian Bank of Banabihari Panda, General Manager Indian Bank as its Nominee Director on June 3, 2011.

Panda appointed as President, Indbank Merchant Banking Services
Banabihari Panda, General Manager, Indian Bank (Nominee of Indian Bank) is appointed as President and Whole Time Director of Indbank Merchant Banking Services in place of G. Rangarajan by the Board of Directors of the company with effect from May 26, 2011.

Gopal resigns as Nominee Director, Indbank Merchant Banking Services
V. Rama Gopal, Director (Nominee of Indian Bank) has resigned from the Board of Indbank Merchant Banking Services on June 1, 2011.

Samrat resigns as Company Secy. Infomedia18 Ltd.
Yug Samrat has resigned as Company Secretary of Infomedia18 Ltd .

Udaipurwala appointed Company Secy. Infomedia18 Ltd
Ms. Tasneem Udaipurwala has been appointed as Company Secretary of Infomedia18 Ltd with effect from June 6, 2011.

Aggarwal resigns as Company Secy. Network18 Media & Investments Ltd
Ms. Shilpa Aggarwal has resigned as Company Secretary of Network18 Media & Investments Ltd .

Samrat appointed Company Secy. Network18 Media & Investments Ltd
Yug Samrat has been appointed as Company Secretary of Network18 Media & Investments Ltd with effect from June 6, 2011.

Vishnoi appointed Unit Manager (Aurangabad), Sakal daily
Sakal daily has appointed Sandeip Vishnoi as Unit Manager (Aurangabad).

Iyer elevated as ED & Joint CEO, Asian Electronics Ltd
S. Neelakanta Iyer, President ( Manufacturing Operations) has been promoted as Executive Director and Joint Chief Executive Officer (Manufacturing Operations) of Asian Electronics Ltd with effect from June 1, 2011.

Davies appointed as GM, Pullman Hotel, Gurgaon
Scott Davies has been appointed as the General Manager at the first Pullman hotel in India,expected to open in July 2011 at Gurgaon Central Park.

FORUM

Next Lok Sabha-Cong, BJP to get less than 100 seats?

The question asked by you and the responses sought are both irrelevant in the present context. Whosoever forms the government, nobody is going to bother or think for 'aam aadmi'. As far as economic policies are concerned, they have the same agenda. On the pretext of international pricing, they have every reason to allow rising of prices of essential commodities especially fuel, which ultimately result in the price rise of every commodity.

Ashok K. Bhimani

Third front to form Govt

Like it or not, the next elections are to be fought on the issue of corruption. The electorate will throw out corrupt politicians and parties. I think the third front with parties like Janata Dal (U) and some regional parties will cobble an alliance to form the government. They will work for the poor man.

Kunwar Ram Sumiran

Improve delivery or service, transparency

Hon'ble Finance Minister

The system can be improved by reducing delay in delivery of service and transparent way of working. Be a case of refund orders in income tax, possession of flats/property, issue of certificates for various purposes, issue of passport etc. Take example of income tax assessment. There is dead line for deposit of tax, filing of returns etc. from the tax payers side but there is no fixed time for completion of assessment by IT department. Can a deadline be fixed and press released e.g. 31st December will be last date for assessment for this category of tax payers and assessment status will be available on the net. So tax payers knows that the assessment is completed refund has been issued/demand not has been sent/there is mismatch on TDS and 26AS information etc. This will help in improving efficiency of the department and no one would blame the department for lack of delivery of service and transparency in the system.

R.K. Mishra

Stop extensions to retired officials

In continuation to the feedback of Ms Meenakshi Verma, I would like to support her for her demand to stop extensions in all services in Government of India with immediate effect. This (extension business) surely is another scam going on and a large number of people beyond 65 are still working and enjoying privileges of accommodation, staff and conveyance. What is surprising is the fact that officers in large numbers even non eligible officers (below the rank of JS} are using government vehicles to commute to office. A through probe is required into this so called 'extension business' and fresh guidelines with the consequences should be issued immediately

R.K. Gupta

Ministers' are public servants

It is settled. The Supreme Court states that Ministers are `public servants' and fall within the ambit of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

R.V. Nathan

Lokpal bill needs due thought

Whether higher judiciary should come under the supervision and control of Lokpal is the raging debate: votaries of either group have their own reasons for their particular version. But what ever be the final shape of the draft, one wishes the proposal is thought through thoroughly and not made on waves of passion. When the constitution was written, the
founding fathers provided to the higher judiciary both an onerous responsibility and an equally befitting immunity. Higher judiciary, whatever is one's subjective experience, is the last bastion for interpreting law, the last word for any litigant. So Judges have constitutional safeguards under Art 121,124 etc and their termination is to be ratified by the Parliament. If impeachment has not happened in the last 50 years, it is no fault of substantive logic of the Constitution or the procedure laid out therein, but plain chicanery of every one involved in the process of impeachment. You do not chuck a procedure, if
the persons administering the procedure is either incompetent or corrupt. On the flip side, if at all higher judiciary is put under Lokpal, would there be no immunity under Art 121, 124. The thought itself is bizarre.

Bizarre also is the thought that the same forum decides the fate of a lower division clerk and a Supreme Court Judge. A momentous decision to overturn the Constitution such as this needs calm, composure and a distilled knowledge of our constitutional history. Trigger fingers are a strict no-no in this type of discussion.

SDR

Two economies--black & white--no more

The time for two economies in India is over. Now black money should be retired and not granted any further extension of tenure! The defenders of the black money owners and their operations are only exposing themselves to more public ridicule day by day. Who owns this black money? Less than 10,000 Indians. What percentage of the total citizenry
of India does it constitute? Even here, the majority comprises proceeds from crime or illegal incomes. The share of the business class will be less than 15%(number of businessmen visiting foreign countries compared with number of politician-bureaucrat on such visits).The old escape routes like politically motivated or communal or non-Indian
etc fail to impress people. The shrill attacks from politicians of very low ratings are more offending than convincing. The herpes of corruption is afflicting every individual. Black money and black economy are hurting people at individual levels. The public anger is genuine and ministerial wrath & posturing cruel. There is only one wise voice--that of
Defence minister Anthony, who has rightly caught the pulse of the people and aptly described it as the "transparency revolution". Those ministers who are threatening civil society can take some lessons from him and be more sensible. Drastic policy changes need to be taken. The economic strength of the Indian economy flows from the unorganised sector, which contributes more than 40% to the GDP and 70% to total employment. Since the quality of this employment is nothing to take pride in, it generates huge profits to the middlemen, without whom marketing of the products from this sector would be difficult. If there is no marketing, there shall be no employment. The vice-like grip of the vicious circle will throttle people's roti rozi and will not be appreciated, particularly in the absence of alternative employment of better quality. Similarly, there has to be adequate incentive & motivation to wealth creators. The traditional Indian
mindset of spewing hatred against wealth as maya goes against the grain of economic growth. It is, therefore, necessary to accept the crippling effects of corruption and black money and apply correctives rather than showing the police might of the state. Check corruption and nobody will sit on fast unto death! Check black money and nobody will stage protests. But you can't have corruption and black money thrive under your wings and civil society watching in fear! Two economies--black & white--no more!!!

M.L. Gupta

Good news for NHAI

This is marvelous news for NHAI which has been in news recently for all the wrong reasons. R.K. Singh is a great administrator and his effort in turning around an inefficient,totally demoralised and scam- ridden organization, the RCD in Bihar into a modern outlook oriented performing team shall remain a testimony for all time to come.'

Shailendra K. Mishra

Reforms in PESB needed

Good for PESB. Mr. Atul Chaturvedi may bring some New Reforms in the Present System. Hon. Prime Minister did take a wise and judicious decision in appointing Chaturvedi.

Ashok Kumar Garg

Are Ministers covered under definition of 'public servants'?

The appellant desired copies of instruction under which Ministers are covered under the definition of public servant and the rule under which the Ministers could remain missing from their official duty for weeks and devote themselves for their party works leaving behind their official work unattended. He also wanted to know whether such prolonged absence from official work could be treated as a part of their official duty and whether a Minister could draw pay & perks for the period of absence from official duty to attend personal or party work. The PIO stated that as per records available there are no
specific definitions of whether Ministers are public servant or not. The CIC felt it necessary for the Government to define whether Ministers are public servant or not and this should be available as a requirement of Section-4 declaration.

Comments

The section 4 puts certain obligations on the public authority to pro-actively disclose certain facts about themselves. The civil servants have been at the receiving end for delay or absenteeism but the performance of ministers has not been questioned. Would the RTI
Act be able to force the attendance of the Ministers?

Mr. H.P. Sharma v. Cabinet Secretariat in CIC/SM/A/2011/000263/SG/12650

- 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)