What people say about us!

First site that criticises the fourth estate along with others without fear or favour.Keep it up.

N V K Prabhakar

Kapil Sibal is in poetry mode!!!
One more book mein his Poetry kee hai Kapil ne load!!

Some poetry in Kapil style... 2 G loss was actually zero!!
Raja is actually a hero!

In fact PC helped the Nation!!!!
All this was his creation!!

2 G funded a real estate and stocks boom!!!
But good work we tried to do via 2G SC swept away with a broom!!

Now overseas India's reputation is zero!!!
Swamy is actually not a hero but Nero!!

First requirement for poetry I feel is a saaf dill!!!
Do not know how Kapil does poetry still???

Kejriwal has said our MPs are dacoits, rapists and scammers!!!
He feels our Parliament should have 'anti scum' jammers!!

Whereby the scum is kept out!!!!
Yes this issue needs to be sorted out!!

LS Site enumerates the serious charges against many Members!!!
And then Laloo's gang in UPA 1 one remembers!!

But Netas say these are only charges and they are innocent till proven guilty!!
However for ordinary Indians the situation is ulti (opposite)!!

We are guilty till we prove ourselves innocent!!
Without even a hearing into the lockup ordinary Indians are sent!!

Akhilesh is getting more and more prominence!!!
He does talk sense!!!

When you listen to him and Rahul you realize the difference!!
One is proving the be a Leader and the other is a 'forced Leader' is the inference!!

Okay Priynaka is a natural when it comes to electioneering!!!
She's zero in other departments so she's aired only when elections are nearing!

After Rajdeep's crying act now Barkah Dutt is trying her bit for TRP!!!
Tears Raking Point or TRP!!

Once more the riot affected will be made to cry!!!!
And once more Media their tears will mock dry!!!

That is why I say Modi should do his best to stop this regular Media drama!!!
Congress's Pally Media making Public ka mama (fool)!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Will Joshi be Governor of Punjab?
B L Joshi, Governor, Uttar Pradesh is likely to be appointed as Governor of Punjab.

Will Patil be Governor of Rajasthan?
Shivraj V Patil, Governor of Punjab, is likely to be appointed as Governor of Rajasthan.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Arjun Munda conducts on spot checks
The Jharkhand government being led by Chief Minister Arjun Munda is now focusing on taking stock of situation in the state as far as condition of infrastructure, roads, better implementation of social security schemes through E -governance were concerned. Munda who is in last lap of his 4th phase of state tour by road is also conducting surprise check of different welfare schemes for masses. Munda, it may be stated, that had allocated more funds for roads. Munda also made sure that he and his retinue of officers stayed in backward & difficult places at night. His mass contact by road will culminate with a night halt in Girdeeh on February 28, 2012. The state has got 24 districts under five Commissionerates. He undertook the exercise in jurisdiction of each Divisional Commissioner and would conduct a similar exercise after three months.

BUREAUCRACY

20 IPS officers of 1978 batch empanelled as DGP in GoI
As many as 20 officers of Indian Police Service (IPS) belonging to 1978 batch and various cadres have been empanelled as Director General of Police or equivalent level posts. The officers include: Rajiv Ranjan Verma of Bihar cadre; Rajan Gupta of Punjab cadre; Dilip Trivedi of Uttar Pradesh cadre; Vijay Raghav Pant of Uttarakhand cadre: Jasbir Singh of Sikkim cadre; Bhaskar Chatterjee of Rajasthan cadre; Jayanto Narayan Choudhary of Assam-Meghalaya cadre; Rajiv Kapoor of Uttar Pradesh; P M Nair of Bihar cadre; K S Balasubramaniam of Kerala cadre; Goutam Mohan Chakraborty of West Bengal; N Ramanchandran of Assam-Meghalaya cadre; Sanjay Sinha of MT cadre; Ranjit Narayan of AGMU cadre; K Saleem Ali of MT; Anil M Navaney, Sant Kumar Paswan of CH cadre; K S Jangpangi of Kerala cadre; Abhijit Dutta of Sikkim cadre and M Ratan of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Sangita Gairola appointed Secretary, Culture
Ms Sangita Gairola has been appointed new Secretary, Culture in the Government of India. She is 1977 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.
(We said this on January 25)

Anil Kaushik empanelled as DG
Anil Kaushik has been empanelled to the rank of DG in the Government of India. He is a 1975 batch IPS officer of Punjab cadre.

This is called destiny
1978 batch Nagaland cadre IAS officer V N Gaur is retiring on February 29 without becoming Secretary. Is there any hope?

Vivek Dube to join NIA!
Vivek Dube is expected to succeed Prakash Mishra as ADG in the NIA. He is a 1981 batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Subhash Joshi moves to Delhi
Special DG, CRPF North-East, Subhash Joshi has been moved to the CRPF Headquarters. He is a 1976 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

Dubey moves to Tribal Affairs
Dr A K Dubey is moving to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs from the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. He is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.

One year extension in inter-cadre deputation
M R Bhatta has been given one year extension in inter-cadre deputation to Orissa. He is an IFS officer of 1997 batch who belongs to the West Bengal Cadre.

Ashok Kumar is DIG (Admn), SSB
Ashok Kumar, DIG, Uttar Pradesh Police has assumed the charge as DIG (Adm), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).He is an IPS officer of 1996 batch who belongs to the Uttar Pradesh cadre.

Dharmendra Sharma gets one year extension
Dharmender Sharma, Joint Secretary (ISI), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India has got one year further extension in his Central Deputation tenure. He is an IAS officer of 1988 batch who belongs to AGMU cadre.
(We said this on 29 January 12)

Malarvizhi appointed Dy Director in Police Academy
Ms. R. Malarvizhi has been appointed as Deputy Director, Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel Police Academy, Hyderabad. She is an IPS officer of 1995 batch who belongs to the Bihar cadre.

Khandare to get three months extension?
Satish Shriramaji Khandare, DIG, CRPF Nagpur Range is likely to get further extension for 3 months in his Central Deputation tenure. He is an IPS officer of 1995 batch who belongs to the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) cadre.

Narendra Modi never rings up officers for any work
As the grapevine has it, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi never rings up any of the bureaucrats for doing any work.

81 candidates applied for UGC Chairman
Altogether 81 candidates reportedly applied for the prestigious post of the Chairman, University Grants Commission (UGC).

Race starts for DRM, Delhi?
In the midst of speculations about Ashwani Lohani's moving out as DRM Delhi, race has already started for this prestigious post. Now names of Mssrs, Sandeep Silus, Naresh Goel, Mukesh Nigam and Mani Anand have already started doing the round for the post.

Gujarat Tourism bags International PATA Gold Award
"The White Rann", a coffee table book published by the Gujarat Tourism has won the prestigious Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Gold award for the year 2012, said Vipul Mittra, Principal Secretary (Tourism) Gujarat. This year's awards attracted 180 entries from 79 countries worldwide. Mittra said that the PATA award recognises exceptional achievement in a variety of endeavors, acknowledging and rewarding the very best that the Asia Pacific's travel industry has to offer. The winning projects set industry standards for excellence and innovation, serving as examples for others to follow. PATA will present up to four Grand Awards for best of show entries in the following broad categories: Environment, Education & Training, Heritage & Culture and Marketing Campaign. All award recipients will be honoured during a special luncheon at the PATA annual meeting in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Mittra said that with a PATA Gold Award, Gujarat is now firmly placed on the world scene of travel and tourism. It may be Mittra is an IAS officer of the 1986 batch who hails from the Gujarat cadre. The White Rann is a lyrical telescoping of the history of the vibrant and colourful land of Kachchh that is located in the Gujarat. The White Rann, the limitless expanse of the white desert in Kachchh, is described in this book as are the many monuments; cities and people of this unique region are given life in the book as also its ecological and archeological aspects. This is a useful guide to tourists and serves as a starting point to researchers who want to explore the vastness of the region of Kachchh. Kachchh region is a gateway to the past Indian civilization like the 5000 years old Indus Valley civilization as this civilization's important site, Dholavira is right there. Also, traces of the ancient maritime civilization of India are all over the long coastline of Kachchh which is dotted with many ports, both ancient and modern. The arts and crafts and the traditional architecture and textiles traditions of Kachchh are celebrated in the book. But the White Rann that features some of the finest photographers of Gujarat, has its main focus on the silence and serenity of the white rann that is also a call of spirituality.

Lt Gen Chait posted in Lucknow
Lt General Anil Chait has been appointed as the Central Army Commander in Lucknow in place of Lt General VK Ahluwalia who is superannuating on February 29.

R. Sridhar to be MD, Shriram Capital from April 1
As the grapevine has it, R. Sridhar, the 53-year-old Managing Director (MD) of Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC) will be MD of the Shriram Capital Ltd, the holding company of the Shriram group, from April 1, 2012.

Six IRS officers assigned additional charges
As many as six Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers have been assigned additional charges. Accordingly, S M Rastogi, CCIT-XI, Delhi, has been assigned additional charge of DGIT (Exemption), Delhi while M D Kabra, CCIT-I, Ahmedabad will hold additional charge of CCIT-III, Ahmedabad and D S Saksena, CCIT, Nagpur is given additional charge of DGIT (Trg.), NADT, Nagpur. Similarly, G C Jain, CCIT-I, Chennai gets additional charge of CCIT, Coimbatore; Dhirendrea Khare, CCIT-I, Kanpur of CCIT, Ghaziabad and D Das Gupta, CCIT-XI, Kolkata, has been given additional charge of CCIT-I, Kolkata.

Six IRS officers retiring in February
Six officers of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) are retiring in February, 2012. They include: S P Swain, DGIT (Exemption), Delhi; B N Panda, CCIT-III, Ahemadabad; GG Shukla, DGIT (Trg.).,NADT, Nagpur; P S Chellappan CCIT, Coimbatore; Pramila Srivastava, CCIT, Ghaziabad and D C Pant, CCIT-I, Kolkata.

Five IAS officers of 2008 batch get Sr. Scale in TN
Five IAS officers of 2008 batch belonging to Tamil Nadu cadre have been promoted to Senior Scale of IAS. The officers include: Mrs. V Lalithalaksmi, Sajjansingh R Chavan, Farzhana Sadhiq, Prashant M Wadnere and Ms. Rohini R Bhajibhakare.

Vice Admiral Chauhan takes over charge
Vice admiral Pradeep Chauhan has taken over as the commandant of Indian Naval Academy, Ezhimala.

Madhya Pradesh govt appoints Nandan Dubey as new DGP (UPDATED)
Madhya Pradesh government has appointed Nandan Dubey as the new Director General of Police (DGP) of the state. The orders in this regard have been issued on Tuesday. The MP cadre IPS officer of 1976 batch, Dubey, will succeed S K Rout who would be retiring on February 29, 2012.

(We said this on February 14)

Joy Oomen seeks VRS (UPDATED)
Outgoing Chief Secretary of Chhattisgarh Joy Oomen has sought VRS from April 1.He is 1977 batch IAS officer.
(We said this on February 8)

Promotions in IOC delayed (UPDATED)
Promotions in India Oil Corporation (IOC) have been delayed this time as Director Human Resource (MHR) in IOC Sudhir Bhalla is not well.

37 IRS officers get NFSG in CBEC (UPDATED)
As many as 37 officers of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) have been granted Non-Functional Selection Grade (NFSG) in Junior Administrative Grade (JAG) in Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC). The officers include: Javed Akhtar Khan, Irfan Ahmed, Jagdish Singh, M V J Nair, Prafulla Kumar Mishra, A K Raghunathan, K K Jaiswal, Ranbir Singh, M Vivekanandan, D Balasubramaniam, R N Viswanath, Anil W Vairagkar, Amitabh Kumar Radhye Shayam Sangia, A M Sahay, Shalinder Sharma, Vijay Kumar Singh-I, G P Chandolia, Satish Kumar, Ram Swaroop Meena, R S Chandel, V Udaiyar, Ishwar Singh, Rajendra Nagar, Mahendra Kumar Arora, P Rangaswamy, S Arumugam, A B Niranjan Babu, Ms. Elsi Thomas, A Jachandran, Mithilesh Kumar, T Rajendran, Harcharan Singh, M Saudul Hasan, C Rangaraju, Sukhjinder Jit Singh Kahlon and P K Haldar.

26 IRS officers of 1979 batch get HAG (UPDATED)
As many as 26 officers of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) belonging to 1979 batch have been accorded Non-functional upgradation in the grade of Chief Commissioner of Customs & Central Excise (HAG). The officers include: Ajay Kumar Prasad, J Chaturvedi, Deepa B Dasgupta, Karan K Sharma, Sanghamitra Panda, Shashi Bhushan Singh, Najib Shah, Chirang Dube, C S Prasad, Gautam Ray II, K K Goyal, M D Singh, Arusha Vasude, M I J, Michael, Ashok K Kasuhal, B S Vasudev, Janaki Arun Kumar, V S Krishnan, Ajesh Kumar, S S Rana-II, Jagjit Pavadai, Neerja Shah, Arun Tandon, S Subramanian, M V B Rao and D S Negi-II.


16 IRS officers of 1989 batch get SAG (UPDATED)
As many as 16 officers of Indian Revenue Service (IRS) belonging to 1989 batch have been accorded Non-functional upgradation in the grade of Commissioner of Customs & Central Excise (SAG). The officers include: J S Chandrasekhar, Bijoy Kumar Kar, Renu K Jagdev, Reshma Lakhani, Seema J Bisht, D Krishna Srinivas, Ashish Verma, Jane Karuna Nathaniel, Javed Akhtar Khan, P Hemavathi, Tejasvini P Kumar, Ram Chander Shankhla, R Bhagya Devi, Kishori Lal, Chhotu Ram Meena and Gaigongdin Panmei.

PAKISTAN WHISPERS

Oscar for Sharmeen Obaid Chenoy
A documentary film 'Saving Face' directed by Pakistan's Sharmeen Obaid Chenoy has won an Oscar, first ever by any Pakistani film maker. Basically about acid attacks on women the film chronicles the reconstructive surgeries performed by British Pakistani Plastic Surgeon Mohammad Jawad on acid attack victims. Dedicating the award to the women of Pakistan Sharmeen said, 'the bravery and resilience of these women inspires me every single day. They are the real heroes'. Whispers in the corridors congratulates Sharmeen for the honour she has brought for herself and for her country.

....And a dubious Wikileaks Award for Former DG, ISI Hamid Gul
In its latest cache of over 5 million secret emails to and fro the US based private intelligence agency straitfor Wikileaks has promised to unravel the agency's 'web of informers, pay-off structures and money laundering techniques'. Wikileaks claim to have evidence to show that straitfor gave complimentary membership to former DG ISI Hamid Gul 'who according to US diplomatic cables planned an IED attack against international forces in Afghanistan in 2008'.

Differences between Commerce and Industries Ministries hold up Indo-Pakistan trade ties
Finalisation of the negative list a precursor to normalisation of trade ties (euphemistically called MFN status) between India and Pakistan is held up because of differences between Pakistan's ministries of commerce and industries. The commerce ministry has proposed a negative list of 636 items with a commitment to phase out the same into in a period of nine months. The ministry of industries on the other hand desires to add more items to the list and begin the process of phasing out after three years and complete the process in five years. The matter is coming up once again before the cabinet meets on 29 February when a final view could perhaps be taken.

Imran Khan's PTI a loser in the by elections even without contesting
The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party headed by former cricketer Imran Khan has turned out to be loser in the recently concluded by elections even without entering the fray. A forceful appeal to the voters not to participate in the voting and boycott the poll process. Six of the ten seats for which the by elections were held became vacant because the former members belonging to PPP or PML (N) had joined Imran Khan and the former members were touring their erstwhile constituencies urging people not to cast their votes. However the voters in each and every constituency ignored the boycott appeal of PTI and came out in huge numbers to vote. According to a visibly relieved Nawaz Sharif people have rejected Imran's politics and he should 'go back to charity work or activities connected with improving cricket in the country'.

Megacity in Peshawar Suburb to act as counter magnate
Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) has finalised the planning of a megacity on the outskirts of Peshawar to ease the demographic pressure on Peshawar. Named Afsandyar City to be developed over an area of 14000 acres at a cost of Rs 160 billion it will be a model township with the most advanced medical and educational facilities. According to PDA DG Mohammad Laiq it is going to be the best place to live and 'the jewel of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa' when completed.

DEBATE - Should bureaucrats alone be held accountable for policy decisions ?

Bureaucrats now feel that Ministers and Politicians also be held responsible for 'policy decisions' taken by the government. They also want that entire cabinet should be held accountable for policy decisions. How far they are correct in their thinking ?

Mail your to the point views to suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com or mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com

CORPORATE

What next for Mallya?
Vijay Mallya had launched Kingfisher airlines with the thought that it would be India's dream airline - with a firm belief that only he could make that happen - thereby putting his entire reputation on the line. When Mallya launched Kingfisher he was clear that since his core liquor business had serious constrains in terms of advertising, the airline would also be a major extension which would be hugely beneficial for Kingfisher as a brand. And he was equally blasé about his well-known flamboyant lifestyle. "I cannot advertise, so I have to live my brand," he said. Now Mallya is concerned with the huge damage the Kingfisher brand, valued at Rs 4,000 crore plus, will suffer if he is to pull the plug which he has been avoiding so far and the impact of the same on the core business. What will Mallya do next to save his prestige and brand name is the whispers in the corridors.

Babu appointed Independent Director, Kiri Industries Ltd
Kiri Industries Limited has appointed V. Anish Babu as Independent Director of the company w.e.f. February 13, 2012.

Mistry resigns as Director, Forbes and Company Ltd
Pallonji S. Mistry has resigned as a Director of Forbes and Company Ltd w.e.f. February 21, 2012.

Bindra resigns as Non Exec. Director, SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd
Avinder Singh Bindra, Non Executive and Independent Director of SREI Infrastructure Finance Ltd has resigned from the company.

Jain resigns as Company Secy., K S Oils Ltd
Ritesh Jain has resigned as Company Secretary of K S Oils Ltd w.e.f. February 13, 2012.

Chee appointed Regional Director (Asia) PATA
PATA has appointed Ivy Chee as Regional Director (Asia).

Jain appointed Company Secy., K S Oils Ltd
Ankit Jain has been appointed as a Company Secretary of K S Oils Ltd w.e.f. February 20, 2012.

Gauvin elevated as COO, InterContinental Hotels Group
The InterContinental Hotels Group has elevated Pascal Gauvin as Chief Operating Officer for India, Middle East and Africa w.e.f. April 1, 2012.

DEBATE - Should bureaucrats alone be held accountable for policy decisions?

I oppose the motion. With the enlargement of definition of public servants ' in the Prevention of Corruption Act ( PCA)1988, the perceived distinction between the bureaucrats and politicians (Ministers, MPs and others holding public offices) is artificial . By attracting penal provisions of the PCA Act , public servants are accountable to the public and Parliament while deciding on "policy" and "smaller" matters. The argument that civil servants as hierarchical subordinates are accountable to their political
superiors, is fallacious and does not make the politicians immune to penalties under the PCA Act.

The 2G trial court's orders on Subramanian Swamy's plea against Home Minister P. Chidambaram (under challenge in the High court) are relevant in the present context. The trial court, inter alia, observed that : "a public servant does not become criminal for simple reason that it has caused loss to the public exchequer or resulted in pecuniary advantage to others and that merely attending meetings and taking decisions therein is not a criminal act.", does not seem to hold water as it cuts at the very root of the motion of debate.

Why should bureaucrats feel discriminated against their political masters? Both are co-sinners in decision-making on policy issues or otherwise when it smacks of quid pro quo deals. When bureaucrats commit acts of administrative or financial impropriety, they are charge- sheeted and slammed with major / minor penalties. How could the politicians who "participate" ( or interfere) in "policy decision making" of the government, directly or through remote control, with ulterior motives, be allowed to go scot free? Unless the politicians are not held accountable and slammed with minor penalties (like debarment from elections and sacking ) or major penalties (like confiscation of assets and Tihar jail) corruption will continue to grow exponentially.

But, could this be possible in the absence of "Political Will "?

A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)

RTI's misuse has created dampening effect on morale of bureaucracy

While RTI is an excellent tool for the empowerment of the citizens, its misuse has created a dampening effect on the morale of the bureaucracy. As pointed out in the case, every letter is a potential candidate for a future RTI application. But the point is, what is the solution?.

V K Gupta

Reasons for not granting an appointment with the Commissioner of Police (CP)

The appellant sought to know the reasons why an appointment with the Commissioner of Police was denied to him despite his written request for appointment. He also sought to know whether he was busy; how many persons sought appointment with the CP in writing and how many were given appointment; and how many refused during the period 17.2.2011 to 8.3.2011. The PIO informed that any person can meet the Commissioner of Police, Delhi with a complaint on any working days between 12.00 noon to 1.30 p.m. for which no appointment is required. The CIC held that the respondent can only provide that information to the appellant which is held by them in material form and are not expected to create information simply to answer the request of the RTI petitioners. The CIC directed the PIO to provide the information about the action taken on the appellant's request for an appointment with the CP, Delhi; and information of persons whom the CP met in his office regarding public grievances.

Comments

With the increase in the use of RTI, every letter coming to a government office has the potential of being followed by a RTI application even on matters such as seeking an appointment. Therefore, there is a need for re-drawing the norms of working in the offices.

Citation: Shri J.K. Mittal v. Delhi Police in file no.CIC/SS/A/2011/001527

- 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)