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Well updated site for anyone interested to know about the development in politics, administrative and corporate sector. Thx for such a wonderful site

Satyanarayan Agrawal, CA

Why is UPA blaming states when Coal remains a Centre's preserve ?
The argument being thrown around about by the Congress that it was the States, including BJP-ruled ones, which resisted the auction policy does not wash, says an ex bureaucrat who was close to policy making in 2005. The Centre has primacy in all matters concerning the mineral. The states were overruled and the screening committee was overlooked by the PMO in the matter and discretionary allotments were made, he says. It was very clear that the UPA was sensing the opportunity then and now it is caught doing the mischief and wants to get away with it.

Will India's progress depend on how commodity prices behave in next few months?
A lot would depend on how global commodity prices behave. If they fall, India will benefit. This would mean that subsidies will bulge up further if oil prices go awry. But if they don't, we are up the creek without a paddle say economists.

Is there no hope for any reforms now?
With the scams blowing up in face and the government in a survival mode the window of opportunity for reforms is rapidly closing. Political developments already indicate that all parties are in election mode. So there is not expected to be any major boosters from reforms.

BUREAUCRACY

Empanelment of 1979 batch IAS officers in a week or two
As the grapevine has it, empanelment of 1979 batch IAS officers for posting as Secretaries in the Government of India (GoI) is going to take place in a week or two.

Uncertainty prevails over appointment of Secretary, Chemicals & Fertilizers
Uncertainty prevails over appointment of new Secretary, Chemicals & Fertilizers, in the Government of India (GoI). Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Alagiri, is going back to Delhi only Monday.

Orders of Justice D Murugesan in a couple of weeks?
Official order of Justice D Murugesan, Judge of the Madras High Court, for the post of Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court is expected in a couple of weeks.
( We said this on July 21 )

Is IFS in low priority in India?
Is Foreign Service on low priority in our country? The answer seems to be 'yes' since the number of IFS officers in India is less than 1000 while China has 4200 diplomats and the United States has 12,000.

Three names short-listed by MHA for BCAS?
The Ministry of Home Affairs is reportedly sending panel of three names for the post of DG/Commissioner Bureau of Civil Aviation Security ( BCAS ) to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. They are Ms. Kanwaljit Deol, DGP, Arunachal Pradesh, Subash Goswami ,DG,Assam and Arun Choudhary, Special DG, CISF.

Iyer to be Indian Bank,CMD?

Mrs. V R Iyer, ED, Central Bank of India (CBI), who was to be posted in Bank of India (BoI) is now likely to be CMD of the Indian Bank.

Haryana has 11 Additional Chief Secretaries
After the promotion of 1982 batch IAS officer, K K Jalan, the number of Additional Chief Secretaries (ACS) in Haryana has now gone up to 11.

Gopinathan posted as DG (Audit), Central Receipt, Delhi
C Gopinathan, Director General (AEC), DG, in the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, New Delhi, has been transferred and posted as Director General of Audit, Central Receipt, New Delhi under the control of the office of the CAG of India.

Chauhan is new ACP, Model Town in Delhi
Ms. Shweta Chauhan, on completion of training has been transferred as ACP/Model Town (North-West Distt.)Delhi Police. She is a 2010 batch IPS officer of AGMU cadre.

19 posts of First Secretary, Commerce, for Indian Missions abroad, still lying vacant
As many as 19 posts of First secretary, Commerce, are yet to be filled up. Despite the posts sanctioned for Indian Missions abroad, to take care of the commercial interests of the country, appointments have not yet been made. These posts have been sanctioned for Indian Missions in Shanghai, Washington, Chicago, Huston, Berne, Hague, Ankara, Mexico, Johannesburg, Bangkok, Yangon, Hong Cong, Dubai, Mauritius, Israel, Argentina, Egypt, Spain, and Chile.

MEA yet to approve terms & condition of services of IRS officers
A total of eight posts of Income Tax have been created for Indian Missions abroad. Appointments have also been done along with their place of relocation but MEA is yet to approve the terms and conditions of their services.

Upadhyay to be empanelled in GoI?
S K Upadhyay, DG/ CVO MTC LTD. Chennai, is likely to be empanelled for the position of DG in Government of India.He is a 1976 batch IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.

Murmurs in CBEC?
Meanwhile the changes in charges of Members in CBEC is causing a lot of heartburn and there are murmurs of playing favourites. These murmurs will become even more pronounced in case the charges of CC and DG's as indicated above are announced.

CIT changes in a day or two
Now that the Finance Minister P Chidambaram has arrived in the capital, transfers and postings of Commissioners of Income Tax are now expected in a day or two.

Three posts of Special Director, CRPF to be filled up

Three posts of Special DG in CRPF have been sanctioned. First post is of a Special Director General, Central Zone, Kolkata (WB), which is handled by Rakesh Jaruhar, of Jharkhand cadre, who is retiring this month. Second post is handled by Anirudh Uppal, Special Director General, J&K Zone, Jammu,who is retiring this month. He belongs to Himachal cadre. And the third post of Special Director General, North-East Zone, Guwahati, has fallen vacant as Subash Joshi has been appointed as DG, NSG.

Ms Goel makes appeal for seniority?
Ms. Shikha Goel, DIG, CISF,(Pers) HQ, New Delhi, IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh, is believed to have approached the GoI for seniority. Ms. Goel is an IPS officer of 1994 batch.

Atul Singh to be Director, DIPP
As the grapevine has it, Atul Singh on central deputation is poised to be Director, DIPP. He is an IRSME officer of the 1993 batch.

Ms. Kavita Singh to be Director, AIDS Control
As the grapevine has it, Ms. Kavita Singh, on central deputation, is poised to be Director, AIDS control department. She is Indian Post & Telecommunication Accounts and Finance Service (IP&TAFS) officer of 1995 batch.

10 GMs in SBI to be changed
Grapevine has it, that as many as 10 General Managers (GMs) in the State Bank of India (SBI) are going to be changed within a fortnight.

UP Govt. seeks an IES officer at SAG level
Grapevine has it, that the Uttar Pradesh Government has sought services of an Indian Economic Service (IES) officer at the SAG level for which a three member panel will be sent.

Ms Sulekha to look after Kashmir Desk
Ms. Sulekha, Deputy Secretary, MHA, Government of India will be looking after the charge of Director, Kashmir in the absence of the Director who is going to Netherland on a long term leave. She is a CSS cadre officer.

Mahesh Dixit joins in Kohima
Mahesh Dixit, Joint Director, SIB, Srinagar, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Government of India has joined as Joint Director (JD), SIB Kohima, Nagaland in place of Manoj Lal. He is a 1993 batch IPS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.
(We said this on 6 August, 2012)

IPS officer to go on inter-cadre deputation to Maharashtra
Madhya Pradesh cadre IPS officer of 1999 batch, Niranjan B Yangankarm, is going on inter-cadre deputation to Maharashtra for five years.

Veerabhadrappa removed from the post of ITAT chief
G E Veerabhadrappa, who was officiating President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Mumbai was suddenly removed from the post.

Karwa is President, ITAT, Mumbai
H L Karwa has taken over as new President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Mumbai. Prior to his elevation to the post of President, Karwa had been serving as Vice President of ITAT, Chandigarh. Karwa will continue to hold additional charge of the Chandigarh Bench.

175 IAS officers join training from September 2, 2012
As many as 175 IAS officers belonging to batches from 1982 to 1984 have joined on a month long training in the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) , Mussoorie and two weeks in Miami. Most of them belong to the 1984 batch.

Lt. Gen. Nandal transferred to Commandant Infantry School unit
Lt. Gen., A S Nandal, GOC 16 Corps, has been transferred to Commandant Infantry School.

Vijayan appointed new CS of Goa
Now one should put to rest all the speculations of a new Chief Secretary for Goa. A 1982 batch IAS officer of UT cadre B Vijayan has been appointed Goa Chief Secretary for three years.
(We said this on July 11)

K Padmanabhaiah to join ASSC
K Padmanabhaiah is all set to join the Court of Governors of Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), a Government of India institution under the Ministry of HRD. The Chairmanship is vacant after the death of Abid Hussain, IAS (Retd). The Secretaries of the Government of India in HRD, Finance and Personnel Ministries and Chief Secretary Government of Andhra Pradesh are ex-officio Governors of ASCI.He is a retired 1961 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra

Kumar Vinoy Singh Deo is IG, CISF in Patna
Kumar Vinoy Singh Deo who so far on central deputation was DIG, CISF in Patna on elevation has joined as Patna IG, Eastern Sector in Patna. He is a 1989 batch IPS officer of Assam-Meghalaya (A-M) cadre.

Anil Kumar to be elevated as IG, CISF
Anil Kumar is soon going to be elevated as IG, CISF. The vacancy arose following retirement of RP Dube on August 31, 2012. Both belong to the CISF cadre.

Nandita Das still running on extension till further order

Chairperson, Children Film Society of India, Nandita Das is running on extension till further order. She has completed her tenure in July itself but GoI is still on search of the next Chairperson of CFSI.

Sanjiv Kumar Singh gets pro-forma promotion
IG in the NIA Sanjiv Kumar Singh has been given pro-forma promotion to the rank of ADG. He is a 1987 batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre.

Meena is new IG, BSF ,Rajasthan Border
P C Meena has been moved from Tripura as IG, BSF, Rajasthan Border. He is a 1991 batch IPS officer of UP cadre.

MV Rao IG, CRPF likely to take charge today
Madhav Vishnuvardhan Rao, appointed as IG, CRPF, is likely to take charge today at CRPF Directorate in Delhi.A1987 batch IPS officer of Jharkhand Cadre was Addl. DG, Jharkhand Armed Police.

Chanan Ram shifted to Labour Ministry in GoI
Chanan Ram, Director, Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), has been posted to the Ministry of Labour & Employment in Government of India. His earlier transfer orders to Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances have been cancelled.

C K Singh gets selection grade
Indian Information Service (IIS) officer, C K Singh presently working as Joint Director, DFP, Pune, has been accorded selection grade. He is a 1995 batch IIS officer.

Massive administrative reshuffles on the anvil in Rajasthan
As the grapevine has it, a massive reshuffles of IAS is likely to take place soon. As many as 18 District Collectors may be transferred and posted soon.

Reshuffle of IPS officers on the anvil in Rajasthan
As the grapevine has it, reshuffle of IPS officers also is on the cards to take place soon.

Niraj K Pawan likely to become Collector & DM, Udaypur
As the grapevine has it, Niraj K Pawan, Collector & DM Pali, may be transferred and posted as Collector & DM Udaypur. He is a 2003 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Siddharth Mahajan likely to become Collector & DM, Jaipur
As the grapevine has it Siddhartha Mahajan Collector & DM Jodhpur, may be transferred and posted as Collector & DM Jaipur. He is 2003 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

CEO, JMC likely to be changed soon?
As the grapevine has it CEO, Jaipur Municipal Corporation, Dr Loknath Soni, is like to be replaced soon.

The post of Director, DIPR in Rajasthan still lies vacant
The post of Director, Information and Public Relations, Government of Rajasthan, has been lying vacant after the retirement of Shyam Sunder Mishra.

Post of Director/Dy Secretary vacant in CBDT
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has invited applications from the officers for the post of Director/Dy Secretary in the Board. The willing officers can send their applications to the Board at shishir.jha@nic.in.

Major IAS reshuffle in Gujarat
A large number of officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been transferred and posted to different places in Gujarat. Accordingly, Avantika Singh Aulakh (2003) has been posted as Collector, Bharuch while Roopwant Singh will now be Collector, Valsad and Sandeep Kumar is Collector, Anand. Similarly, M Thennarasan has been appointed as Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Ahmedabad; Jai Prakash Shivahare as Collector, Surat; A J Shah as Collector,
Kutch-Bhuj; Ranjeeth as Joint Managing Director, Gujarat Industrial Company, Gandhinagar; Rajesh Manjhu as Commissioner, Youth Services & Cultural Activities, Gandhinagar; M A Gandhi as Deputy Secretary, Education Department, Sachialaya, Gandhi Nagar; N B Upadhyay as Collector, Jamnagar; P Bharathi as Director ICDS; DG Jhalawadai as Director, Civil Supplies & Ex-officio Affairs Department, Gandhi Nagar; G G Sha as MD, Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd, Rajkot; J M Sevak as Collector, Porbander;K B Bhatt as Additional Commissioner, Commercial Tax, Ahmedabad; L C Patel as Collector, Saarkantha-Himatnagar; Jenu Devan asDeputy Municipal Commissioner, Vadodar Municipal Corporation, Vadodra; J D Bhad as Joint Secretary, Social Justice & Empowerment Department; B J Bhat as District Development Officer, Gandhi Nagar and H R Suthar has been shifted as District Development Officer, Bhavnagar.

SCS officers get postings after promotion to IAS cadre in Gujarat
A number of officers of State Civil Service have been posted after promotion to IAS cadre in Gujarat. Accordingly, B K Thacker has been posted as District Development Officer, Dangs-Ahwa while J K Astik will continue as CEO, Gujarat Municipal Finance Board, Gandhi Nagar and S L Amrani will now be Additional Rural Development Commissioner. Similarly, MM Kotwal has been posted as Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Rajkot Municipal Corporation; M S Pate as District Development Officer, Banaskantha-Palanpur; B C Patni as District Development Officer, Porbander; L P Padalia as Municipal Corporation, Gandhi Nagar Municipal Corporation and K D Chandani will continue as CEO, Dholera Special Investment Regional Development Authority, Gandhi Nagar.

Three IAS probationers get postings in Gujarat

Three officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), who completed their training, have been given postings in Gujarat. Accordingly, Patel Anand Babulal has been posted as Collector, Bhuj while Narendra Kumar Meena will be Assistant Collector, Halol and Gaurav Dahia has been posted as Assistant Collector, Khambhalia.

Avanindra Singh is first Collector of Kolkata
Avanindra Singh will be first Collector of the newly created Kolkata Collectorate. He is a 2002 batch IAS officer.

Former IPS officer to be Information Commissioner in TN
Former 1991 batch IPS officer Christopher is being appointed Information Commissioner in Tamil Nadu.

IAS postings in Nagaland

Vishwa Mohan Sharma on completion of course from LUSNAA, Mussoorie has been posted as SDO (C), Tuensang. Dr. Kadambari Bhagat has also been is posted as SDO (C), Mon.

IAS reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh
There is IAS reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh. New postings are Mssrs :-
Sushil Kumar Commissioner Basti Division,T Venkatesh Secretary Higher Education, Kunwar Vikram Singh DC Aligarh, Shashi Bhushan Lal DM Mau,Jitendra Kumar Secretary Health, Anil Kumar III Special Secretary Technical Education, D M Sekhar DM Allahabad,Amit Gupta DM Pilibhit, Sanjay Kumar DM Moradabad, Mayur Maheshwari Special Secretary Irrigation,G S Priyadarshi DM Badayun,Ashok Kumar Verma Commissioner Devipatan Division and Adarsh Singh DM Kannauj.Lucknow municipal commissioner N P Singh has been kept on wait list.

Sutanu Behuria takes over as Secretary, Minority Affairs (UPDATED)
Dr Sutanu Behuria has taken over as Secretary, Minority Affairs in the Government of India. He is a 1976 batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre. Behuria succeeded Dr Surajit Mitra who superannuated on August 31.
(We said this on August 29, 2012)

7 IAS officers shifted in Madhya Pradesh (UPDATED)
As many as seven officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been transferred and posted at different places in Madhya Pradesh. Accordingly, Pankaj Agrawal (1992) has been posted as Commissioner, Health while Ravindra Pastor (1992) will now be CEO, MGNREGS and Manohar Agnani (1993) is Commissioner, Integrated Child Development Service and ex-officio Mission Director, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bal Arogya and Nutrition Scheme. Similarly, Neeraj Mandloi (1993) has been appointed as Secretary, Finance; Anupam Rajan (1993) as Additional Secretary, Commerce, Industries and Employment; D D Agrawal (1995) as Mission Director, NRHM and Manish Singh has been posted Managing Director, AKVN, Indore.

M P Eshwar selected as CMD, Instrumentation Ltd (UPDATED)
M P Eshwar, Deputy GM, HPCL, has been selected for the postof CMD, Instrumentation Limited at a Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB)meeting held on September 3, 2012. As many as five persons were interviewed forthe same.

Rozara appointed Member, Authority, IT (UPDATED)
Indian Revenue Service-Income Tax (IRS-IT) officer, T B C Rozara working as Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Delhi-III, New Delhi, has quit the service in order to join as Member, Authority for Advance Ruling (Income Tax).

Gathwal posted as Director, DoPT (UPDATED)
Central Secretariat Service officer, Raj Kumar Gathwal has been selected as Director in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

Tajikistan invites India to strengthen bilateral trade, economic ties (UPDATED)
President of Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon urged the captains of Indian industry for enhancing the bilateral trade through mutual economic co-operation and development between the two countries in various sectors like energy, mining, pharmaceutical, light industry, eco-tourism, roadways construction, agriculture, transport, communication and others. Addressing a high level business meeting with industry chambers The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) held on September 3, 2012, Rahmon said "There is a huge scope to further intensify our economic and commercial relations and we are looking forward to close and fruitful co-operation with India." "We will provide complete exemption of any tax and other levies to the investors bringing in the new and modern technology to Tajikistan," said Rahmon. Earlier, in his address Dr. Farooq Abdullah, union minister for new and renewable energy said "Today I'm here to talk about renewable energy and Tajikistan being rich in water resources, there is a need for both India and Tajikistan to work together to utilise these resources effectively." Dr L K Malhotra, chairman of ASSOCHAM, India-CIS Business Promotion Council said "Indian investors can consider several investment opportunities in Tajiskistan in sectors like agriculture, mining, transport, hydropower and infrastructure apart from health and education."Speaking on behalf of CII, Ganesan Natrajan, WT Director and President, Ennore Coke Limited said "Though India-Tajikistan both are close allies, but bilateral trade between the two countries is far below potential." "India can tap the natural resources rich region of Tajikistan together through increased close co-operation," said V. Balasubramanian, senior vice-president of KEC International Ltd. Dr Karan Singh, president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) also released a book titled 'Tajiks in the Mirror of the History.' About six memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were also signed during the business meeting.

Eight IAS officers get new assignments in Tamil Nadu (UPDATED)
As many as eight officers of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been entrusted with new responsibilities and assignments in Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, L Sitherasenan has been posted as Collector, Kancheepuram while Hanish Chhabra will now be Additional Director, Agriculture and Dr P Shankar is Collector, Vellore. Similarly, Ajay Yadav has been posted as Joint Commissioner of Municipal Administration; Dr D Jagannathan as Collector, Namakkal; P Senthilkumar as Collector, Ariyalur and Anu George has been appointed as Joint Secretary, Public Department in Tamil Nadu.

Justice Kait is Addl. Judge, Delhi HC (UPDATED)
Justice Suresh Kumar Kait has been appointed as Additional Judge of Delhi High Court for a period of two years.

CORPORATE

Krishna quits Deccan Cements Ltd
M Rama Krishna has resigned as Company Secretary of Deccan Cements Ltd

Mishra appointed Company Secy., Deccan Cements Ltd
S K Mishra has been appointed as Company Secretary of Deccan Cements Ltd.

Kanwal appointed Director (Sales), The Westin , Mumbai Garden City
Mohit Kanwal has been appointed as Director (Sales), The Westin Mumbai Garden City.

Mehta appointed Company Secy., Eros International Media Ltd
Ms. Dimple Mehta has been appointed as Company Secretary of Eros International Media Ltd.

Parekh inducted to Advisory Group of Competition Commission
Deepak Parekh has been inducted in the Advisory group of Eminent Persons at Competition Commission .

Johnston appointed GM, The Leela, Mumbai
The Leela, Mumbai has appointed Morton Johnston as the General Manager of the property.

Piparsania appointed ED (Mktg.Sales & Service), Ford India
Ford India has appointed Vinay Piparsania as Executive Director (Marketing, Sales & Service .

Khanna appointed President & MD, ENPI
ENPI has appointed Sunil Khanna as President and Managing Director of the company.

Jain appointed as Compliance officer of Hitech Plast
Mahavir Jain has been appointed as Compliance officer of Hitech Plast

Dusara quits Hitech Plast
Bhupendra Dusara has resigned as Director of Hitech Plast

(The views expressed in this column are of the contributors. We do not owe any responsibility, whatsoever, of the views of our surfers as they are their personal opinion. However, we would also request our contributors not to be personal, directly or indirectly, in presenting their views. Instead of countering the views which ‘X’ has already expressed, our contributors are advised to present their own views. Also be brief, say about 200 words at the most since any views longer than that if eliminated at our end would carry the risk of the contrbutor’s item losing its original essence)

VIP cutlure on Delhi roads

This has reference to the fact that stares all of us in the face whenever we drive on Delhi roads. The VIP cutlure on Delhi roads is so very omnipresent that very often one is compelled to think as to whether these roads, especially in 'VIP' areas like Chanakyapuri and Lutyen's Delhi are only meant for these so-called VIPs. I live in the Moti Bagh area and have witnessed numerous such instances of rash driving, incessant / needless honking and improper use of beacon lights by the drivers of these vehicles. Very often, the drivers, honk unnecessarily and use the red light even when there is no officer sitting inside the vehicle. A few months back, there was this Haryana government car which was behind me and when I stopped to wait my turn at the red light at the junction of Ring Road and Shanti Path (under the Moti Bagh flyover) and my only 'crime' was that I stopped at the red light. The driver of this vehicle began to honk incessantly in order to pressurise me to move forward even when the light was red and when that did not work, he even came out of the official vehicle and threatened me in true Haryanavi style. He came and told me that in case I did not 'dare' to 'break' the red light, I should have let him overtake me and do so
-such audacity! I immediately photographed the number plate of this car using the camera of my mobile phone and also reported the matter to the traffic police constable who was on duty at that point of time under the flyover - there is a traffic police booth located right there and till today, I have photographs of that offending Harayana government official car. The traffic police constable on duty simply shrugged off the bad behaviour of the Haryana government driver which took place right under his nose saying that he did not have the 'powers' to discipline such VIP drivers - now even drivers are VIPs! Would the constable have tolerated such behaviour on the roads had it been any other private car?

There was another instance when I was returning from a walk in Nehru Park. While I was crossing the road near Ashoka Hotel and coming towards Niti Marg, right in front of my eyes, there was this Delhi Police gypsy with sirens blaring / red lights flashing and three policemen sitting inside it, which mowed down a stray dog and the poor animal died then and there. Due to the large amount of noise generated by the accident, a large number of passers-by gathered at the spot and prevented the driver from fleeing the accident spot immediately, even though the driver attempted to push his way through the crowd. The driver said that he was on duty at the official residence of the then Commissioner of Police in the Satya Marg area.

Whether that vehicle was indeed deployed at the official residence of the Commissioner of Police or not or whether indeed the official was ever made aware of this accident, I do not know; but what I do know is that once again, a PCR van came and bailed out the offending police gypsy and the offending driver. It needs to be noted that hitting a stray animal is not such a light offence as is made out by drivers of such vehicles; I being a practising Advocate can tell you that there are relevant provisions under the Indian Penal Code and other laws, which can be invoked in such cases.

I would request the Editor to please publish this post so that at least an effort can be made in order to sensitize the readers of this esteemed website regarding these issues and it is hoped that these people will, in turn, at least try and discipline their drivers, etc who, unfortunately, are a law unto themselves as things stand today, and often give their senior officers a bad name because of their bad behaviour on roads.

Parikshet Sirohi, Advocate

Central Government Counsel

High Court of Delhi

PIGS' TALE

This tale, courtesy a friend posted in Africa who perhaps misses being fed at home!, is in many ways reflective of the bizarre times we live in and remain mute spectators to (thrive on!) the quaint procedures & proceedings which abound:

A person visiting a farm saw a farmer feeding pigs in a most extraordinary manner. The farmer would lift a pig up to a nearby apple tree, and the pig would eat the apples off the tree directly. The farmer would move the pig from one apple to another until the pig was satisfied, then he would start again with another pig. The visitor watched this activity for some time with great astonishment. Finally, he could not resist saying to the farmer, "This is the most inefficient method of feeding pigs that I can imagine. Just think of the time that would be saved if you simply shook the apples off the tree and let the pigs eat them from the ground!" The farmer looked puzzled and replied, "What's time to a pig"!

S.K. Tewari

'Good governance needs good human beings'

How far we have come from the norms set by the likes of Lal Bahadur Shastri who resigned as Railway Minister taking moral responsibility for a Rail accident which resulted in death of several passengers. Now we stick to our chairs unabashedly when serious wrongs are perpetrated under our nose or we fail to prevent violence and conflicts of the kind as happened in Assam, or even when we are responsible in frittering away scarce national resources to promote crony capitalism or nepotism or even when we are guilty of serious malpractices. Accepting moral responsibility is no longer the response. It is 'why should I resign. I have done no wrong'. That is why I always say 'Good governance needs good human beings'. Unfortunately this has become a
rare species in our country.

Aarti Khosla

Corruption in Police starts with FIR

A friend reported that he had to pay a bribe of ten thousand rupees to the duty clerk at sector 62, NOIDA police station for getting the FIR registered for reporting his car theft. The police everywhere, is uniformly corrupt. The seniors turn their blind eye . The Ministers in UP publicly endorse bribe taking with a sense of pride. The police in the capital city, is no better. Though less hopeless, their stakes are much higher. Though , the Police is a State subject, can the MHA not take pro-active action by issuing guidelines to all the States and UTs to put the FIR registration counters at police stations under CCTV?

A K Saxena (A retired civil servant)

Vote for single party in power

PM is fully aware of each and every moment of his government and his silence and patience in listening should not be taken as adverse on his character and spirit besides honesty towards our nation. To arrive at the thoughtful decision, one must be balanced and unbiased. Blunders can be committed, inadvertently, by anyone, who is in the clinches of Alliances. Moral of my writing is to vote for single party in power to judge its decisions and capability for full term.

H S Bhalla

Commendable job by CBDT Chairman

New CBDT Chairman has taken a right decision to speed up the process of refund in IT return which is rightfully due to tax payers. Please keep it up. All the best.

A Kumar

An upright and hitec officer

Navin Kumarji is an upright and very hitec officer ---IAS ! By appointing him as Director General , E-Governance Centre ,Govt of Bihar a new revolution on Performance Managment / Computerisation and E-Governance will start in Bihar ! He is the finest and most intelligent officer from the Indian Administrative Services -was Director General , Doordarshan and CEO , Prasar Bharati and Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development .

Surat Mishra

May God bless him !

I know Murali personally. He is kind hearted and reaches out to all. He used to extend all help in his capacity as PS/PPS. I wish all PS/PPS emulate his spirit. Above ll, he is a good human being. May God bless him.

K Raghuraman

RIT

Can an appellant demand inforamtion in Hindi under RTI?

The appellant sought information in Hindi regarding ICDS projects operating in Delhi including details of each project on a CD, number of Anganwadi centers operating along with details of Anganwadi centers, details of budget allocations for each Anganwadi and also the details of beneficiaries (women and children) of Anganwadi centers etc..

The appellant filed a complaint before the Central Information Commission (CIC) alleging non-disposal of his request by the Public Information Officer(PIO) and First Appellate Authority (FAA). The respondents stated that information has been furnished by all the 94 PIOs of different ICDS
projects to the appellant and that they had provided the information as available in the records and some on CDs in cases where the information was available as computer data. The appellant stated that only 71 PIOs had furnished him the information, that too in a delayed manner and it has not been translated into Hindi or provided on CD. Further, the FAA had not bothered to dispose off his appeal.

The CIC issued SCN to the PIOs as to why penalty u/s 20(1) should not be imposed upon them for not responding to the RTI Application within the prescribed time period. The CIC also directed the FAA to show cause as to why disciplinary action should not be recommended against him. The CIC ruled that there is no provision for translating documents and then providing them to the Applicant under RTI Act. The CIC also ruled that information may be provided on CD, free of cost if the information is already available as a computer record. Details of all ICDS projects including budgets allocated to them, details of personnel working for these projects etc. were directed to be put up on the website of the Department as per section 4(2) of the RTI Act.

Comments

Translation or reducing the documents to electronic form in order to transfer them on to a CD just because the Appellant wants the information on a CD, is not mandated as per the RTI Act.

Citation: Mr. Shiv Kumar Saxena v. Department of Women and Child Development in File No: CIC/AD/A/2012/000794

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