Whispers Forum

The Appellant sought information regarding the examination conducted for the post of Maintainer Electrician by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation like the category wise cut off marks of the candidates selected in the main merit list, the number of candidates finally selected and issues related thereto. He alleged large scale corruption in the selection process by the Respondent Public Authority. On being queried by the Commission whether the lists of selected candidates were available on the official website, the Respondent replied in the affirmative. The Appellant vehemently contested the averments of the Respondent and submitted that names of the selected candidates along with the marks secured was not available in the public domain and that the Respondent was duty bound to upload the same as per the decisions of the Superior Court. The CIC directed to furnish a copy of list of the selected candidates along with the marks secured as also the formula adopted in Normalisation Process by DMRC, to the Appellant within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the order depending upon the condition for containment of the Corona Virus Pandemic in the Country.
Comments
Though many State Information Commissions are non-functional, the CIC has been working while being mindful of the difficulties being faced due to the Coronavirus infection.
Citation: Mr. Sohan Singh v. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in Second Appeal No.(s):- CIC/DMRCP/A/2018/627844–BJ+ CIC/DMRCP/A/2018/628759-BJ, Date of Decision : 28.04.2020
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com

Suggestions for international travel
COVID19 is here to stay and most countries have a dilemma on when to open their borders. For flights to operate, one needs guidance and assurance that COVID is not being reintroduced. Here is some food for thought for India and other countries: 1. Every departing passenger entering airport must be tested . Set up camp outside airport, do RT PCR , and get the results in 2 hours...the results be shared by airlines with governments on other side 2. For arriving passengers, do RT PCR test and Anti body test ...before letting them into the country 3. Cost of these tests...be added to ticket cost (200 US dollars / 14000 INR) at most.. 4. Usual social distancing norms (masks, gloves, self dispensing sanitizers in airport, flights, no meal service ( only packed food or drink ) 5. If this looks feasible, airlines may be able to fill up all seats, even middle seats !
V Mohan

DEBATE(1)
United States America (USA) is still supper power as far as military strength is concerned. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) will not much wreck havoc on the country.
Anup Kumar
Attention Finance Minister
A paper title FORCE (Fiscal Options & Response to COVID-19 Epidemic) developed by nearly 50 IRS officers, the cream of tax experts, is excellent paper for revival of various sectors and boost the revenue. But the paper could not address the real issues of tax leakage and evasions in the system. IRS officers are ground level officers and know the system very well but not able to bring the real issues due to its own limitations. As 10% of population has more than 70% of country wealth and this unequal distribution of wealth is primarily due to aberrations in the tax system. It is estimated that there are people earning more than millions of rupees per TV shows, selling toilet cleaners, selling houses (without physical houses), selling bhujias, endorsing ad. of particular items/brands, performing in stages etc earning millions and millions but how much tax is paid by such professionals, it is to reviewed. Tax professionals should have come with some proposals how to assess the real income of such professionals thru some innovative tools, methodologies etc. in order to reduce the tax leakages and increase the tax revenues. Professionals can show 80% of earning as expenditures and pay the taxes on 20%. Such aberrations should be minimised. A professional earning 50 lakhs get 50% deduction straightway, why it is so? Whereas Salaried class is not even given Rs. 50000/ as standard deduction in the new system.This needs to be seen. Country is passing thru a very difficult time due to Covid-19 and expenditure is being cut to meet the social obligations. But we are allowing tax exemptions to NGOs, trusts, educational institutions etc, These institutions can be brought under income tax act thru an amendment to pay taxes on their donations and contributions. This will solve many problems during this crisis and open a path to increase the tax revenue. As these organisation are already serving the society at large only now the scope will increase to serve the country also by paying the taxes. This will empower the Govt, to know the financial transactions and assets they have when they file their income tax returns otherwise IT and ED takes years to find the details and source of funds. Of course IRS officers can not put such proposals in the paper as it needs a view from highest level to implement such things but this is worth considering in the larger interest of the country. Vivad se Vishwas is good scheme and make it vision of the department .to solve most of the cases. Bring the pendency to zero for the cases older than 5 years. There is no point of dragging the cases. Close the cases if no tax liabilities have been imposed and are in initial stages of notices create the brand TRUST between tax payers and tax administration. Do not chase small tax payers, Sr. Citizens, house wives etc. Conserve the man power and time for more innovative work to reduce tax leakages in the systems. More work is required to assess the income of professionals, traders, contractors etc. using present day technology. Income tax department has done wonderful work developing their website for filing returns and refund is processed very fast now a days, They need appreciations but the fear still continues in the mind of public to go near to the department. This has to go and brand TRUST is developed. ITR filing should remain simple so more people file their returns without the help of CAs. Simplicity is the key to success.
Naveen

DEBATE(1)
India certainly will have an edge atleast on trade vis-à-vis China in the aftermath of COVID-19 but United States will remain the military superpower and may invest more in India. In the trade game, Russia will still have lot of military hardware to sell to India.
Jaiprakash Gupta
CSS officers feeling dejected
Central secretariat service is the basic framework of working of the Secretariat at he union level. It is repository of knowledge and expertise. But officers of this service are feeling dejected and demotivated due to in different attitude of Government on the promotions of its officers. There have been no promotions in various grades of this Central Service. In this period of crisis the officers of this service are manning Ministry of Health, Homes Affairs, Labour, Education and many more. Officers are working as frontliners. Decision makers need to pay attention to their grievances.
GB
A Clarification on Priority
Look at the following words and decide which Board examinee or Civil Services examinee is to be rewarded for correct spelling and which one penalised for wrong spelling: colour, flavour, behaviour, harbour, honour, humour, labour, neighbour, rumour, splendour, color, flavor, behavior, harbor, honor, humor, labor, neighbor, rumor, splendour? Students/examinees are “failed” for wrong spelling, unless rules have changed recently where mistakes in spelling words are ignored. Even if the rules have been liberalised, the computer often turns red at every (mis)spelt word! Meaning of words in different English is only adding to the confusion. Millions of students consult local versions of dictionaries (I refrain from naming them) which only add to the misfortune of the learners. The poor examinees would never even know why they failed/got poor marks in the English language paper, which is a compulsory paper. It would be a surprise if the NCERT/equivalent institutions are using only one standard recognized spelling for Indian students in the text books published by them. Careers of students/IAS Etc Exam (now Civil services Exam) were destroyed by a single missing consonant or syllable! There is no government office which is not supplied a dictionary at public expense only to write correct English. Even then half the time is spent in dotting the i or crossing the t or replacing elevator by lift etc. Can the Hon’ble Minister for HRD kindly clarify which English is standard English to be taught to Indian school/college students and for official use for the purposes for which it was being used before the enforcement of the constitution of India, including the Judiciary, Parliament/Legislative Assemblies and Executive? A notification containing different spellings can’t be submitted for signature of the President of India! Can the number of students penalised for spelling colour as color etc. be published since most states have started English medium schools from nursery classes? Should the students go by the computer spelling? Also which dictionary of English should be prescribed for Indian resident learners of English as a second language (L2)? These clarifications are required on Priority in the interests of building strong foundation in English language for the children and youth on whose shoulders we are going to put the responsibility for development after the economic disaster of COVID-19. A very strong foundation in language laid early in school education can guarantee equal opportunities of growth, development and income. It brooks no ambiguity both for the teacher as well as the student.
M L Gupta

DEBATE (1)
India cannot be an economic superpower simply because of its dependence on China for raw material in the industrial space. The US economy will bounce back in a year or two for sure.
M M Singh
Welcome move to cut DA increase
Transport allowance should not be paid to officers and employees working from home. Govt must also scrap NFU with immediate effect. Special dispensations of exorbitant NE allowance, double HRA, Training allowance, etc should be done away with. Government should close offices and cut down strength of officers and employees across all departments. Number of ministries, departments, statutory bodies and autonomous organisation must be curtailed. Cabinet can be halved and other ministers be cut by one third. In effect it is time to start MINIMUM GOVERNMENT MAXIMUM GOVERNANCE, in real sense and not merely as a slogan.
Prakash
How can government find money for fiscal stimulus and create jobs ?
1. It should not be difficult to find savings of say 2-3 Lakh Crores , from reduction in government expenditure . These could range from deferring the redevelopment of central vista of Delhi to freeze in purchase of government vehicles, AC and other non essential expenses
2. The reduction in age of retirement, say from 60 to 58 ( or the formula of 55 / 33 yr service ) both offer twin advantages of reduction in salary bills of governments , and at the same time opportunity to hire fresh recruits . Given the retirees will draw pension , they will not be disadvantaged, but in one go GoI will be able to ensure fresh recruitment, when job losses are staring at our face.
V Mohan

DEBATE(1)
The United States may certainly bring down its investments in China but that does not mean India will have an edge as the United States will look for markets in South East Asia to invest.
K N Kumar
Sonia Gandhi, a character larger than life
I have always been critical of Congress party. I observe that Mrs Sonia Gandhi is a decent lady. She was offered the post of Congress Chief, but she was reluctant to join politics. Mrs Gandhi became card-carrying member of the party only after repeated requests by the Congress senior leaders. After joining politics, she was also offered the post of Prime Minister after party came to power, but declined the offer. Not only this, she also requested the Government to commute the death penalty to life imprisonments to her husband's killers. Her political decisions may be good or wrong. She is personally decent lady, doesn’t indulge in slanging match. Her personal character is larger than life.
Sunil Kumar
Check misuse of Ministers and Bureaucrats
During the time of Corona pandemic, the country is going to face a number of financial constraints. Apart from the various measures being taken by the Government for financial prudence, there is a need to strictly stop the misuse being done by the Ministers/Senior Bureaucrats in the matter of availing facilities over and above their entitlement especially in the consumption of fuel in their vehicles. They should invariably pay from their pocket the money used for personal purposes. They should reduce their official travel.
BBS

DEBATE (1)
The race to economic supremacy of any country post COVID-19 would depend upon top leadership of that country. It is still very early to say who is going to get the superpower tag.
Ketan Kumar
Will makes the way
The chief minister in a recent address to the media has called upon the private hospitals to run their OPDs, which they have surprisingly completely shut down, because of the fears generated by the unprecedented corona pandemic. He has even cited the example of army, where the absconders in the war are shot, perhaps to instill a sense of fear in them to comply. Generally such threats and dictates by any govt functionaries are taken with utter indifference and this time round also the compliance is minimal. But till about three decades back, such directives, even by the district level officers would be taken diligently by the govt and private institutions and functionaries .
More than four decades back, during my posting at Phagwara,it rained intermittently for about a week, but in the hills across Hoshiarpur, the rain fury was long and intense. The road from Phagwara to Hoshiarpur had a parallel bridge
near villages khati and Rawalpindi through which the rivulet called chitti being passed. During rainy season this bridge would submerge in the flood waters, thereby causing stoppage of traffic. But some adventurers would take risk of driving through this submerged narrow bridge and some cyclists would similarly take risk of walking through this danger zone. Being the main officer for flood control activities, very early in the morning one day, the patwari and qanugo of the area came to me to inform that one villager from khati village had drowned in the bein. Within a short time, we all moved towards the bridge to ascertain the facts. The villagers and the family wanted the body of that person ,which could be located only after the search by the villagers for five six hours. The matter was flashed to the deputy Commissioner, who along with officers of the PWD and drainage departments visited the site. He asked the executive engineer pwd as to why no warning signals or barricades had been put ahead of the bridge to restrain the traffic. Neither he ,nor his SDO had any answer to this. The deputy commissioner immediately asked the accompanying deputy superintendent police to register FIR of criminal negligence of causing death against them. The trembling of those officers at hearing this was visible to everyone around. The barricades and warning signals were put within next four hours, though the deputy commissioner personally monitored the case. This incident brought about improvement in the responsibility level of the officials in the area.
In the early 1990s,we were looking for a site for the construction of Ambedkar Bhawan at Kapurthala. The suitable govt, nazool or evacuee lands for the purpose were all unauthorizedly occupied by the influential people of the area. Since the govt was pressing for the construction of this Bhawan early, the deputy commissioner wrote to the govt for acquiring the land for the purpose. Anyhow ,a very young officer was then posted as deputy commissioner. He looked round the city and decided to get back hundreds of acres of land of the govt, illegally occupied and involved in litigation. He chalked out a plan and started his mission .Within a period of three months ,he got almost entire govt lands retrieved and work on construction of Ambedkar Bhawan began. The politicians ,who earlier were opposed to him, later appreciated his efforts and labelled him as 'landlord deputy commissioner'. Satish Chandra had done wonderful work. We need officers like him in this colossal danger to mankind.
Surinderjit Singh Sandhu, Amritsar

DEBATE(1)
It is still uncertain how the world would trade with China post COVID-19. Let us wait and watch.
Bipin Kumar Srivastava
Govt servant is a favorite punching bag
The government servant is a favorite punching bag for all and sundry. It is assumed that he is corrupt and inefficient. He is supposed to have no privacy and all his personal details are expected to be made private in the name of transparency. In the time of Corona infection, all run to the government officials for help. Surprising? If the assests fo the government servant are to be made private, the same law should apply to all the people of the country. The assests of all citizens should be made public. There should not be any discrimination against the government officers. It is strange that an ex government officer has issued such an order.
G V Shivkumar
Need for a guideline
Need for a guideline -laying down Protocol and SOP for Coronavirus like situation
For the last two-three days, there are reports of chaos-confusion in all parts of the country over the implementation of orders issued by Government of India and by the State Governments. The Central Government is issuing orders under The Disaster Management Act 2005, while many States are using The Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897!!
Yesterday there was confusion/chaos at Delhi’s border due to contrary orders issued by DM concerned. While senior officers sitting in Secretariat may know what are essential commodities and what are not-but the constable/checking staff may not be aware !!! They use their own discretion and create bottlenecks on highways.
Since the present situation is likely to continue for some more time and we may have similar situation in future, there is an URGENT need for issuing detailed GUIDELINES by Central Government. This should include proper protocols and standard operating procedures indicating responsibilities and power of every individual upto the lowest level officials. In fact our Vice President Venkiah Naidu has also advocated this in his message to officers on civil services day.
S Gopal

Attention Finance Minister. We are passing thru a challenging period of Covid-19. ITR forms for AY 2020-21 are likely to be issued shortly. Finance Minister must consider that the form Sahaj (Saral) remains Sahaj and not becomes complex as it is being filed by most of the salaried class and pensioners. Govt. has brought a scheme of " Vivad se Vishwas" or building trust between tax payers and tax administration. Let the scheme becomes vision and Brand TRUST is created and Govt. gets its long term benefits. To create brand Trust if some expenditure is required Govt. should not hesitate in meeting those obligations. Let the ITR1 remains the same as it was in AY 2018-19 where LTCG on transfer of equity and equity oriented MF was tax exempt but in 2018 budget it was made taxable if LTCG more than 1 lakh but filing of return was made complex and complicated even LTCG is less than taxable limit asking the salaried class and pensioners to file ITR2 giving unnecessary details of equity and mf even there are no tax liabilities. Let the ITR filing remains simpler asking the LTCG income under sec 112A in the income for reporting purpose in ITR1 from pulldown menu. If LTCG exceeds 1 lakh then tax payers automatically will switch to ITR2. This will be first step towards creating trust between tax payers and tax administration. Govt, has to take considerate view in these matters not fully depending on CBDT which requires each and every details to put tax payers moving from Vishwas se vivad ki aur. Let us create a good model of TRUST so the people pay tax honestly and correctly. CBDT has to work extra miles to develop tools and methodologies for assessing the income of professionals, traders, contractors etc. by their innovative approach not beaurocratic way. Many things depend on CBDT working and approach for developing ITR forms. Let us follow the time tested forms of AY 2018-19 or FY 2017-18 and making some necessary changes as per approved Budget proposals without making it complex and seeking details which are not required when there is no tax liability. Good luck for simple and sahaj forms. When ITR1 can meet the requirement why force salaried class and pensioners to file ITR2 having no tax liability on account of LTCG.
Naveen
CSS & CSSS most neglected
It's true that the most neglected case is CSS & CSSS in GoI. No promotion whatsoever is happening. Whereas Ellie services are enjoying the fruits as usual, in fact more. Nothing is moving for these two deleted cadres but when it relates to work ethics etc, these two cadres are the most vulnerable and they toil. Even during Covid 19, only these two cadres are supporting the whole Government of India. But promotions will not happen at all. Government should ensure that these cadres should get their deserved promotions soon. The more they wait, the less enthusiastic they become. Hope something happens quickly.
Seth

Why LG Delhi is not taking interest in eradicating Corona from Delhi ? All departments in Delhi come under LG Delhi but his participation in fighting against Corona is negligible. During recent Delhi riots as well, Dhobhal managed the show which otherwise was the role of LG. All this is due to his old age or something else. Where has the dynamism of Baijal gone. Is it due to the action taken by home ministry against the IAS officers very close to his heart ? The general public has very much right to know the back seat role and giving the front seat to Kejriwal.
Mehak Mathur
All the best !
Respected Tripathi ji is a very sincere person for his assignment and all time dedicated for best performance of his duties. He deserves it. Moreover, he is a very nice person with kind nature of human behaviour. All the best for excellent success of his new assignment.
Sukhvir Singh

India has always emerged stronger after every crisis. COVID-19 will prove another such opportunity. It is an opportunity to review and re-set our agriculture, industry, trade and tax policies and laws. Let us unbound the Prometheus in us. The potential of India has not been fully realised for several historical reasons but it has been proved beneficial during every crisis- in war or peace. COVID-19 is a crisis not suited for the terminology of “war”. The duration of the lockdown required quality food. People were heavily dependent on bread and other packaged foods. But quality upgradation and variety is needed if the spread of diseases like diabetes is to be controlled. Food adulteration is rampant in the market, which affects public health and strains public and private health budgets and, therefore, it should be a thing of the past once the lockdown is fully lifted. Can the governments at the centre & states declare a war on food adulteration? The scope for modernisation of agriculture, industry and trade holds the greatest potential for fast economic growth of the economy: more than 10% that doomsayers predict. Waste of precious agricultural produce needs to be reduced to less than 2% by washing, cleaning, preparing ready to cook vegetables at the farm. It will reduce garbage generation and add to compost making. Industry can give ten times better results than in the early phase of industrialisation in India as our skill levels have improved vastly Trade and tax laws need to be drastically re-done to achieve these goals. Waste of human resources by giving deplorably poor education to children in schools must end so that they learn skills for making contribution to the GDP. All it needs is sincerity of purpose and integrity. The people’s support and response to the hardships caused by the long lockdown validates the claim of the untapped Indian potential.
M L Gupta
No promotions in CSS ?
There are no promotions in the CSS since more than a year while all other services are regularly issuing promotion orders of its members. This has demotivated all eligible officers and is adversely affecting the benefits of those who are retiring.
GB

President, PM, Ministers, MPs and public servants to the last group C employees are contributing by voluntary reduction in pay or through donations, to enable the country overcome the hardships of COVID-19. Governance came to standstill and training programs were curtailed. Health and medical professionals and others on essential duty including conservancy services are directly fighting the battle with the pandemic. In this backdrop, it is correct that the All India Services and the Central Civil Services voluntarily forgo the Non-functional Financial Upgradation and consequent benefits. As it is, the NFU was a sleight of hand at the time VI CPC, employed to bestow undue benefits upon the already wealthy powers that be. It defrauds the people of this country, of their hard earned resources, which are always inadequate for development and welfare. The VII pay commission recommendations were ambivalent in recommending continuation of NFU, but it continues. This is the correct time to have rethink on NFU to free up resources for the fight post COVID-19. If not done voluntarily the Government must discontinue NFU from 01 Apr 2020.
Prakash