Press coverage of 500 RTI campaign

Clips from various newspapers reporting on the 500 RTI campaign on Section 4(1)(b) below. See the full reports in Telugu and English. 

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Eenadu

Source: http://www.eenadu.net/mundu/mundu-main.asp?qry=mundu261203

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Indian Express
























Source: http://expressbuzz.com/states/andhrapradesh/few-departments-comply-with-rti-rules/232783.html

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The Hindu (350+ complaints filed in all since this report)

Source:  http://hindu.com/2010/12/20/stories/2010122053010500.htm

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Deccan Chronicle

                          



సెక్షన్ 4(1)(బి) మీద సంజీవని యుద్ధభేరి!!

లోక్ సత్తా సంజీవని..!
అవినీతికీ అన్యాయానికి తావు లేని ఒక కొత్త లోకాన్ని సృష్టించేందుకు నడుం బిగించి ముందుకు వచ్చిన చైతన్య స్రవంతి సంజీవని! అవినీతి రక్కసి కోరల్లో చిక్కుకుని ఊపిరాడక ఆఖరి దశకు చేరుకోనున్న స్వతంత్ర భారతావనికి , ముప్పు తప్పించేందుకు ముందుకు వచ్చిన ఈ ' సంజీవని ' - లోక్ సత్తా అనుబంధ సంస్థ. ప్రజలే పెంచి పోషించిన బద్ధకానికీ, నిర్లక్ష్యానికీ అలవాటు పడి, పని చెయ్యడానికి పూర్తిగా నీళ్ళు వదిలిన కొన్ని ప్రభుత్వ కార్యాలయాల దుమ్ము దులిపేందుకు ముందడుగు వేసారీ సంజీవని సూత్రధారులు.

సమాచార హక్కు చట్టం అమలులోకి వచ్చి ఐదు వసంతాలు పూర్తి అయిన శుభ తరుణంలో, ఆ హక్కు మనకు అందించ దలచిన ఫలాలను అందరికీ అందుబాటులోకి తెచ్చేందుకు ఏదైనా వినూత్నంగా చెయ్యాలన్న లోక్ సత్తా సంజీవని సూత్రధారుల తలపుల్లో నుండి,తపనలో నుండి పుట్టినదే ఈ 'సెక్షన్ 4(1)(బి) పై యుద్ధభేరి ' ఘట్టం. అందులో భాగంగా, ఒకటో రెండో కాదు..పదులూ ఇరవైలూ కాదు..ఏకంగా 500 ఆర్.టి.ఐ  దరఖాస్తులు, ఒకే సెక్షన్ [ 4(1)(బి)] మీద పెట్టి, ఒక చరిత్రాత్మక మార్పుకు శ్రీకారం చుట్టారు సంజీవని సభ్యులు. ఈ దరఖాస్తులలో అధిక భాగం ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్ ప్రభుత్వ శాఖలు మరియు సచివాలయంలోని వివిధ విభాగాల ప్రథాన కార్యదర్శులకు, మిగిలినవి రంగారెడ్డి, నల్గొండ మరియు హైదరాబాదు జిల్లాల కార్యాలయాలకు ఉద్దేశింపబడినవి. దరఖాస్తులకు వచ్చిన సమాధానాలు స్వల్పంగాను, అసంతృప్తికరంగాను ఉండటంతో సంజీవని బృంద సభ్యులు 350 ఫిర్యాదులు దాఖలు చేసారు.

శాఖలు, కార్యాలయాలు పంపిన సమాధానాల గణాంకాలతో కూడిన వివరాలు క్రింద చూడగలరు. 

Section 4(1)(b) and the 500 RTIs Campaign

On the eve of the 5th anniversary of the enactment of the RTI Act, Loksatta Sanjeevani has filed an unprecedented 500 RTI applications as part of its latest campaign. These applications have been filed with all state and secretariat heads of departments of the Andhra Pradesh Government and some Nalgonda, Rangareddy and Hyderabad district offices. Significantly, all 500 applications target a single section of the RTI Act - Section 4(1)(b). The provisions of Section 4(1)(b) are key to transparency in the system - they help remove obscurity and the accompanying corruption and ultimately, empower citizens to make officials accountable.

The official response to these applications highlights a widespread laxity in complying with the requirements of this important section of the RTI Act. A detailed, tabulated report on the responses is being released to the public. The Sanjeevani team is filing more than 350 complaints on the violations and demanding that the Government and Information Commission take immediate action to ensure total compliance.

A full report, including statistics of department-wise responses, follows. 
 

Landmark decision by APIC on IAS/IPS assets

Article on RTI by Dr.JP

@Vijetha Degree College - RTI Session

Dear All,

Sanjeevani team believes that the youth in country should understand the importance of most effective tool given to them by the government and make use of it to kill the corruption in the society.

If we can educate the youth about the advantages of RTI and the way we need to use it, we can definitely hope for a better future. With this in mind, on 12-Nov-2010 Sanjeevani has conducted it's next RTI session at Vijetha Degree College, Kukatpally.

Need volunteers for Sanjeevani's literature team

*************** Call for volunteers ***************

We are calling for volunteers to join the literature team of Loksatta Sanjeevani. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about the nitty-gritty of Loksatta's fight against corruption and to interact closely with the zealous activists who wage the everyday battle. It is also a chance to exercise your interest and flair for writing and translations.

Welcoming Sundeep to the world of Sanjeevani..!

The Mega Event of the year - Filing 500 RTIs targetting a single section - 4(1)(b)

We are imperfect. We cannot expect perfect government. ~ William Howard.

but, the Loksatta Sanjeevani Team did not leave that thought at that. It began a journey to change the so called 'imperfect' to 'perfect' and the 'idle' to 'working'. The attempts never cease, the spirits never flag. In the continuing sequence of activities, Loksatta Sanjeevani has successfully launched a new campaign. This is one is slightly different.....and significantly better. Targeting a single section of RTI law, it has forged ahead to file an unprecedented 500 RTI applications.

Unbelievable ? Wait a minute ..We have taken enough time to come up with stats and photos of the event to make you believe the power of RTI and perhaps, a healthy team..Wanna know more?...You surely can..!Read on..!!

The campaign:

On the eve of the 5th anniversary of the enactment of the RTI Act (October 12, 2010), the Loksatta Sanjeevani team has taken up a massive campaign of filing 500 RTI applications. These applications have been filed with ALL state and secretariat heads of departments and some Nalgonda, Rangareddy and Hyderabad district offices. Significantly, all 500 applications are based on a single section of the RTI law - Section 4(1)(b).

What is special about Section 4(1)(b)?

This section stipulates that each department provide to the public a handbook which includes at least 17 prescribed items of information both online, on the department website, and as hard copies in the offices. A sample of these information items is as follows: details of the department's organization, functions and duties, employee powers and responsibilities, the directory of all employees, procedure followed in the decision making process, including channels of supervision and accountability, monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and employees, budget allocations, with details of all plans, proposed expenditures and reports on disbursements made. This information is expected to be updated regularly and as necessary. This mandatory information is the key to transparency in the system -preventing obscurity and the accompanying corruption and ultimately, empowering citizens to make officials accountable.

The Loksatta Sanjeevani team observed that even after 5 years, very few Government offices have actually implemented this important RTI law. Starting with a training session on September 25th, 12 team members have been filing the 500 applications.

Loksatta Sanjeevani's vision and effort:

Implementing Section 4(1)(b) will make all the critical information necessary for making government efficient, benefiting both the citizens and officials. Also, it can be expected to reduce the number of RTI applications by half, since the basic information is available beforehand. It has been a great learning experience for Sanjeevani team members, who now have an in-depth awareness about several departments, and are working hard to disseminate the same to the wider public.

Everything takes money, and the team has spent about Rs. 16,000 of their personal funds in this effort.

Team members :
Election - Santosh – Bharat – Avanish - Uday Bhaskar - Narasimha - Madhu - Pradeep - Srinivas - Savan - Subbu - Azeez

Event coverage in Eenadu news paper:

http://www.loksattasanjeevani.in/2010/11/filing-500-rtis-loksatta-sanjeevani-in.html

Official Response:

Every Department office has a designated Public Information Officer (PIO) who is responsible for providing the requested handbook. As per the RTI Act, the response should be immediate, as these documents should have been prepared by Oct 12th 2005. However, we have received only 83 replies in one month, out of which only 23 replies have provided us Sec. 4(1)(b) manuals .We are expecting that most responses will arrive only after a second appeal. A positive response was received from the Dept. for Labour Welfare, Andhra Pradesh, who first provided the handbook/manual and then made it available online. A small number of offices have responded with the correct and complete information. Some PIOs have confessed a complete lack of awareness of the requirement of Section 4(1)(b) and made phone calls requesting Sanjeevani members to visit their office and provide directions for preparing the handbook. Surprisingly, several officials have demanded money (upto Rs 5000) for CDs, postage, translation etc. A few offices flatly refused to provide the necessary information. The majority do not have information in Telugu. We have also received several weird replies. A few local offices informed us that this information is not available at local level and asked us to contact the respective head offices. The head offices, on the other hand, asked us to contact local offices, as they can't maintain information related to all offices.

Loksatta Sanjeevani's follow-up to response:

The team’s experience has been that on being confronted with the exact provisions of the RTI Act and making it clear that denial and intimidation will not work, many PIOs quickly change their attitude. The team will be filing first and second appeals for the requested information. And in tandem, we are planning to file complaints directly with the Information Commission under Section 18 of RTI.

Sanjeevani promises to follow-up with a detailed report and analysis of the responses received and the actions being taken based on them.

Warm Regards,
Loksatta Sanjeevani Team

For regular updates on our activities, please follow us on Twitter @ LSPSanjeevani.

If you would like to contribute in any way to this group, please write to Abdul Azeez Shaik (abdulazeez1984@gmail.com) or Sundeep Pattem (pattem@gmail.com).

Filing 500 RTIs - Loksatta Sanjeevani in news..

Dear All,

The mega event of filing 500 RTI s regarding a single section of RTI law is featured in AP's most popular news paper : EENADU.

We take this oppurtunity to share the success with all of you. More details about will be published in our next post. Keep readin', all of you...!!

Massive RTI's for Sec 4(1)(b) implementation -Need Volunteers

******************** Call For Volunteers ********************

On the occasion of completion of 5years of implementation of RTI(On Oct 12th 2010), we are planning a massive event of filing 500 RTI applications on the Govt departments in AndhraPradesh (HOD's and District offices in Hyderabad,Rangareddy districts).

The motif of this event is the implementation of Section 4.1(b) in all the Govt. offices. The act 4.1(b) is the core act and the advantages of implementation of this act in Govt. offices are multi fold. The general public will get more accessibility if the act is implemented in all the Govt offices. Please find more details about 4.1(b) in "ap.gov.in" under the RTI tab.

We have scheduled a meeting, this Saturday(@9AM), to discuss the further proceedings. We request interested people to take part in this act. We are planning to make this still magnanimous by garnering more support from people from any part of AP.

Current Team: Abdul Azeez, Srinivas Rao Ganji, Subrahmanyam,Pradeep,Avanish, Praveen

Venue: LokSatta Party Office, Basheerbagh, Hyderabad
Time: 9am
Date: 25th Sept.2010

Please join us in making this event successful and bringing a positive change. Please contact Azeez(abdulazeez1984@gmail.com) or Subrahmanyam(Smilysubbu@gmail.com) to participate with us.

@Ameerpet - RTI Session

Vidyarthi Satta has organized another session on Right To Information Act(RTI) for students on Sep 10th from 1:30PM - 4:00 PM @Ameerpet.

Dr.JP has addressed the students at the end of the session.

Around 40 members had attended RTI session and participated very enthusiastically. Many queries have been answered in this session by RTI activist Ganji Srinivas Rao.

Please find below the link for the photos of above session,

http://picasaweb.google.com/LoksattaSanjeevani/RTISessionAtAmeerpet#

If you are willing to arrange for RTI sessions in your own college, or in and around Hyderabad , or if you have any suggestion, please do write to us : loksattasanjeevani@gmail.com 

@Pragathi Degree College - RTI Session

Volunteers from Loksatta Kukatpally and Sanjeevani joined their hands to conduct RTI sessions in the colleges in and around kukatpally.

Keeping in mind that the youth of this country should be aware of the most powerful weapon handed over to them, and should know how to use it, volunteers have gone ahead with the event planner.

Sambireddy Bontu has taken care of the initial formalities like reaching out to various colleges, getting permissions etc.The responses from the colleges have been very positive and it is indeed a good sign that a lot of principals readily agreed to arrange for sessions in their colleges.

On  09-11-2010  RTI awareness session has been conducted in Pragathi Womens Degree College (Kukatpally,Hyd).Abdul Azeez and Sambi Reddy Bonthu have taken the sessions for different batches and they received a fantastic response.

The topics like : What is RTI, the basics and back ground, how it has been helpful to general public, few success stories of RTI, sample application forms, and what is expected from students etc are covered in today's session.

Students seem to be highly motivated and as an answer to organizer's question at the end of the session, they promised aloud that they will not bribe people going forward.

Sanjeevani hopes that these sessions will indeed bring some change in the attitude of all those students, and wishes for a bright future.If you are willing to arrange for RTI sessions in your own college, or in and around Hyderabad , or if you have any suggestion, please do write to us : loksattasanjeevani@gmail.com

Sample RTI for fee reimbursement issues

Please download the sample RTI applications for fee reimbursement issues from below,

Fee reimbursement Beneficiaries - Sample to find out the beneficiaries of particular college in any university.

Individual Fee reimbursement      -  Sample to find out the status of individual application on this fees reimbursement.

Please pass on these RTI's to all students and parents.

@CBIT College - RTI Session

We got tremendous response for the RTI session, conducted on last Saturday(04/09) at Abids, Hyderabad.

About 95 students, from CBIT Engineering college, had attended the session and participated very enthusiastically.

At the end, the session was graced by Dr.JP with his presence. He delivered a speech which inspired many students to be responsible towards society. 

Please find the link for the photos,
http://picasaweb.google.com/LoksattaSanjeevani/RTISessionAtJosephChurch#

The efforts by Narasimha (CBIT 3rd year student) and Vijay Bhaskar in organizing the session is commendable. Kudos to their work.
If you are willing to arrange for RTI sessions in your own college, or in and around Hyderabad , or if you have any suggestion, please do write to us : loksattasanjeevani@gmail.com

@Sri Venkateswara Degree College - RTI Session

We conducted an RTI session in Sri Venkateswara Degree College, last saturday ( 31st July-2010 ) with the help of SAHASRA foundation and response was overwhelming. Prinicipal and lectures of the college are going to file their first RTI this week and they asked us to form RTI clubs in the college.
Please find the photos of the event at, http://picasaweb.google.com/LoksattaSanjeevani/RTISessionSVCollege#

If you are willing to arrange for RTI sessions in and around Hyderabad , or if you have any suggestion, please do write to us : loksattasanjeevani@gmail.com
Contacts : Abdul Azeez Shaik ( abdulazeez1984@gmail.com ), Manasa Chamarthi ( manasa.chamarthi@gmail.com ), Sundeep Pattem ( pattem@gmail.com )

Update on MGBS (Hyderabad Bus Terminal)

I hope everyone remember the SUCCESSFUL MGBS event details which we have posted a month ago.
We did not just stop at that, since we believe that erasing the problems right from the roots is the best solution.

So,Here is an interesting update on that event..

Seating Arrangements Problem and a solution in busstops

What was the Problem? :

Every citizen who has visited the bus stations or bus stops knows the problem of seating arrangement which is insufficient by any standards. Also CC/BT pavements have to be provided in all bus stations at IN and OUT approaches and parking yards, which are clearly not being provided. Some such pavements, which started construction, also were left incomplete by the R.T.C.

What do rules say? :

A.P.S.R.T.C has announced that they will provide seating arrangements at all bus stations and bus stops for the convenience of passengers. They also have started the construction of CC/BT pavements, which were very essential. But they haven’t finished their construction. Also they haven’t provided the seating arrangements.

What have we done? :

We lodged a 30 point complaint, on 11-11-2009, to the R.T.C. in which we mentioned this problem clearly. Though, the officials didn’t show interest on the complaint, we made them take some action by filing an R.T.I application, on 14-12-2009 demanding the action taken report on our complaint lodged.

Actions taken:

The civil engineer, who has taken up the job, sent a reply on 30-1-2010, issuing the orders to the Executive engineer, to provide seating arrangements and CC/BT pavements on the IN and OUT approaches at bus stations. He also ordered to complete the incompletely constructed pavements.

This is the power of R.T.I that made R.T.C. issue orders on the facilities that they announced but have not implemented. If you think you too can fight for some good cause you are welcome. We are here to help you.

Please download Complaint, RTI and Replies here.

Misuses of CAT CARD

What was the problem? :

In district ordinary (Palle Velugu) service buses, the CAT Card holders, who travel from one place to another for job purposes, are misusing the CAT Card for their personal benefit. Instead of taking a single ticket for the whole journey they take number of tickets on the whole journey. This is to avail concession on each ticket for their gain. For example instead of buying a Rs. 30 ticket which gives them a Rs.3 concession, they take 6 Rs.5 tickets so that they get each ticket for Rs.3 and they get double the concession. This results in loss to R.T.C.

What do rules say? :

CAT card was introduced in order to benefit the card holders by providing some concession on their ticket fare. The persons who opt for CAT cards are generally those people who travel on a regular basis. But the concession on the ticket fare is to be limited to only once in the whole journey. But due to some miscommunication and loopholes in the rules of CAT card the CAT card holders are misusing their liberty for saving their money.

What have we done? :

We lodged a 30 point complaint, on 11-11-2009, to the R.T.C. in which we mentioned this problem clearly. Though, the officials didn’t show interest on the complaint, we made them take some action by filing an R.T.I application, on 14-12-2009 demanding the action taken report on our complaint lodged.

Actions taken:

The reply came on 25-01-2010 regarding the CAT card issue and they made certain fare revisions. They claimed that according to new fare revision they have restricted CAT card holders from performing break journey so that they cannot avail additional concession than they originally deserved.

This is the power of R.T.I which made R.T.C to revise and review their loopholes and even correct their mistake to save public money. Please come forward to fight against any such incidents that you come across every day. We are here to help you.

Please download Complaint, RTI and Replies here.

APSRTC service quality improvisation

What was the problem? :

Over the years there were growing problems in R.T.C that aroused different difficulties for the passengers. The major problems included no details of bus routes and bus timings in bus stands, fitness of the buses, preference of luggage, ID cards for employees of R.T.C, Cleanliness of buses, etc. among various others.

What do rules say? :

A.P.S.R.T.C is the major road transport corporation in Andhra Pradesh that provides bus facilities all over the state. The services of R.T.C vary from district services to city services including various others too. It should take all necessary steps to provide the required facility to each and every passenger.

What have we done? :

We lodged a complaint, on 11-11-2009, with 30 complaints and suggestions, to the R.T.C and asked to take the required actions, so as to rectify their drawbacks to provide quality service. But the complaint was not taken seriously. So we used RTI act to file an application, on 14-12-2009, requesting an action taken report on the complaint lodged and the conversational note files with each department concerned.

Actions taken:

The reply came on 10-02-2010 with all the action taken reports and the note files of conversation between the concerned departments. Though the total information was not fully furnished, some issues were clarified and some cases were solved. The suggestions were said to be accepted, but the steps taken to implement those were not mentioned. They also defended themselves in some serious issues like Fitness certificates of buses, where they said that all buses are in good fitness conditions. This doesn’t seem to be true when we look at so many ordinary buses, running on roads, that don’t seem to be in good condition.

Though this is a partial victory by us, we have achieved to gain some information about:

• The presence of complaints book with each conductor.
• The steps taken to provide timetable to each and every bus stop, with depot manager and other concerned authorities phone numbers.
• Their confession regarding the destination boards, which were not available in many routes and also not present in our regional language.
• The plans to provide bus service to all the villages that are a bit far away from the main road.
• The formation of teams to have regular inspection of private vehicles. The teams include R.T.C, R.T.A and Police department officials.

This is the power of R.T.I to evoke some response on a complaint lodged against an organization, which otherwise wouldn’t have cared.

Please download Complaint, RTI and Replies here.

Deepam Scheme Success Story

Today, money and corruption are ruining the land and crooked politicians betray the working man pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep.

And we are tired of promises that we know they will never keep.

Am sure the day has come to fight back. Corruption has never been compulsory. Similarly, giving bribes is not compulsory. Trust me, we have a way. We have a way to check and we have a way to get things done in our own way.

Government has occasionally come up with some wonderful schemes for the benefit of people BELOW POVERTY LINE. However, most of us never acknowledged that , the only reason being the beneficiaries are not the intended people. They are someone else. Someone who is in power and someone who is corrupted.

We would like to highlight the issues happened with one such scheme announced in 1999 and the way we successfully fought for it! Here is how..

Loksatta Times Magazine Rocks!!!

Our team is all over in the Loksatta Times Magazine latest edition.

We are proud to announce that a lot of activities that our group has worked on, are published in the official magazine.

Page 9 &10 : All our works. Also talks about the petition we had filed a month ago regarding the implementation of RTI act.
Page 16 & 17 : An article written by Srinivas Rao Ganji
Page 18 &19 : The bus stand event that we have completed successfully.
Page 19 : A simple poem written by our team member, Manasa Chamarthi. The subject she has chosen was, RTE (Right To Education )

Congratulations to the whole team,Manasa and special mention to Srinivas Garu for his hard work, dedication and determination to complete things on time.
I Thank you all for your continuous support and active participation in the events organized so far.

Please find below the link for the Loksatta Times Magazine, http://www.loksatta.org/cms/documents/lstimes/lstimes-2010-may-1-31.pdf

ఇంకా తెలవారదేమి...

Dear ALL,

Adding this post written by Manasa on our group, at http://www.madhumanasam.blogspot.com/.

'ప్రతి రోజూ మా ఉదయం పేపర్ చదవడంతోనే మొదలవుతుంది' అని గర్వం గా చెప్పుకునే వాళ్ళు ఈ దేశంలో లక్షల మంది ఉంటారు. అదే నిజమైతే..వాళ్ళ ఉదయం ఎలా మొదలవుతోంది ?

ఏనాడూ కలిసి లేని మనం , మళ్లీ మళ్లీ విడిపోవాలని ఎత్తుకు పై ఎత్తులు వేసుకుంటుంటే, ఆ వైకుంఠ పాణి ఆడలేని అమాయక ప్రాణాలు ఎలా వైకుంఠానికి పోతున్నాయో బొమ్మలలో చూడడంతోనా?
నిజాలు జనాలను చేరకుండా ఆపేందుకు ఒకరిని మించి ఒకరు ఎలా పోటీలు పడుతున్నారో చూసి నవ్వుకోవడంతోనా?
మంచిని మరిచిన కొందరు మానవ మృగాలు ఆటవిక యుగపు దాఖలాలు మన చుట్టూరా ఇంకా మిగిలే ఉన్నాయని సాక్ష్యం ఇస్తుంటే , అరాచకాన్ని ఖండించలేని పిరికితనంతో వార్తలను చదివి బాధ్యత తీరిపోయింది అనిపించుకోవడంతోనా?
పదేళ్ళ పసి పిల్లాడు అప్పుడప్పుడూ అమ్మా నాన్నలిచ్చే రూపాయి రూపాయి కూడబెట్టుకుని , బళ్ళో వరద బాధితులకి విరాళాలు అడగగానే , ఆ డబ్బంతా ఆనందంగా అప్పజెపితే, అలాంటి డబ్బులను కూడా నిస్సిగ్గుగా సొంత ఖాతాలోకి చేర్చుకున్న మహా మహుల చరిత్రలు చదవడంతోనా?

ఈ దేశం అవినీతికి చిరునామా అని అడగకపోయినా అందరికీ పేరు పేరునా చెప్పి, అన్యాయం వేళ్ళూనుకు పోయిన ఈ సమాజాన్ని ఎన్ని తరాలు మారినా మార్చలేమని మనని మనం ఎమార్చుకోవడం తప్ప ఎప్పుడైనా ఏమైనా చెయ్యాలని ప్రయత్నించామా?

మన ఇంటి ముందు మాన్ హోల్ లో పసి మొగ్గ పడిపోతే, రేపొద్దున వార్తల్లో ఏం రాస్తాడో అని ఎదురు చూస్తాం. ఇండియన్ క్రికెట్ టీం వైఫల్యానికి అర్ధ రాత్రి పార్టీలే కారణమని టీవీ లు అరగంట హోరెత్తిస్తే, తెల్లవారగానే ముందు ఈ విషయం మొత్తం చదవాలని నిర్ణయించుకుని పడుకుంటాం.

ప్రతి చోటా , ప్రతి పనికీ లంచాలు ఇవ్వందే పని జరగడం లేదని వాపోతాం. ఇంకో పది మందికి చెబుతాం. ఎప్పుడైనా ఎవరో ఒక నిజాయితీ కలిగిన రిపోర్టర్ వీళ్ళందరి మీదా ఏమైనా రాసినప్పుడు, నిబద్దత కలిగిన పోలీసులు వెను వెంటనే తగిన చర్యలు తీసుకున్నప్పుడు, మనం చెయ్యలేని పని వేరెవరో చేసినందుకు చప్పట్లు కొడతాం. సంబరాలు చేసుకుంటాం.

ఇక ఇంతేనా? మన జీవితం ఎన్నాళ్ళయినా ఇంతేనా? రావణుడిని చంపడానికి రాముడి రాక కై ఎదురు చూసాం. నరకాసురుడిని అంతమొందించేందుకు మరో అవతారం కావలన్నాం. బ్రిటిష్ వాళ్ళ ఉక్కు పాదం కింద నలిగిపోతూ మహాత్ముడెవడో వస్తాడని నిరీక్షించాం .

ఇక చాలు. మహాత్ముడు తన సైన్యం తో మనకి స్వాతంత్ర్యం సాధించి పెడితే, అది మనకి మరో అస్త్రం ప్రసాదించింది.
రాముడి కోసం, కృష్ణుడి కోసం ఈ సారి ఎన్ని యుగాలు ఆగాలో మనకీ తెలీదు.ఒక వేళ మనం అంతా ఓపిగ్గా ఆగినా, సాక్షాత్తూ ఏడు కొండల మీదే మోసాల ముసుగు కప్పిన ఘనుల మీద అలిగి ఇటు వైపు చూడబోనని స్వామి వారు ఈ పాటికే శ్రీదేవి కి మాటిచ్చి ఉండరూ ? పోనీ , మహా లక్ష్మి దయ కలిగినదై ఒక్కసారి వాళ్ళని కరుణించండని నచ్చజెప్పి పంపిందే అనుకుందాం, ...'నకిలీల' హవా నడుస్తున్న భూలోకం లో, తనని నమ్మరన్న సంశయంతో భగవంతుడు మధ్యలోనే వెను దిరిగి వెళ్ళిపోతేనో.. ?

కనుక ఈ లోపు మనమే యుద్ధం ప్రారంభిద్దాం. కనపడ్డ ప్రతి అవినీతి పరుని మీద మన అస్త్రాలని ప్రయోగిద్దాం.అన్యాయం జరిగిందని చదివి వదిలెయ్యకుండా, దాని చరిత్ర తెలుసుకుందాం. ౧౦ రూపాయల స్టంప్ ఖర్చుతో, సంబంధిత వివరాలను ఇంటికి తెప్పించుకుని పోరాటం సాగిద్దాం. పెద్ద పెద్ద విషయాల్లో తల దూర్చడం ఇష్టం లేదనుకుటే, మీ కోసమే వాడుకోండి. గ్యాస్ కనక్షన్స్ అనుకున్నట్టు రాకపోయినా, పాస్పోర్ట్ పనులకు, విద్యుత్ శాఖని నిలదీయుటకు ...ఇలా ప్రతి ప్రభుత్వ శాఖని ప్రశ్నించే అధికారం పొందండి.ఇది మన హక్కు..!!
ఇంతకీ దాని పేరేమిటో చెప్పలేదు కదూ.. "సమాచార హక్కు చట్టం".
మనకి దీనిని మించిన బలం లేదు .తలదన్నే ఆయుధం మరొకటి లేదు. ప్రతి పనికీ, ప్రతి కష్టానికి ఇది ఒక ఉపాయం చెప్తుంది, మనం కలలు కనే భారతాన్ని కళ్ళ ముందుకు తెస్తుంది.

ఇప్పటి దాకా ఏమేం సాధించామో ( ఒక చిన్న గ్రూప్ ద్వారా) తెలుసుకోవాలంటే, "లోక్ సత్తా సంజీవని" ని అడగండి.
http://www.loksattasanjeevani.blogspot.com/
ఇవి కేవలం సంకల్ప బలమే తప్ప మంది బలం లేని ఒక చిన్న గ్రూప్. కేవలం ఎలక్షన్స్ ముందు మనని ఊదర గొట్టి పారిపోయే రాజకీయ పార్టీల్లా కాక, ఒక లక్ష్యం తో ముందుకి వెళ్తున్న వారికి, ఒక్కసారి అభినందనలు తెలియజేద్దాం. కుదిరితే మన వంతు సాయం చేద్దాం.

అబ్బే, లేదండి ..మాది ఆమ్యామ్యా బండి, "ఇవ్వడం- తీసుకోవడం" మా ఆచారం ..ఆ గుంత లో నుండి బయటకు రాలేం అంటారా....ఎప్పుడు తెల్లారుతుందా..ఈ రోజు ఏ వార్తని ఖండిద్దామా...ఎవరిని నిందించి పక్కకి తప్పుకున్దామా ,అని ఆలోచిస్తూ..ఆనందంగా ఈ జన్మ కిలా కానీయండి.. :)

- మానస చామర్తి

@Vizag -RTI Session

We are co-ordinating with Loksatta Vizag and conducting a session on RTI in Vizag on 6th June 2010 @10AM.
Please contact Ali @9885888388 for further details.

Registering for voter ID card is much easier now

IMP: Procedure for Online registration of Voter Id cards last date 12-Jun-2010

Technology has made things easier now. We are now allowed to register for voter card sitting at your computer itself or through nearby drop boxes. Please avail this opportunity if you do not have Voter ID card yet. Make sure that you register it before 12-Jun-2010, that is the cutoff date provided.

How to apply for a Voter ID card?
In case of a new Voter Card, you need to fill the Form 6. :

1. Age of the candidate should be above 18years as on 01-01-2010.
2. Two passport size photos
3. Birth Certificate or any Date of Birth Proof like school/college certificate.

-In case you changed your residence Form 8a should be filled.
-In case any other changes need to be made to the Voters list Form 8 should be filled.

Online Process:

- Main site www.ceoandhra.nic.in -> e-Registration.
- Link for online registration : http://ceo.ap.gov.in/eregistration/default.asp

One of the experiences by SaiRakesh :
“I got my voter id card by applying through online Last year(Feb2009). I have registered in the site. It took me hardly 5 mins . I just uploaded my photo from Sparsh (Infosys Id card).The size of photo should not exceed the given limit. I got verification call within 10 days. It took nearly 30 days for whole process.”

Offline Process:
You can download the Forms from www.eci.nic.in or http://www.ceoandhra.nic.in/

Where do I submit/submit the forms?
· If your residence comes under GHMC you can collect and submit the Forms 6,7,8 and 8a at Deputy Commissioner’s Office ( Municipal Office) or Post Offices or Drop Boxes provided at any of the Malls or Petrol Bunks.

Address of all Municipalities(GHMC):
http://www.ghmc.gov.in/mch/keycontacts.asp?status=12

For more Info On GHMC:
http://www.ghmc.gov.in/index.asp

· If your residence does not come under GHMC you can collect and submit the Forms 6,7,8 and 8a at District’s Sub Collector’s Office or Electoral Registration Officer or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer.

- On 05-06-2010, 06-06-2010, 11-06-2010, 12-06-2010 you can collect/submit the Forms from selected Voter Registration Centers.
- Registration forms submitted in bulk will not be accepted.
- Forms 6,7,8 and 8a should be submitted personally.
- The Forms of individuals belonging to a family can be submitted by a member of that Family.
- The Forms can be submitted in person or by post to the Electoral Registration Officer or the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer at the mentioned centers from 28-05-2010 – 12-06-2010 on all working days between 10.30 am to 5.00 pm.
- To view the Voters list or for any other help you can approach the Electoral Registration Officer or the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer.

Toll Free contact no. 1100

Tax Evasions and BIG Fishes

"Why is it that when the government loses a tax return, it is considered a mistake, but when you lose a receipt, it is considered tax evasion? "
- An friend of mine who is now a business man innocently questioned me once. I could only smile back then.
Jokes apart,Now that I think of this, and understand the major problems that the Government is facing due to tax evasions, I feel not a single case should be dismissed.We can not really deny the fact that, "The government deficit is the difference between the amount of money the government spends and the amount it has the nerve to collect".

With this point in mind, we directed our RTI guns towards the tax evasions this time. The whole episode and the results made us speechless for witnessing the level of corruption/negligence or what so ever, in the society. Providing the complete details right below to our group.


Event : Checking Tax Dues and Taking Necessary Actions.
Date : MAY
Area : Anajpur and UmarKhan Daira Villages, Hayat Nagar Mandal, Rangareddy District
Purpose : To understand how many people are evading taxes each year and to get them pay the taxes without fail
Actions Taken :
Have filed RTI to the Village Panchayat Kendra to retrieve the list of people who has a due of more than 20,00 taxes

1. Received the list and carefully analyzed the data.
2. Gathered from the analyzed statistics that one of the company has a due of total of 10,00,000 (10 lakhs) worth taxes to above Gram Panchayats.
3. Filed a complaint to take necessary actions against the responsible people.

Pending Actions : Need to follow up with the responsible officers to make sure that the tax amount is collected / Actions are taken.
Additional Information : The RTIs filed, response from village panchayat, complaints raised and Model applications are uploaded here.
We request all of you to go through the sample RTI(attached both Telugu and English) and save it for the benefit of your own area. Right amount of taxes paid on right time to the government may help the leaders to bring the changes that we all want to see. As a responsible citizen, your duty does not end up just by paying taxes , but by ensuring that the society around you is following the right path. Please take part in it.


Please join us in these activities and let us all work for the betterment of society that we all dream of, every minute and every day.


Regards,
Loksatta Saroor Nagar CHC
The difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison wall .

Gas cylinder refillment -RTI Success story

One more achievement of Loksatta Saroor Nagar CHC to make all of us proud and to make all of us believe in the power of RTI.


Issue : We have got complaints that Gas agency dealer is sending the refillment request back saying that there should be a minimum gap of 21 days for the refillment which is actually not true.


What do the rules say : Rules say that refillment can be done immediately after 48 hours and it should be delivered to you within 24 hours. Any delays in this regard are legally questionable.


What have we done :We have raised a Complaint and filed RTI against the gas agency in Saroor Nagar area, which is not delivering the cylinders on time and thus causing issues to the people in the locality. It is also brought to our notice that they are illegally sending those cylinders to restauernts, hotels near by and gaining profit through it.


Actions taken :

• Complaint filed, has been addressed.
• The gas agency has lost the permission to supply the cylinders. It has been closed now, as per the news in Sakshi.

Please do not take it sitting back when a dealer tells you that cylinder can only be delivered after 21 days from the time of booking. Fight for your rights.


Fight back when you face such situations. We are here to help. Please join us for a corruption free, 'developed' India.


All files have been uploaded here

MGBS-Bus stand activity -Update

After all our efforts, it is only the results that keep us going.At the end of a tired day at work, it is only a fight won against the evil forces, that can bring a smile back on our face.

Remember the mail we have sent to you few days back regarding the work we have done in bus stations to get all the shops registered ?We are amused to see the results today.

RTI's on unclogging of Hussain Sagar Surplus nala

Dear All,

As monsoon season is nearing in couple of months, Hyderabadis may have to face the drainage related issues yet. There could be adverse affect with nalas which are going to inundate/flood the low lying areas. Spells of heavy rain can lead to huge quantities of water being discharged from the lake. This, in turn, will inundate at least 15 slums, bastis and even colonies which are downstream of the Hussainsagar.

Event : Monitoring cleaning/unclogging of Nalas and creating awareness among nearby residents
Date proposed as per the current plan : JULY
Nalas under interest : Hussain Sagar Surplus nals

Purpose : To clean/unclog the nalas to allow free flow of drainage water which is currently not happening due to lot of sloid sewage/garbage in these nalas.

Issues that we see currently :

• Contractors - Not taking the responsibility of completing the work properly.
• Wastage of public money : There are crores of rupees being spent by the govt' to clear these nalas every year. and yet, no proper action is being taken. It goes without saying that 'our' own money is wasted in this total sequence.
• People of abutting apartments - There are some apartments abutting nala who throw their garbage directly into these nalas without any second thought !
• Garbage collection Timings : People are not aware of the timings of the garbage collection and with this excuse ever ready, they are conveniently throwing the garbage into nalas right through their window.

Background :
The final solution for this issue is remodelling and widening of nalas which has been taken up by GHMC few years ago as per Kirloskar recommendations .However, they couldn't make much progress on this due to thousands of encroachments and political interventions.GHMC couldn't use the funds allocated by central government due to this encroachments and this work is pending for years.

Hence, they have come up with a temporary plan.i.e.cleaning/unclogging of nalas to allow free flow, in which we are taking part.

Action Plan :

• Creating awareness in local people with contractor details, frequency of the work, amount beind paid to them, affect of diseases like Malaria.
• Keeping them updated on garbage collection timings.
• Following up with GHMC officials on monitoring the work.

RTIs Applied so far :

• Contractor details - Download nala cleaning contractors.pdf and Model RTI for the same here.
• Garbage Collection timings - Download garbage collection timings.pdf and Model RTI for the same here.
• Status on implementing Kirloskar recommendations - Download Kirloskar recommendations.pdf and Model RTI for the same here.

Additional Info : We are also attaching sample forms of RTI, along with this mail. If you see similar problems in your area, do not hesitate to work on it.Our team is at your service any time.

Team confirmed as of now : Azeez, Pradeep. Praveen, Subbu

Please let us know if you would like to be a part of this activity. Kindly confirm your registration. We will keep you all updated on this event.(Mail us on abdulazeez1984@gmail.com)

Please join us(loksattasanjeevani@googlegroups.com) in these activities and let us all work for the betterment of society that we all dream of, every minute and every day.

Regards,
Loksatta Sanjeevani
If you damn a river it stagnates. Running water is beautiful water. So be a channel.

Success story of RTI - Raghavendra Infosys

Please find below the success story of Raghavendra, who fought with GHMC using RTI, since he was not getting yearly house tax. Please read till the end to know how he bacame successful in this regard. We appreciate Raghavendra for his efforts and his sincerity. If any of you are facing the same problem and looking for some help, please do write to us at  :  loksattasanjeevani@gmail.com  or abdulazeez1984@gmail.com.

Presenting below, the complete details, in his own words .

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Hi All,

I want to share my RTI success story which I filed to deputy commissioner GHMC regarding of not getting yearly house tax.

I raised a complaint to Deputy Commissioner GMHC on 2nd Aug 2008 stating that we are not getting yearly house tax and I am submitting required copies of registration papers of house and Please guide us so that we get house tax every year regularly.

I visited GMHC office literally 5-6 times before and after raising the complaint, there was no proper response from any official.

After I raised the complaint it got redirected to our area bill collector, The bill collector and the concerned tax inspector were in no mood to tell me the complete process involved in getting the tax.

If they tell us the proper procedure their importance will be gone and most importantly their alternate source of income will go for a toss may be main source of income.

They mention that document is not there this is not there and finally even after providing them all the require documents there is no progress.

At last I was able to know the reason for not getting tax, it is because our house number got deleted from their online data base.If I was ready to pay few hundreds my work would have been done in no time, they read my intention so my application was not moving forward.

This experience reminded me of serial Office Office(pankaj kapur starrer used to come in SAB TV) :).

Finally I got with busy with my own work and forgot the whole issue.

On 15th Mar 2010, I filed an RTI to Deputy Commissioner GMHC attaching the complaint I made on 2nd Aug 2008 requesting for the below information through registered post(it cost me 36 rs).

"Please send me the copies of documents regarding the actions taken by you on my complaint from the date of the complaint made"

A week later, the bill collector was at my door steps asking me sir why you have raised the complaint you would have called me once, I would have solved your problem. I told him I didn’t raise the complaint I just asked for the information he replied its more than a complaint for him now.

Later he requested me to cooperate and give him couple of days for the request to get completed.

Yesterday we received the documents by hand at our home related to the ID generation for paying the tax.

This time I didn’t even stepped out of my house, just filed an RTI that shows the power of RTI.

Couple of points to be noted:

1. If we are not getting proper response from any official let’s ask them to put the same on a paper and give it to us, we should not accept anything in oral.
2. We can complain the same to higher authority still no response, file an RTI, RTI really Works.

Complaint and RTI filed for your reference.

Regards,
Raghav

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Thanks to Raghavendra again for providing the same RTI and also the complaint.

RTI on construction of harvesting pits in GHMC

Dear All,


Water sustains life.It is now our duty to sustain all sources of water. It is high time that we collectively address the problem of water shortage and make water conservation a global mission. In this regard,Understanding the raising importance of this activity, we, as a team, making sure that GHMC is implementing the WALTA(Water, land and Tree) act properly, which expects each house constructed in area more than 200 yards space, to have a harvesting pit. Complete details about the event, purpose, advantages below.


Event : Rain water harvesting, Construction of harvesting pits.


What is Rain Water Harvesting :Conservation of roof top rain water in urban housing complexes and institutional buildings having larger area and utilizing the same to augment ground water storage, existing wells, tube wells etc is known as rain water harvesting.


Purpose : To make sure that each house which is constructed in more than 200 yards area, contains a harvesting pit.


Current Issues :

1. Ecological imbalance.
2. Decline in levels of ground water in Hyderabad.
3. Majority of people are not aware of WALTA Act.
4. Even though GHMC is collecting the money, it is not being used for the construction of harvesting pits.
5. 98% of rain water goes waste into drainage without entering into ground, as there are no harvesting pits.

Advantages :

1. To meet over the increasing demand for water in urban area.
2. To reduce the run off which is increasing the load on storm drains.
3. To avoid the damage to roads by preventing erosion.
4. To augment the ground water storage and to control decline of water level.
5. To improve the quality of ground water .
6. To reduce the soil erosion.
7. Rain water can be used efficiently.
8. To improve the quality of existing ground water through dilution. since rain water is bacteriologically safe and free from organic matters and is soft in nature.
9. Utilization of taxes collected for the purpose of Harvesting pits

RTIs Applied in this regard :


This RTI has been filed to know the information of the amount paid and harvesting pits constructed in Himayath Nagar area. Along with this RTI, sample RTI has also been attached to make it easy for others to file in their respective area.


Please download RTI filed for Himayath Nagar Area and Model RTI here


Please join us in these activities and let us all work for the betterment of society that we all dream of, every minute and every day.


Regards,
Loksatta Sanjeevani
Striving for success without hardwork is like trying to harvest where you have not planted..!

Sample RTI for sec4(1)(b) and sec4(1)(b) manual for Directorate of Health

Download the sample RTI to get sec 4(1)(b) manual and the RTI application we filed to receive the same for Directorate of Health department.


As per the section 4(1)(b) of RTI, every department must have a manual with following information,

• Functions and Duties of the organization,
• Budget allocations of the organization,
• Organization structure,
• Number of employees and their salaries,
• Roles and responsibilities of every employee,
• Schemes which are implemented by the department,
• Beneficiaries of the schemes, e.t.c

(For more information on this section, please refer section 4(1)(b) of RTI act. There are 16 aspects to be present in this manual as per the RTI act)


All information related to that office or deparment has to be present in this manual and has to be uploaded in their respective website. In most of the websites, it is named as "Right to Information" or "RTI section 4(1)(b)" or "sec 4(1)(b) info".


It is also expected that the organization updates this information regularly, and as necessary.You can get few documents at following link of APIC(Andhra Pradesh Information Commission) website, http://www.apic.gov.in/pioapioindex41b.do


The main idea behind this is to have transparency,accountability in the system.
It helps the public to understand about each delapartment in the organization, with a quick glance through this document.


All the benefits said, it is surprising to know that only few departments have drafted/uploaded this manual. We are filing complaints and RTI's for the same and getting it done.


Recently, we have filed a RTI for the section 4(1)(b) document to "Directorate of Health" which is one of the head of the department in "Health, Medial and Family Welfare" deparment in Andhra Pradesh. Though it is a good sign that we got the document from them quickly, it is not yet uploaded in their website. We are working on it.


PS: Sec 4(1)(b) Manual of Directorate of Health has been uploaded here, please go through this to know function, duties and responsibilities of the deparment.

Inspection of Govt Records event published in Loksatta Times

One of our events(Inspection of Govt. records) has been published in Loksatta times Magazine along with the RTI's filed.

Sanjeevani  hopes that more people would go through it and would start inspecting Govt. records, which will increase the transparency in Govt. Offices.

Please download the Loksatta Magazine from the below link and check page no 26 -30 for our event,
http://www.loksatta.org/cms/documents/lstimes/lstimes-2010-apr-16-31.pdf

To follow or to participate many such impressive events, please join loksattasanjeevani@googlegroups.com group.

Sample application and steps to file RTI on passport issues

Please find the sample RTI application at below link to handle the cases of delayed passports. RTI has worked successfully for many people whose passport got delayed.

Download Sample RTI for passport related issues.

Please find below the steps to file a RTI for delayed passports,

1. Fill the sample RTI application downloaded from above location with below details,
• Name and address of the applicant with signature
• Date of passport applied and file reference number for the same
2. Attach photocopy of passport application and Acknowledgement/receipt received from passport office
3. Pay 10rs of IPO in post office with below details, (You can also go for DD or Bank cheque)
• Pay to: Accounts officer
• Office of: Regional passport office
• Post office at; Hyderabad
• Fill - from address in IPO
4. Send speed post/register post to passport office with below address,

Central Public Information Officer,
Regional Passport Officer,Passport Office,
Kummaraguda,Hyderabad 500003,
Phone No : 040-27708585/27715333,
Fax No : 040- 277056565.

5. Please keep counterfoil of IPO, photocopy of RTI and receipt of speed/register post with you.

Please drop a mail to following ids, mailto:abdulazeez1984@gmail.com or  mailto:pattem@gmail.com if you have any queries on this

PS: Please note that court fee stamp is acceptable only for state Govt. offices and not for central Govt. offices

Sanjeevani on Twitter !!

You can now get the quick updates of Sanjeevani on Twitter too!

We have opened Sanjeevani account on twitter this week and we are available here : http://twitter.com/LSPsanjeevani

Sending updates on Twitter has been always easy and we hope that with this step, a lot of other people can watch our updates, and will particiapate in the events actively.
Also, twitter allows us to receive tweets on our mobiles without any charges( Works only with Airtel though ).

Please forward this message to your friends who would be interested.