Army Chief General VK Singh retires

Army Chief General VK Singh retires, lays wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti
NDTV Correspondent | Updated: May 31, 2012 11:28 IST
New Delhi: General VK Singh retires as army chief today. His term began in May 2010. General Bikram Singh will replace him as the Chief of the Army Staff today.
The out-going chief laid a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti, a memorial for the Indian soldiers. He will then be given a guard of honour in the lawns of South Block. After this, he will be treated as an ordinary citizen.
General Bikram Singh will formally begin his tenure a little after 11 am.
General VK Singh's last year in office saw an unprecedented tension between the government and the army. General Singh became the first serving chief to take the government to court to demand that his records be corrected to reflect that he was born a year later than documented in some papers. He dropped his case in the Supreme Court after judges indicated they would not rule in his favour. Had he won his case, General VK Sing would have been eligible for another year in office.
In the last three months, a confidential letter from him to the PM, warning of serious deficiencies in the equipment used by the defence forces was leaked. General VK Singh has said that the leak was not orchestrated by the army. Early inquiries by the Intelligence Bureau seem to support this. Another whopper of a storm was created when General Singh said in an interview that he had been offered a bribe of Rs. 14 crores, just months after he took office, to clear "sub-standard" trucks for purchase by the army.
General VK Singh also faces a defamation suit for a press release that he sanctioned earlier this year which alleged that a retired officer, Tejinder Singh, had circumvented guidelines needed to order of-the-air monitoring equipment. The same statement said that Tejinder Singh was offering bribes on behalf of Tatra and Vectra, which supplies trucks to the army. The press release was issued amid reports that the army had tried to spy on the Defence Minister's office in the weeks before General VK Singh took the government to court. Tejinder Singh has sued the army chief over the press release. And 24 hours before he retired, the Defence Ministry authorized a detailed inquiry into the incident, suggesting that the confrontations between General VK Singh and the government will continue.
Army Chief General VK Singh retires, lays wreath at Amar Jawan Jyoti

Honest Prime Minister heads the most corrupt cabinet in the world

Team Anna charges 15 UPA ministers with corruption
Saturday 26 May 2012

Team Anna has accused 15 UPA government ministers including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram, of corruption.
Team Anna launched a scathing attack against the UPA government for failing to pass the Lokapal Bill and served a fresh ultimatum to the PM to meet their demands or face another agitation on July 25.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the anti-corruption crusaders alleged that since 15 out of 34 cabinet ministers had serious corruption charges against them, they would not allow Lokpal Bill to be passed.
Corrupted ministers in UPA: Team Anna
“There are serious allegations of corruption against PM, Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Kamal Nath, Salman Khurshid, Kapil Sibal, Farooq Abdullah, SM Krishna, GK Vasan, Praful Patel and Sharad Pawar, they will not allow a strong Lokpal,” alleged Prashant Bhushan. “Several top party functionaries such as Mulayam Singh, Lalu Yadav and Jayalalithaa have been involved in scams, they will never allow Lokapal Bill to be passed”, echoed Kejriwal. The team urged the Prime Minister to initiate the formation of a Special Investigative Team to probe charges against the 15 corrupt ministers within six months.
Team Anna wants corrupt Ministers and Politicians investigated
Will the New Chief play a second fiddle to PM and its corrupt cabinet?
PM hosts farewell dinner for Gen V K Singh
Readers Response
With VK Singh out, the demise of India army will continue - We'll have COAS like Deepak Kapoor, focusing on grabbing land for themselves, rather than protecting the land they took an oath of protection to. - We'll have a whole bunch of army kids in foreign land - the kind that are there in Congo now (refer outlook story)- after a battallion of Sikh Li left behind a trail of kids with "distinctive Indian features" - By the way, the UN Forces Commandar, during the the time the Indian army unit was busy fathering kids, was Gen Bikram Singh - the next COAS ! - We'll see a sudden increase in gallantary medals - the kind that are obtained by splashing tomato ketchup on civilians posing for photographs (remember Col. Kohli's case) and fake encounters (remember Maj Singh case of Siachin encounters) - With an army composed of cowherds, land grabbers and what not, if Pakistan were to do another Kargil, they would probably reach Delhi this time. With VK Singh, the government had a chance to set the Army straight, but alas!
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10-year-old's RTI posers stump PMO

Aishwarya Parashar. Photo: Special Arrangement The Hindu Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI, May 25, 2012
When some simple questions came to the mind of Aishwarya Parashar, a Class-VI student of the City Montessori School, Lucknow, she did not let them languish unasked. She went seeking out answers through the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Aishwarya's inquisitiveness and willingness to pursue the source of information has yielded, till date, the establishment of a public library on the site of a garbage dump and the nation being better enlightened about the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
All of just 10 years, Aishwarya is a confident little girl, who herself answers a mobile phone and urges those wanting some written information from her to send her an SMS giving their e-mail ID and even forwards e-mail and communicates about her work on her own.
“I have so far filed three RTIs with the Prime Minister's Office,'' she says, adding that “the first one was [a query] about who gave the order for printing Mahatma Gandhi's image on currency notes. I was told in a reply that it was in 1993 following a meeting of the Reserve Bank of India.”
But it was her subsequent RTI asking the PMO to tell her who conferred the title of Father of the Nation on Mahatma Gandhi, which confounded the government. From the PMO, the query went to the Ministry of Home Affairs and to the National Archives of India, before Aishwarya was told that “there are no specific documents on the information sought” by her.
‘Surprising'
“That was really surprising because I never thought it was such a difficult question since even our history books taught us that Mahatma Gandhi was the Father of the Nation.”
The first reference to Mahatma Gandhi as Father of the Nation goes back nearly 70 years when Subhas Chandra Bose referred to Gandhi thus in a radio address from Singapore in 1944.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru too had, in his address to the nation upon Mahatma Gandhi's death, referred to him as Father of the Nation: “Friends and comrades, the light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere, and I do not quite know what to tell you or how to say it. Our beloved leader, Bapu as we called him, the Father of the Nation, is no more.”
After getting an unsatisfactory answer to her query on this issue in March this year, Aishwarya on April 24 asked the PMO who had declared Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2 as also Republic Day and Independent Day national holidays. To her surprise, she got a reply dated May 17 that such orders were never issued.
Favourite query
The question most dear to Aishwarya's heart was posed by her in 2009. “That was the time when Lucknow was in the grip of swine flu. There was a big garbage dump near my school, but I only got to see it one day when my mother came to pick me up as my cycle-rickshaw had not come. For the parents there was a separate entrance, and on the way back home I spotted this dump.” With the help of her mother, Urvashi Sharma, who is a social worker and RTI activist, Aishwarya penned an application in her own handwriting. “I had marked that query on the garbage dump to the Chief Minister and thereafter the Uttar Pradesh government got the dump removed, and our school constructed a public library on the site.”
Her father, Sanjay Sharma, is a lecturer.
Ambition
Aishwarya wants to become a doctor. Asked why, she quips: “Whenever I go to a hospital, I see that the poor patients have to first shell out money in order to get treated. I will, on becoming a doctor, go to the slums at least once every week and provide free treatment to such poor people.”
10-year-old's RTI posers stump PMO, Government

Will the Government Kill the RTI Act?

RTI applications now expensive and difficult; will the move kill the act? Reported by Sidharth Pandey Updated: April 29, 2012 16:00 IST
New Delhi: It was hailed as the UPA's big achievement when the Right to Information Act was passed in 2005. Now it seems like state governments and public authorities across the country are making it increasingly expensive and at times a virtually impossible task for people to seek information.
In states like Chhattisgarh, the Vidhan Sabha or state assembly has recently hiked the fees for information to Rs500 for each query. This means, that anyone asking questions like details of how many days their elected representatives have attended the assembly, or the expenditure on their foreign trips, will have to shell out 500 rupees each time. That's 50 times the price as envisaged under the original 2005 RTI Act. The Uttar Pradesh assembly has been asking 500 rupees for years now.
It doesn't stop there; in fact citizens should avoid asking for any photocopied documents from the Chattisgarh assembly unless they are ready to pay 15 rupees per page as charges to the assembly. That's 15 times the market rate for photocopying.
Will the move to make RTI applications expensive kill the act?
RTI applications now expensive and difficult
So while in some states the cost of applying for information has become expensive, other states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh have set a word limit to just 150 words.
It now seems that Madhya Pradesh too is about to set a word limit and also double the fees for seeking information from Rs. 10 to Rs. 20.
The justification to hiking fees and limiting queries given by various authorities is that the move is aimed at curbing frivolous applications that end up over burdening government officers with answering frivolous applications. But these changes in the rules have not gone too well with activists who have been fighting to strengthen it.
Shekhar Singh, the coordinator for the non profit organisation, National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI), says the present and proposed changes may be ok in the letter but not in the spirit of the law. Singh, who was a key player in drafting the 2005 landmark information act, says that citizens should challenge the change in rules.
"Even if we agree to the Rs. 28 income a day, as the line that divides the poor according to the planning commission that means a person will have to save his entire months income just to file one RTI. It in effect takes away a person's fundamental right indirectly" explained Singh.
But changing rules is one thing, changing the act is another.
"More and more exemption provisions are being made than what are there are in the original law and this is not acceptable," said Satyanand Mishra, India's Central Information Commissioner (CIC).
As the CIC, it's Mishra's job to ensure that the RTI is implemented across the country. He also plays the role of chief referee between information seekers and public authorities, often ruling on appeals filed by citizens who have been denied information by officers.
But increasingly he's had to pass orders asking public authorities to not only give information to citizens but also re-look at the changes made by them which have altered the nature of the law.
The RTI is heralded as one of the most important laws since independence, by civil rights campaigners. It's allowed ordinary citizens get a host of basic services from water connections to passports. But now with many states and authorities making this process difficult and expensive, the RTI could soon be a mere act in government books.
Government intent to kill the RTI Act

Demise of the National Carrier: Parting kick by Praful Patel

Praful Patel's family flew business class after Air India called in big planes
NDTV Sandeep Phukan, Sidharth Pandey, Updated: February 21, 2012 00:47 IST
New Delhi: Air India has been forced to reveal that Praful Patel's family was able to fly business class after last-minute changes were made to pull in a bigger plane for their journey last year, ensuring they were able to fly business class.
Mr Patel was then Civil Aviation Minister.
The details of his family's travel have been released because of a Right to Information application filed by activist Subhash Agarwal.
On April 25, Mr Patel's daughter, Avni, her husband, and relatives of her in-laws were to fly from Bangalore to the Maldives. The plane usually reserved for that flight - an Airbus 319 - has eight business class seats. Seven of them had been booked for other passengers. On April 8, instructions were emailed from the airline's Mumbai headquarters to the Bangalore station manager asking for an Airbus 320 to be used on April 25 and April 28 - the days on which Mr Patel's family members would be flying into and out of the Maldives. As a result, more than 50 seats were vacant on both routes (the A320 has many more economy class seats than the A 319).
Air India had refused to part with the information citing commercial secrets, but last month, the Central Information Commissioner ordered the carrier to make the information public in larger interest.
NDTV Report

Praful Patel has graduated and grounded to Heavy Industries for more kickbacks
Comments by vish 11 hours ago
In other parts of the world, small accusations of someone politicians going for a lavish dinner or for some sort of perfectly legal loans from government banks - make the concerned politicians be inquired and finally most of the time they are required to resign. In London one minister resigned since he was accused of dodging to pay a speeding fine some 8-10 years back. Compare this to India - these shameless guys do everything wrong possible in this world and do not even blink eyes are accused. This Praful Patel has amassed huge wealth and now owns huge tracts of properties in Maharashtra and Mumbai - can he show how he amassed this wealth in all these years (except for sure sucking of Air India). Its easy for Income Tax and Enforcement authorities to get the details in just few days but obviously with Congress in power this would never happen...
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Babus and Bureaucracy make Citizens CRAZY

The a to Z of indian bureaucracy
Twenty six ways in which Indian babus are making a mockery of governance, ethics and public service.
Arrogance
For months, the media in Delhi screamed hoarse that the planned ‘BRT corridor’ scheme dreamt up by a few babus of the transport department is a disaster. The bureaucrats blithely went about imposing this nightmare on citizens of Delhi with traffic jams becoming the norm. Now the babus arrogantly blame citizens of Delhi for choosing cars over murderous buses for commuting to office! A babu without arrogance would be like a dodo... Extinct

Bullying
Like all bullies, the babu rides roughshod over those below him and fawns obsequiously on his masters. You only have to watch the rude and callous manner in which a bureaucrat behaves with a citizen who has gone to his office for some work. And then compare his behaviour in front of a politician in power. The ‘public servant’ is actually the ‘master’ of the public and the ‘servant of the ‘master’ – usually a minister, and sometimes a mafia don!

Corruption
This is synonymous with Indian babudom. Whether you are the aam aadmi or a billionaire, your file won’t move an inch unless cash changes hands under the table. In the 1980s, the Octroi department in then Bombay went on a strike & army officials manned the check posts. The strike was withdrawn after the media reported that Octroi collections had gone up by more than 500%.

Delay & denial
Perhaps except the Konkan Railway and the Delhi Metro, no project ever undertaken by an Indian babu ever finishes on time. There are some irrigation projects that are in the process of completion for the last 30 years! Delays are always deliberate because they throw open more opportunities for ‘money on the side’. And of course, whenever the media or the judiciary highlights the delay, the Pavlovian reflex of the Indian bureaucrat is to deny, and then deny some more.

Enquiry & extension
If corruption and sordid acts are the dirt, the omnipresent ‘Enquiry Committee’ is the proverbial carpet under which the dirt has been carefully hidden. The principal purpose of the Enquiry committee is to delay, and then deny in the hope that the media and the public will eventually forget about the case. In English, enquiry rhymes with another interesting word called bury! Bureaucrats never ever retire; they just keep getting those ‘extensions’!

Failure
That one word can neatly sum up the history of the Indian bureaucracy after independence in 1947. Worse, babus find it difficult to digest the fact that entrepreneurs can usually do a better job. So you will see bureaucrats banning ‘private’ bus operators and forcing citizens to take state run buses that don’t run. So you will see envious bureaucrats ‘de-recognising’ or not recognising world class centres of higher education. Perhaps their biggest failure till date has been their total inability to kill the great Indian spirit!

Gutless
There is a saying about the Emergency: they crawled when they were asked to bend. That can neatly sum up the behaviour and attitude of most bureaucrats in independent India. It is virtually impossible for a minister to get a babu sacked; and yet bureaucrats crawl before netas and justify their behaviour by whining that they are otherwise harassed.

Hustling
You would associate this term usually with dealers in a casino. But Indian babus have become masters of the game. Just look at how Sudhir Goswami hustled his way into the cover of Time Magazine as one of the Indian heroes. It is only much later that dumb struck Indians found out that Goswami was lining his pockets and bank accounts with money meant for flood relief! And does any one remember Ashok Agarwal, the Enforcement Directorate official who turned black mailing into a fine art!

Impose inefficiently
When corruption, delays, denials and hustling don’t work, the Indian babu resorts to ‘imposing’ rules and regulations. It is a different matter that the bureaucrat performs even this destructive act very inefficiently! Impose price controls if inflation hurts people so that they are hurt even more. Impose quotas at the behest of political masters. Impose rules which entrepreneurs have to break if they want to run a successful business.

Justify
The Indian bureaucrat has acquired and mastered the legendary act of justifying anything and everything. File a request under the Right to Information Act and the babu will deny access to it. He will then justify his cussed behaviour because it involves something termed as ‘national security’. Ask a bureaucrat about delays in construction of national highways and you will get simply no response, He will justify his stonewalling in the name of ‘public interest’!

Kafkaesque
If Franz Kafka had encountered Indian babus, his novels would have been even more depressing and disturbing. Analysts are sadly mistaken when they call Kafka’s writings surreal; they perhaps meant the Indian bureaucracy. A Kafkaesque bureaucracy is “marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity”. B&E challenges entrepreneurs and citizens to say confidently that they understand the frighteningly complex jargon that is used by babus.

Lies
Arguably the third most favourite sport of the bureaucrats after corruption and delays. When denials and stone walling don’t work, just resort to outright lies. The Indian babu will lie about files, projects, public interest, national security, corruption, delays, hustling and any other act that might embarrass the bureaucrat individually or the bureaucracy collectively. Thanks to judicial activism and some bureaucrats being sent behind bars for contempt of court, babus are now wary of using this weapon!

Mismanagement
If Jack Welch would watch an Indian babu ‘manage’ something, he might just end up committing suicide. With extremely rare and honourable exceptions, almost every thing that a bureaucrat touches turns into dust. When babus announce a grand new plan to increase electricity and water supply to citizens, the taps dry up and the lights go out. When they announce a plan to tackle monsoon in Bombay, even Dalal Street virtually shuts down because no one can reach office! And of course, they then justify it in public interest!

Nepotism
Like the courtiers of the Mughal era, Indian babus-thanks to their access to the new kings and queens of India (Ministers, MPs and MLAs)-are perpetually trying to curry a favour or two for themselves and their family members. The best overseas scholarships are thus ‘reserved’ for children of bureaucrats. Some of the best jobs in the private sector are thus ‘reserved’ for the children of bureaucrats. And some of the best college seats in India are thus ‘reserved’ for the blessed progeny of these new age courtiers!

Oblivious
Quite mysteriously, the ‘If they don’t have bread, let them eat cake’ persona of the French Revolution has been transplanted into Indian bureaucracy. Cocooned in their bungalows and VIP areas, the Indian babu is utterly oblivious to what is happening in the rest of the country. The babu is oblivious of the fact that 300 million Indians are starving; that roads don’t exist in much of India, that water and electricity are mirages for the aam aadmi, that…The only thing they are not oblivious to is their ‘status’.

Proliferate
Like bacteria and termites, Indian babus have proliferated and invaded virtually every sphere of activity in the country. No wonder businessmen and citizens say that our system is rotten to the core. Indian babus run companies, they manage climate control, they run the Railways, they operate fleets of buses and aircraft, they run duty free shops, they run anti-poverty programs, they run schools and colleges and hospitals… They might start running modelling agencies and spas too. In short, proliferating bureaucrats have run India to the ground!

Queue
When the first bureaucrat in the history of mankind had a fantasy, he saw a long and winding queue of forlorn, dejected and frustrated people. That day, God was perhaps in a bad mood and condemned mankind to a life time of queuing up. For Indian babus, the ultimate high is making citizens stand in never ending queues-for money, for ration, for tickets, for liquor, for passports and even for death certificates. Of course, queues are meant only for the public, not for ‘public servants’!

Red tape
The ubiquitous file tied up in red thread is the ultimate symbol of the corrosive and destructive powers of Indian bureaucracy. It is as dangerous as the Swastika of Nazis; as devastating as the Red Star of Stalin and Mao and as vainglorious as the Eagle of the United States. The Indian babu starts getting withdrawal symptoms if he is not surrounded by musty files; many of which have perhaps not been opened for decades. Red Tape is the Bramhastra that is used by babus to systematically throttle India Inc.

Sycophancy
Many at B&E suggested socialism & sadistic as a better option than sycophancy. Eventually, the consensus was that arrogance coupled with sycophancy is the Yin & Yang of Indian bureaucracy. The sycophancy is reserved only for the powers that be-for the criminal turned neta who has become a minister, for superiors who can gift plum postings and assignments and for very rich entrepreneurs who lavish money on the bureaucrats.

Tragedy
Indian bureaucrats are always feverishly praying for natural and man made tragedies and disasters to strike India. A minor flood is welcome; a drought is even better and a disaster like an earthquake or a super cyclone is heaven sent. A tragedy means ‘relief’ money from government coffers and an opportunity to make enough to build another house or two. Now you know why sincere and dedicated babus fight to have their districts declared ‘drought prone’!

Utopian
Hare brained ideas and schemes have become the monopoly of Indian bureaucracy. One day, you will have the Lt. Governor of Delhi thinking aloud that I-cards for people from U.P. and Bihar might be a good idea. The other day, you will have another babu stipulate that a homeless destitute must provide proof of residence before he gets free food. Soon, expect a bunch of sycophantic babus kowtowing to a neta and drawing up legislation for reservations in the private sector.

Verbose
This term just about pipped the word vindictive to the post. Whether it is the annual function of a school or college or a gathering of India’s top businessmen, the Indian bureaucrat is in his element when he gets a chance to deliver a ‘lecture’. Hypocritical words tumble out of his mouth like honey laced with arsenic. Children & businessmen have no choice but to suffer in silence for a vindictive bureaucrat is worse than a verbose one!

Wanton
Four synonyms for the term wanton are-uncalled for, needless, meaningless and reckless. But wait, the wanton behaviour of the Indian babu is on display on selective occasions. Over cautious bureaucrats suddenly turn decisively over zealous when it comes to squandering tax payers’ money on fancy schemes that only line up their pockets and that of politicians.

Xenophobia
When all else – including corruption, delays, denials, hustling, nepotism, red tapism and sycophancy – fails, the Indian babu resorts to the good old pass the buck game and starts blaming ‘foreign powers’ for all the ills that bedevil India. The foreign power could be the CIA, it could be terrorists from Pakistan, it could be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, it could be the insidious designs of China and it could be a conspiracy of developed countries to deny prosperity to India.

Yes minister
Most readers of B&E must be familiar with this hilarious and yet poignant book and British TV series. Just in case you are not, it is a series of episodes where bumbling but clubby bureaucrats make fools out of vain glorious politicians in the U.K. In India, it is difficult to say who is making a fool of whom. But one thing is for sure, both bureaucrats and ministers are sure making fools of Indian citizens. Not just some of the people some of the time. But all the people, all the time!

Zero sum game
In this game, one of the two participants has to necessarily lose. More importantly, the quantum of gains that are made by the winner is exactly the same as the quantum of losses. In India, the bureaucrat and the citizen have been playing a zero sum game right since 1947; perhaps even before that, when the British had ruled India through a civil service stucture. No prizes for guessing who the decisive winner is when the opponents are the citizen and the bureaucrat. Unlike those classic zero sum games, the politician is the joker in the pack in this case!
Business and Economy- Indian Bureaucracy

AWHO sets standards of low transparency

Allotment of Army Flats in Panchkula
Consumer panel sees Adarsh-like scam
Vijay Mohan/TNS Monday, January 2, 2012, Chandigarh, India
Chandigarh, January 1
Holding that the allotment of some dwelling units made by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) in its project at Sector 20, Panchkula, was in violation of rules, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has observed that the exercise was done “presumably with a view to accommodate favourites and everything does not appear to have been done in a transparent manner.”

Ruling that the system adopted to fix the seniority of applicants was arbitrary, the Commission held that if enquired into deeply “this may again turn out to be another scam like Adarsh Society at Mumbai.”

AWHO, the Commission observed, is an organisation created for the welfare of serving and retired defence personnel and expected to act in a transparent manner.

A resident of Sector 2, Panchkula, RK Dhingra had earlier moved the District Consumer Forum against the non-allotment of a flat in AWHO’s colony or failing which, in another similar project in Panchkula or Mohali. The forum had granted him relief following which the AWHO authorities appealed against the order before the commission, which dismissed the appeal.Dhingra’s prime grievance was that some senior officers who were much junior registrants in the scheme by virtue of their date of registration, were later placed higher in the waiting list. Dhingra, with registration number 98,248 was placed at serial number 15 in the waiting list, where as a Brigadier with registration number 1,04,727 was placed on top of the list.

The seniority in the list was to be determined on the basis of the date on the bank draft and allotment thereafter on the basis of a draw of lots.

The complainant, however, had been told by the AWHO authorities that he was the senior-most applicant on the waiting list. When he came to know that some allotments were made “illegally”, he approached the authorities and was told that his present position in the list was No. 1. He could either seek transfer or withdraw his registration as all dwelling units stood allotted and had been handed over.

On pointing out discrepancies, he was told that all but one unit had been handed over and formalities and paperwork were in process for the lone remaining unit.
AWHO: Consumer panel sees Adarsh-like scam

Government to muzzle CAG and RTI Act?

What began as a few whispers is now a booming drumbeat. Powerful senior ministers are asserting that the Right to Information Act (RTI), till now flaunted as one of the UPA government’s biggest gifts to the aam aadmi, is “transgressing into government functioning”. Similar misgivings are being voiced on another constitutional body that has been in the news lately—the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). Put together, this has raised fears of a possible attempt to muzzle the proverbial messenger.
“The government has not made it clear what can or cannot be made public, which is what’s leading to controversies.”Sudha Pai, Professor, JNU
“Both (RTI and CAG) are messengers that bring to people something that has been stolen or gone wrong,” says former CAG T.N. Chaturvedi. But that’s not how a beleaguered government is seeing it. Facing varied governance scandals, it says that RTI is being misused for political and business ends. Over the past few weeks, one RTI response brought to fore the rivalry between Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and home minister P. Chidambaram. Another RTI reply has cast doubts on the CAG’s assessment of losses to the exchequer in the 2G case.
Are they really hampering government functioning? That’s arguable, feels former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, pointing out that if government agencies share information or store it well in the first place, no time would be lost in retrieving and giving RTI responses. “The apprehensions,” Habibullah stresses, “arise due to the fact that we have been an insular government and very secretive so far. The use of RTI is not to impair law or government functioning.” On concerns over leakage of sensitive information, he cites the example of the army, which has streamlined the system with adequate checks.
Civil society, meanwhile, is happy that RTI is now helping improve services by generating, for instance, public debate and action in Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh for monitoring nrega and better supply of subsidised foodgrains, respectively. Voicing civil society’s fears, Nikhil Dey of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information says: “We’re worried that the government will dilute the RTI on some pretext. If at all we need to rethink, it’s only about better implementation.”
Till now, civil society has managed to thwart attempts by the government to impose many new conditions—like word limit or multiple questions in an application. So far, the government has promised there would be public consultation for any amendment.
“The CAG is not interested in running down the government or the PMO. Its report can only hold a mirror to events.”T.N. Chaturvedi, Former CAG
“Why should there be any rethink on RTI? Nobody can fully cleanse the system, but at least RTI is helping to do so in bits and pieces. It has put some fear in the system,” says former chief election commissioner J.M. Lyngdoh, who still lends support to various anti-corruption movements. The general consensus is that despite the odd misuse of RTI for political ends, it has only helped improve government functioning. Unfortunately for the government, the full potential of RTI is still being unravelled.
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?278635

Government intent to dilute RTI

Don't touch the RTI Act: Information Commissioners to Govt
New Delhi, Oct 15 (PTI)
Information Commissioners strongly feel that there should be no tinkering with the RTI Act to constrict it and instead steps should be taken to further strengthen it.
They were of the view that "the ambit of the RTI Act should not be constricted. It should instead be strengthened. The RTI Act should not be amended at this stage and should be retained as it is. It is not the time for making any amendment in it," Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra said today.
Summing up the events of the two-day annual CIC convention attended by 65 information commissioners and experts, Mishra said a wide range of topics were discussed. These included bringing public-private partnerships under transparency law, its exemption clauses, pro-active disclosures and experiences of Information Commissioners.
"Infrastructure and other services like health and education, governments are taking PPP mode. RTI Act acts on government funded projects... The Convention came to the conclusion that PPP projects should be brought under the RTI Act," he said.
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Armed Forces Redressal Commission- Platter for Bureaucrats to Splatter

Adjudicatory powers are essential
The proposed armed forces redressal commission is a positive step that not only underscores the recognition of the soldier’s problems, but also gives it an unlimited canvas to make recommendations beyond the confines of existing rules. The panel, however, has powers to make only recommendations that would eventually land up on the table of a bureaucrat. Earlier experience with the bureaucracy does little to inspire the confidence of veterans.
Lt Gen Raj Kadyan (Retd)

The bulk of grievances and litigation concerning armed forces personnel in India pertains to pensionary matters and disability benefits.

A decision on the issue of “one rank--one pension” (OROP) has been pending with the government for nearly three decades. OROP implies equal pension for those retiring from the same rank and after the same length of service. In other words, equal remuneration for equal work. Prima facie, law of equity should dictate so. But successive governments have been rejecting it. Strangely.

When everything else failed, ex servicemen as a last resort were compelled to go public with their demand. This was not a step the veterans took happily or even willingly. It is unusual in India that starting in April 2008, hordes of retired soldiers have had to periodically descend on that protesters’ Mecca, Jantar Mantar. They have also been surrendering their medals before their Supreme Commander. A soldier wins his medals at great risk to his life and limb. For him these are not mere pieces of metal. He develops deep attachment to his medals. His decision to return these reflects the depth of his disenchantment with the government’s apathy to his legitimate and genuine demand.

The government has taken some placatory steps. By enhancing the pension in March 2010, it has tried to narrow the gap between the old and new pensioners. However, the demand is for total removal of and not mere reduction in this gap. Ex-servicemen are fighting for equity and justice and not merely for more money. The justice will come only when all pensioners get equitable pension. Halfway measures won’t do.

The government’s attitude on the issue is difficult to comprehend. In the recent pension enhancement, they left out widow pensioners. When this discrimination was pointed out in a letter to the Prime Minister, the reply from the government was rather bizarre. It said that service widows were left out because enhancement in their case was not recommended by the Cabinet Secretary’s Committee. The government’s helplessness in being bound by the recommendations of a subordinate committee that the government itself had constituted was as strange as it was unbelievable. In the past, the government has been repeatedly rejecting the recommendations of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defence vis-à-vis OROP. Undeniably, this committee of some two dozen MPs drawn from different political parties is weightier than the committee composed of only bureaucrats. It is hard not to infer that the government is accepting the committees’ recommendations selectively.

The government’s stated reasons for rejecting OROP are legal, financial and administrative. If one goes by the recent castigating remarks of the apex court against the government’s treatment of soldiers and ex-servicemen, the “legal” ground seems to fall short of conviction. On the financial score, in today’s booming national economy, the relatively small sum involved in giving soldiers their legitimate due could not be considered an overbearing burden on the exchequer. The “administrative” ground is too vague and obscure to lend itself to objective comment. In sum, it leaves little doubt that the government’s announced reasons are a thin veil to conceal their obduracy on the issue.

The soldiers’ struggle has brought the OROP issue center stage. It has figured in the media, the Parliament and the courts. The general public is seized of the issue and is fully supportive. Apparently the government is boxed-in and isolated. While hearing a related case on November 15, 2010, the apex court asked the government to constitute an Armed Forcers Grievance Redressal Commission (AFGRC) within two months. It also named its composition; two prominent retired judges, an ex-army chief and a retired army commander. Provided the government does implement the court’s instructions, the AFGRC would have certain positives. First, it underscores the recognition of the soldiers’ problems at the highest level of our legal system. Secondly, inclusion of two retired senior defence officers in the proposed commission – perhaps for the first time – will lead to realistic portrayal of a soldier’s problems. Additionally, the proposed terms do not limit the commission to making recommendations only within the confines of existing rules. It has an infinite canvas. The main drawback, however, is that the commission does not have adjudicatory powers. It can only make recommendations to the government. This would lead to the commission’s findings landing on the table of a bureaucrat for taking a final call. While it is nobody’s case that every bureaucrat is negative, the experience with respect to OROP does little to inspire confidence of ex -servicemen in the bureaucracy.

Setting up the proposed commission is undeniably a positive step and the uniformed men owe gratitude to the Apex Court. However, being only a recommendatory body, it does not go far enough for ex-servicemen to ease up on their ongoing struggle. Nor can they take back their 22,000 medals as has been suggested by some.
The writer is a former Deputy Chief of Army Staff
Adjudicatory powers are essential

Adarsh case: Babus deflect, delay and evade disciplinary action

Adarsh case: Pressure on Maha govt to initiate action against babus
Sanjay Jog / Mumbai December 25, 2010, 0:15 IST
Pressure is mounting on the Maharashtra government to take action against bureaucrats and officials for their alleged involvement in the Adarsh society scam.

Ministers in the Prithviraj Chavan-led led cabinet got a shot in their arm following the Bombay High Court observation that everyone who cleared the files was gifted a flat. The Shiv Sena has also stepped up its demand for action against officials.

Chief Minister Chavan has already announced a probe under the Commission of Inquiry Act into the Adarsh scam and the Central Bureau of Investigations and the Army are carrying out independent inquiries.

However, the government is yet to appoint the two-member commission comprising a retired judge of the Supreme Court or the Bombay High Court and a retired official of the rank of chief secretary. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has announced that the bureaucrats and officials will face action and they will not be spared.

Preliminary findings have revealed that senior defence personnel, bureaucrats and politicians had allegedly formed a nexus to get flats in the building meant for the widows of Kargil war heroes.

The government has sent notices to 12 top bureaucrats, who own flats in the Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai, asking them to respond to allegations of a breach of conduct of civil service rules.

The bureaucrats who have been issued notices include former BMC chief Jairaj Phatak, former urban development secretary and the incumbent information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari, former urban development deputy secretary PV Deshmukh, former chief secretary DK Shankaran, former agriculture secretary Shivajirao Deshmukh and Human Rights Commission member Subhash Lala.

Sons and daughters of all the officials have a flat at Adarsh. Some of the officers have already sent their replies to the government. At least five bureaucrats, who were contacted, declined to comment on the issue.

A senior Congress minister, requesting anonymity, told Business Standard: “It is ironical that Ashok Chavan had to step down as the chief minister in the wake of the expose on the Adarsh scam. His mistake was that three of his relatives have flats in the Adarsh society. However, it is disappointing that despite Bombay High Court’s snub, the government has not taken action against the concerned bureaucrats and officials.”

“To begin with, Tiwari and Lala must immediately be removed from their present posts and severe action against them should be initiated under the civil services rules,” he said.

Currently, the high court is hearing a petition filed by the members of Adarsh society challenging the suspension of occupational certificates and the decision to disconnect water and power supplies to the building.
Adarsh case: Pressure on Maha govt to initiate action against babus

Netaji Subhash Memorial Lecture on 24 Jan 2011

Dear Friends,
Jai Hind.
An open invitation to all Military Veterans and their families, received from Netaji Subhash Chander Bose Trust, is reproduced below.
Those of you, who wish to attend the function, should kindly forward their names to Brig RS Chhikara, at chhikarars1940@yahoo.co.in
I have attended the functions organised by the Trust many times. The quality of lectures and the general administration is of a very high order.
The Metro Station nearest to the location of FICCI Auditorium is “Mandi House” - an easy walking distance. “Mandi House” Metro Station is on the Metro Line going from Noida to Dwarka (via Connaught Place). Do find time to attend it.
You are sure to like it.
In service of Indian Military Veterans
Chander Kamboj.
PS – Kindly give wide publicity to the contents of this email among the veterans living in NCR.
5th Netaji Subhash Memorial Lecture on 24 Jan 2011
Dear Chander,
The fifth Netaji Subhash Memorial Lecture is being organised at FICCI Auditorium, Tansen Marg, New Delhi from 2-30 to 4-30 PM on Monday the 24th January 2011.
The theme for this year is 'Nation Building Since 1947' - Achievements and Challenges.
Speakers are expected to cover four major aspects of nation building:

Our Democracy and State of the Polity.

National Integrity - Societal cohesion, Security and Defence of our vital National interests within and abroad.

State of Governance and Corruption.

Readying our youth to face challenges ahead.
All members of IESM are Cordially invited. Those who insist on invitation cards may please send me their address & Email ID.
You may please circulate as widely as possible on your own and associated networks. The Netaji Subhash Chander Trust will be very happy if ladies also can grace the occasion.
My mail IDs are netajisubhashvision(at)hotmail.com, netajisubhashvisionyahoo.com and chhikarars1940yahoo.co.in
Regards
Brig RS Chhikara
Secy General
Netaji Subash Chander Trust

Newsletter from Veekay

Dear Friends,
Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year. My newsletter click here.
Vinay and Kumud Singh

Extracts from Veekay Newsletter 2010
The year is coming to an end and it is time for the annual ritual of connecting with friends, acquaintances, comrades and colleagues. I do not recall the last time I sent a New Year's card or a hand written letter. Ever since we started using e-mail, letters have become passé. Until a few years ago, very few people had a computer and one had to write a letter. The advent of mobile telephony has put paid to the art of letter writing altogether. What a pity. I have begun to relish the advantages of being a senior citizen. One can buy rail tickets at a 30% discount. (Women get 50%, but Kumud is still to qualify. Even when she does, I think she would rather pay the full fare than be classified as a senior citizen!). Youngsters, especially girls, sometimes offer you a seat in the Metro. Shopkeepers, parking attendants and handymen address you as uncle, though hardly anyone calls Kumud an auntie, and woe betide anybody who dares...

There is little change in our routine. I go to the gym in the DSOI, which is a stone’s throw from my house, at 0645, returning at 0745 or so. Kumud goes at 0830 and returns only when the gym closes at 1000. By this time I have gone through my newspapers, had my bath and my breakfast and am ready to leave for Signals Enclave, where the Corps History Cell is located. On the days I have a hearing in Tis Hazari or the High Court, I have to give the gym amiss. The Ansal Plaza is next door and Kumud does not miss a movie. She is usually accompanied by my daughter in law or one of her gym buddies. They go for the morning show, when the children are at school and the tickets are cheaper. Twice a week, I too get a chance to go to the mall – it has a Reliance Fresh outlet and buying vegetables is one of the chores entrusted to me.

Consumers Rights and Responsibilities

PIB 3:43 IST Dr. Sheetal Kapoor
24th December is an important day in the history of consumer movement in India as on this day the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 came into existence. Consumer Protection Act is considered as the Magna Carta for protecting consumer rights through establishment of advisory and adjudication authorities. This year the theme proposed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is “Consumers! Discharge your Responsibilities: Assert your Rights” which clearly means ‘there cannot be rights without responsibilities’.

Consumer Rights under Consumer Protection Act
Section 6 of the Consumer Protection Act clearly mentions the six rights available to the consumers. These are:

Right to Safety: To be protected against the sale of goods and services, which are spurious/ hazardous to life and property.

Right to information: To know the quality, quantity, weight and the price of goods/services being paid for, so that one is not cheated by unfair trade practices.

Right to Choose: To be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices.

Right to be heard: To be heard and to be assured that the interest would receive due consideration at appropriate fora.

Right to Seek Redressal: To seek legal redressal against unfair or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers.

Right to Consumer Education: To have access to consumer education.

Gandhiji in the light of the above rightly said “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work - he is the purpose of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to serve him.”

Having examined the consumer rights and the purpose served by them, it is necessary to consider whether consumers should also be responsible enough to be entitled to exercise their rights. For instance, to be able to exercise their right to be heard, consumers should avail of the opportunities to know and be informed about consumer problems. To exercise their right to seek redressal of complaints, consumers must take all precautions to choose the right goods at the right price and learn how to use the products to prevent injury or loss. Some of the consumer problems can be avoided if we act responsibly.

Before Buying
As a responsible consumer we should plan our purchases in advance so that we get the right value for our money. We should try to enquire about the past performance of a product/ service and also try to find out the reputation of the producer/ seller/ service provider. Thus, self-help is the biggest tool in the hands of the consumers and they should make an informed choice. In this regard we can make use of comparative testing reports as published by voluntary consumer organizations such as, Voice and CERC for getting reliable and unbiased information about various brands which have been tested at various government approved laboratories.

While Buying
Consumers should collect information from various dealers regarding price and quality before purchasing products such as, cars, refrigerators, computers, etc. The proof of purchase and documents relating to purchase of durable goods should be obtained and preserved. It is important to get a cash memo with serial number, address and phone number to register a complaint, in a consumer courts, regarding defective product or deficiency in service. Similarly, durable consumer goods like TV, refrigerator, etc. carry warranty /guarantee cards issued by the dealers. The cards entitle the consumers to get the service for repairs and replacement of parts free of cost for a certain period after the purchase. Consumers should never sign a contract without first reading it. They should never sign a blank contract that a salesperson says will be completed later. If there is anything they do not understand, they can insist that it should be explained to them.

After Purchase
It is the responsibility of the consumer to use the product as per instructions given in the user manual. Further receipts, guarantee cards, terms of contract (photocopies), should be kept safely. In case of fault the dealer or the service center should be informed. Consumers should not meddle with the products themselves and should keep records for all correspondences and file them. Some consumers, especially during the guarantee period, make rough use of the product, thinking that it will be replaced during the guarantee period. This is not fair on their part. They should always use the products properly.

Besides the above responsibilities, consumers should be conscious of some other responsibilities. They should stick to the agreement made with manufacturers, traders and service providers. They should make timely payment in case of credit purchases. They should remember that they can exercise their rights only when they are willing to fulfill their responsibilities. As a dutiful consumer we should reduce waste, reuse and recycle products and think in terms of sustainable consumption. Thus, on the National Consumer Day we should be proud that we have rights but also should discharge our responsibilities. (PIB Features)
*Associate Professor, Kamala Nehru College, University of Delhi
Disclaimer : The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of PIB. RTS/VN
SS-192/SF-192/22.12.2010
“Consumers! Discharge your Responsibilities : Assert your Rights”

Do Military Welfare Organisations come under the ambit of Consumer Protection Act?

Impact of Consumer Protection Act becoming Perceptible: Prof. Thomas
Thursday, December 23, 2010 17:33 IST
The impact of Consumer Protection Act is now perceptible in the operations of providers of goods and services. This was stated by Prof. K.V. Thomas, Minister of State for Agriculture, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution while inaugurating the National Consumer Day function here today.

The Minister said “In the Government and Public Sector we now see several Regulators, Ombudsman and grievance redressal mechanism in place, we can also discern the operation of consumer grievance redressal system in the private sector. This, to my view, is due to the proactive approach adopted in the Consumer Protection Act, by bringing the consumer rights in the forefront.”

Prof. Thomas said, “In India it is not the legislative measures that are lacking in providing the consumer with the mechanism or the enabling environment for protecting their rights. The challenge is in the strengthening of the administrative mechanism in implementing such measures. This can be achieved by striking a balance between the health of the economy and that of the consumers.” He said, the responsibility lies on the stakeholders, in particular the government and VCOs to crate awareness about the existence of the redressal mechanism and laws protecting consumer interests. This will not only empower the consumers, but also smoothen the process of policy implementation, the Minister stressed.

On the consumer responsibility which is this year’s theme of National Consumer Day, The Minister said that introduction of consumer responsibility should have a salutary impact on the growing market economy in India as well as on its environment. Prof. Thomas asked the higher income groups to work towards environment protection as they are in a good position to influence the other sections of the population.

Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Shri Rajiv Agarwal in his address stressed on the need for concerted efforts by all the stakeholders for educating the consumers. He said, Government has taken up a number of activities and schemes for creating consumer awareness in the country. The ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ slogan is now well known for informing the common man of his rights as consumer.

President, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mr. Justice Ashok Bhan, in his key note address, said that it is possible to bring down the pendency of consumer dispute cases to zero level if proper infrastructure and logistical support is provided to dispute redressal machinery. MP:SB:CP: consumer day (23.12.2010)
Impact of Consumer Protection Act becoming Perceptible: Prof. Thomas
Question: Do Military Welfare Organisations (like AWHO, AWES, CSD, AWWA etc) come under the purview of Consumer Protection Act?

आरटीआई को प्रभावी तरीके से लागू कराने की मांग

आरटीआई को प्रभावी तरीके से लागू कराने की मांग
21 Dec 2010, 0400 hrs IST
- आरटीआई कार्यकर्ता लोकेश बत्रा ने लिखा नोएडा अथॉरिटी के सीईओ को पत्र
- कानून की धारा 26 को लागू कराने की मांग
- कानून के प्रचार- प्रसार पर बल देती है धारा 26

प्रमुख संवाददाता ॥ नोएडा
नोएडा अथॉरिटी के नए सीईओ रमा रमण को आरटीआई कार्यकर्ता रिटायर्ड कमोडोर लोकेश बत्रा ने पत्र भेजकर कानून की धारा 26 को प्रभावी तरीके से लागू कराने की मांग की है ताकि आरटीआई के प्रति जागरुकता फैलाई जा सके। गौरतलब है कि इस धारा में पब्लिक अथॉरिटी को ऐसे प्रोग्राम करवाने को कहा गया है जिससे लोगों को सूचना के अधिकार के इस्तेमाल के बारे में जानकारी मिले। पब्लिक अथॉरिटी को इस धारा के तहत साहित्य, वर्कशॉप, सेमिनार आदि के जरिए लोगों को आरटीआई के बारे में बताना होता है।
नोएडा अथॉरिटी के नवनियुक्त सीईओ रमा रमण ने पदभार संभालते ही साफ किया था कि नोएडा अथॉरिटी के कर्मचारी व अधिकारियों को अपने काम करने के ढंग में बदलाव लाना होगा। उन्होंने कहा था कि वे सिटिजन चार्टर को लागू करेंगे ताकि लोगों का काम तय वक्त से पहले पूरा हो।
लोकेश बत्रा ने सीईओ से कहा है कि आरटीआई एक्ट की सेक्शन 26 में जनता को इस एक्ट की अधिक से अधिक जानकारी देने, अपने कर्मचारी व अफसरों को इस एक्ट के बारे में प्रशिक्षित करने व जनता की जरूरत के हिसाब से आवेदन जमा कराने में मदद करने का प्रावधान किया गया है। इस जानकारी के अभाव में न तो डिपार्टमेंट से जुड़े कर्मचारी व अधिकारी आरटीआई के तहत पूछे गए सवालों का जवाब गंभीरता से देते हैं और न ही इस पर किसी अधिकारी की जवाबदेही तय होती है।
उन्होंने अपने पत्र में कहा है कि अब वक्त आ गया है कि प्रशासन में जनता की भागीदारी को बढ़ाया जाए। इससे जानने का अधिकार पब्लिक को मिलेगा।
आरटीआई को प्रभावी तरीके से लागू कराने की मांग

CVC Citizen Digital Interface to Combat Corruption- "Vig-Eye"

Project Vigeye (Vigilance Eye) is a citizen-centric initiative, wherein citizens join hands with the Central Vigilance Commission in fighting corruption in India.
Project Vigeye is the platform through which vigilance information flows freely through common public, the government agencies and the vigilance commission, making it possible to achieve a step jump in improving the corruption index of the nation.
You can send an empty SMS or "VIGEYE" to 09223174440 to get an SMS containing the registration link in your mobile. The important features of Project Vigeye are:

Citizens have multiple channels to air their grievances and complaints to CVC
a) Through their mobile phones: by downloading the mobile application from the CVC website. The complaints can be better articulated with additional data like audio/ video/ photo evidence from their mobiles directly.
b) Through the internet: by filling up the complaint form online they can attach audio/video/photo evidence.
c) Through telephone: help line have been setup

The entire complaint processing is done online, in digital form, enabling fast and accurate processing of complaints.

The concerned CVO will interact with the complainant directly over phone/email or in person, as the case may be, to take it forward

Status of the complaint is communicated back to the complainant - the communication loop becomes complete
Vig-Eye: click here

09/12/2010
Upload videos, audios to expose corruption on CVC's 'Vig-Eye'New Delhi: In a unique move, the Central Vigilance Commission on Thursday launched an exclusive website for people to upload videos, audios and lodge complaints exposing acts of corruption in government departments.
According to an anti-corruption watchdog official, Vig-Eye (an acronym for vigilance eye), provides a more user-friendly platform for interface between the CVC and the citizens who may have suffered at the hands of corrupt officials and who want to disclose information about such illegal activities.
"The advantage of Vig-Eye includes simplified process of filing complaints and it will provide authentic identity of the complainant. Vig-Eye would be completely digitised and it will give online access to vigilance information," Central Vigilance Commissioner P J Thomas said while inaugurating the web portal.
"Efforts at modernising the vigilance framework are underway which include development of new models of preventive vigilance, adoption of risk management approach and aligning the vigilance function with the corporate governance framework," he said.
The CVC said that preventive and punitive approaches to addressing corruption need to complement each other. The Commission has adopted a strategy of leveraging technology and has been persuading the government to adopt e -governance measures.
"The aim is to use technology in activities vulnerable to corruption in order to reduce human intervention," he said. Thomas said that the Commission has undertaken a campaign aimed at creating awareness about corruption and inculcating ethics on good governance. The campaign would help reduce people's tolerance for corruption.
The Commission has also recommended to the government to include ethics education in the school curriculum, Thomas said. Thomas was speaking during a seminar 'Empowering citizens to combat corruption' organised at Vigyan Bhawan here on International Anti-Corruption Day. The seminar was aimed at deliberating and recommending proactive and participative measures to combat corruption.
Introducing the Vig-Eye, Vigilance Commissioner Srikumar said that it will help build up the vision of proactive and predictive vigilance. The VC said that people can use mobile phones and web based technologies to lodge complaints or grievances using mobile phones with a software application specially designed to file complaints.
People can visit CVC's website (http://www.cvc.nic.in/) to access or get more information on Vig-Eye. The CVC acts as an apex anti-corruption statutory body mandated to fight corruption and ensuring probity in public life.
Source: Agencies
Upload videos, audios to expose corruption on CVC's 'Vig-Eye'

On second thoughts...
Can CVC Doubting Thomas be trusted?

AWHO cheats and fails to pay penalty imposed by the State Consumer Commission

Dear friends,
This is to acquaint you with the latest development in the case regarding shortfall in the area of flats being provided by AWHO.
Many of you be aware of the fact that the actual size of the flats being built by the AWHO is smaller than what is mentioned in the documents. This is done by a simple stratagem – the entire area (100%) of the balconies is included in the covered area (also called super area) of the flat. The AWHO sometimes calls it plinth area, which is actually less than the super area, which includes common areas such as ventilation. In Devinder Vihar, Sector 56, Gurgaon, where I was allotted a Economy B type flat, the Technical Brochure shows the Plinth Area as 1442 Sq ft. In the Possession Certificate, the Super Area was mentioned as 1412 Sq ft. In the conveyance deed neither ‘plinth’ or ‘super’ are used - it just mentions that the area is 1412 Sq. ft.
I measured the actual sizes of all rooms and found that there is a difference between the figures given by AWHO and the actual dimensions. There was considerable difference, since AWHO had counted 100% of the balconies area in the plinth area instead of 50%, as given in E-in-C’s Technical Instruction No. 13 of 1970. In fact, all builders, including the AFNHB, include only 50%.
I had filed a case in 2003 in the Delhi State Consumer Commission against the AWHO for the shortfall in the covered area. Using the RTI Act, 2005, I was able to get the sanctioned building plans and other documents from the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), which confirmed that the covered area is just 1269 sq. ft. There is thus a shortfall of 144 sq. ft. or more than 10%. After this was produced in the State Commission, in a judgment delivered on 20/01/2009, the Commission ordered the AWHO to refund Rs 25,000 for the shortfall, in addition to a penalty of Rs 50,000. The AWHO did not comply with the order. More than six months after this, it filed an appeal in the National Consumer Commission. Since the time limit of 30 days was over, it forged the date. Copies of the order were issued to both parties on 25/3/2009. The figure 3 was altered to look like 8, and the date became 25/8/2009. This was confirmed by State Commission in response to an RTI application, and was brought to the notice of the National Commission. The final hearing in the National Commission was held on 29/7/ 2010. However, for some reason the order was reserved. After several visits to the National Commission, I got fed up and filed an RTI application on 11/11/ 2010. Soon after this, the National Commission issued an order. It set aside the judgment of the State Commission. It made no mention of the forgery committed buy the AWHO.
In case the National Commission had upheld the order of the State Commission, this would resulted in similar cases filed by thousands of other allottees who have purchased flats from the AWHO, which would have had to pay crores of rupees as compensation. This was submitted by the counsel for AWHO in the State Commission, which was initially inclined to ask the AWHO to pay the cost of the proportionate short fall (10%), which was coming to about Rs. 1 lac. After this submission, it modified its order and reduced the compensation to 25,000. The same reason was submitted by the counsel for AWHO in the National Commission also. Naturally, the AWHO would go to any extend to avoid this. I have a feeling that AWHO has managed to do this using unfair means. After the recent comments of Supreme Court regarding ‘uncle judges’ in the Allahabad High Court and the submission filed by Shanti Bhushan naming corrupt judges even in the Supreme Court, nothing can be disbelieved.
I intend filing a review petition in the National Commission itself, but I have doubts if it will bear any fruit. The answer lies in filing a petition in the Supreme Court. As you may be aware, I am already fighting several cases in the lower courts and the High Court stemming from the cases filed against me by CBI, at the behest of RAW. This was the result of my book INDIA’S EXTERNAL INTELLIGENCE – SECRETS OF THE RESEARCH AND ANALAYSIS WING (RAW)/, which exposed corruption in the intelligence agency. I have neither the energy nor the resources to take on the litigation in the Supreme Court against AWHO on my own. I would request others who have the time, energy and resources to take it on. Perhaps we can all contribute and hire a good lawyer to do this for us, as is being done for the OROP and disability pension cases.
Maj Gen VK Singh (Retd)
AWHO Demystified
Is there any Veteran Organisation which can take on the AWHO to fight for the legitimate rights and welfare of its members?

Who will negate the Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission?

To fight against injustice is to WORSHIP GOD.
So kindly be there at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on 28 Nov 10, from 10.00 AM to 3.00 PM
To fight against Injustice being done to Defence Services of India.

From: Carl Gomes
Sent: 20 November 2010 18:01
Subject: Armed Forces Grievances Redressal Commission
Do please note that nothing will change as long as the present Cabinet Secretary (Chandrasekhar) and Expenditure Secretary (Sushma Nath) are still around.
They are the ones responsible for our present predicament and will block every move we make. They are responsible for every counter petition filed by the Govt.
The CS has got a second extension (till 30 June 2011) and the ES is also there till May 2011.
On the issue of inclusion of other officers in the AFGRC, I suggest knowledgeable officers should be included. Alan O'Leary, who was fighting all cases (often against the COSC) as Chairman of the inter-services pay commission cell has recently retired and settled in Bangalore. In fact if there is anyone who should be credited for getting Lt Cols into PB4, it is Alan - but these are guys who work behind the scenes and do not come into the limelight - hence their efforts are unsung.
He could be roped in or consulted as he is fully au fait with all nuances of the 6CPC..
Kind Regards
Carl H Gomes

NDMA- Vision sans Mission Authors Adarsh Apartment Disaster

General Nirmal Chander Vij was the 21st Indian Chief of Army Staff during 31 Dec 2002 - 31 Jan 2005. He was born in January 1943 at Jammu. He completed his studies at the SRML Higher Secondary School, Jammu and joined the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 1959. He was commissioned into the Dogra Regiment on 11 December 1962. Within weeks of his commissioning, he saw action in the Walong sector in the 1962 Indo-China War. Since then he has served in the eastern sector six times, the last time being as the General Officer Commanding of the IV Corps. Vij has served as the General Staff Officer of an Infantry Division, a Director in the Military Operations Directorate as a Colonel and Deputy Director General of Perspective Planning (Strategic Planning) as a Brigadier at Army HQ in New Delhi.

Vij served as the Major General, General Staff at the Western Command in Chandimandir, Chandigarh (Punjab) and during the 1999 Kargil War, he served as the Director General Military Operations (DGMO). During this time he was criticized for appearing, in his professional capacity before a group of senior BJP leaders, and briefing them. In 1999, he broke the military tradition to brief members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on operations in Kargil, when he was Director General of Military Operations. For his services as the DGMO, he was awarded the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal. He was involved in the planning and execution of Operation Khukri - to extricate trapped Indian peacekeeping troops in Sierra Leone. The formations he has commanded include a mountain brigade involved in active counter- insurgency operations in the north east, an elite RAPID (Reorganised Army Plains Infantry Division) unit, the Strike Corps based at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and the IV Corps based at Tezpur, Assam. He is also a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM). On 1 October 2000, Vij was appointed as the GOC of Southern Command at Pune and led the Army's rescue efforts during the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. In October 2001, he was appointed as the Vice Chief of Army Staff (VCOAS) at New Delhi and in January 2002, he was appointed as the 10th Colonel of the Dogra Regiment and the Dogra Scouts. He was appointed as the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) on 31 December 2004. He is married to Rita Vij and they have a son, Nalin, who is a software engineer in the United States.

General Vij retired on 31 January 2005, after completing more than 42 years service. As of 2010, he is the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, with an equivalent rank of a Union Minister of State.
Biodata of Gen NC Vij

Recent Controversy- Adarsh Scam
Builders by name Adarsh Housing Cooperative Society have been constructing buildings in the prime government land in Mumbai. The permission for construction on this government land has been taken in name of providing the affordable accommodation to war widows and the land had been reserved for this purpose. However, many politicians, top military officials, other bureaucrats and their relatives have taken the ownership of the flats. Ashok Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra has resigned for his role in this scam. CBI is probing the scam. Gen N C Vij along with two other former military chiefs - Gen Deepak Kapoor, and Admiral Madhvendra Singh have offered to give up their apartments.

Experience gained managing National Disasters will enable Gen NC Vij to tide over his present disaster!

Gen. N.C.Vij PVSM, UYSM, AVSM (Retd) Vice Chairman Appointment 28 September 2005 as Vice Chairman NDMA.
Gen Vij, who rose to be the Army Chief, was commissioned in the Indian Army in Dec 1962 and participated in all the Wars fought by India. The many noteworthy command and staff assignments handled by him, include those of Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) and Vice Chief of the Army Staff.

A highly acclaimed military strategist; as the DGMO during the Kargil War, he was responsible for organizing a coordinated withdrawal of Pakistan troops from the War Zone. Another feather in his cap as DGMO was to conceptualize and thereafter oversee the execution of the operations (OP KHUKRI), in Sierra Leone, wherein over 455 Indian Soldiers, serving as part of UN Peace Keeping contingent who had been taken hostage, were rescued in a dare devil operation. This action won worldwide acclaim and appreciation. His tenure as the Army Chief was acclaimed widely for a bold and imaginative strategy of laying a 670 km long fence all along the line of control in J&K, in a record time of nine months, thus reducing the infiltration to a trickle. He was also responsible for conceptualizing the raising of a new Command and Corps HQ each for providing a strategically balanced posture. For his distinguished service, he has been awarded Param Vishist Seva Medal, Uttam Yudh Seva Medal and Ati Vishist Seva Medal.

He has vast experience in disaster management. Among the most notable of his contributions in this field are in case of Orissa Super Cyclone, wherein he coordinated the assistance rendered by the Army. He personally handled the rescue and relief operations in Gujarat as Southern Army Commander and Tsunami as the Army Chief. On 28 Sep 2005, he was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority, which is headed by the Prime Minister.
NDMA- Vision sans Mission
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