Land scam by Odisha State Housing Board - A status

Inquiry into corruption and irregularities in allotment of land/plot by   Govt.  of Odisha is proved  as  farce and deception, exposed through RTI

( Case of Odisha State Housing Board)

Though 3 years  passed, not a single land allotted illegally  has been recovered by Nabin Patnaik Govt. even nor  a single man arrested  for taking land  through fraudlent means.  Task Force Committee   had provided list of  thousands of people  who have taken land illegally  during  BJD Govt. This is how  a self-claimed  transparent  and corruption-free Govt. perpetuates  corruption and  protects illegal land grabbers in Odisha.

Shall  we, the people of Odisha again voted  this Govt. to power ?

·        In 2014, CAG exposed in its Audit Report ( General and Social Sector-2012)  about huge illegalities and irregularities  in  allotment of land/plot   in Bhubaneswar  and Cuttack  by by Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA), Cuttack Development Authority (CDA)  and General Administration (GA) Department and IDCO.

·       Following release of  CAG report, all the opposition  political parties  and Civil Society Groups   organised rally and demonstration demanding  CBI inquiry into land scam.

·      On 2.8.2014,  being pressurised,  the State Govt. constituted a Task Force  under chairmanship of Dr. Taradatt, the then  Secretary of Dept. of Revenue and Disaster management, Govt. of Odisha  to review all the allotment of more than one land/houses/flats to the members of the same family and allotment under discretionary quota to ineligible persons from 1995 to 2014 and submit its report within 4 months.

·      The Task Force produced the report  on 3.11.2014.

·      The State Cabinet  accepted and endorsed  all recommendations made by Task Force i.e., cancellation of all allotments under discretionary quota , cancellation of all plots taken  by  the people by  filling false  affidavit and multiple plots. The State Govt.  handed over all the cases  to State Vigilance to enquire into the matter.

·      State Vigilance has not yet been able  to arrest a single man  involved in land scam.

·      Nabin Patnaik, Chief Minister is trying hard to  cover up this scam.

RTI Application was filed  to the PIO, office of Odisha State Housing Board  seeking information about  details of action taken  against the people  who have taken land illegally or filling false affidavit   and details of land recovered  from them.  On 3.10.2017, the PIO  has supplied the  information which is as follows.

1.       The  following officers  who have been allotted  house under Discretionary quota and through lottery   are as follows.

Sl.No	Name of officers	Year of allotment
1	Sanjib Kumar Mishra, IAS	2004
2	Satish Gajbhie, IPS	2011
3	Chandrasekar Kumar , IAS	1998
4	Madhusudan Padhi , IAS	1998
5	Saroj Kumar Jha , IAS	1998

2.       The following persons  have applied  to OSHB to return  their plot  as they have taken  multiple plots  are  as follows.  But astonishingly,  though 3 years have passed, OSHB is  sitting idle  and not taking  any step to recover the land from the allottees  who have taken  plot by filling false affidavit.  It shows  how Odisha bureaucracy is trying hard to cover up the whole issue  and patronising  land grabbers.

A.      Sajal Kumar Moulik

B.      Pranab Balabantaray, MLA

C.      Snigdharani Sahu.

3.       Within period of  3 years, OSHB  has issued notice to  66 allottees who have taken   land under Discretionary quota  and  24 allottees   who have taken  multiple plot by filling false affidavit. These people are as follows.

Show-case notice issued to the allottees who have  been allotted houses under Discretionary quota by  the then Ministers  for  Housing and Urban Development
Sl. No	Name and address	Sl. No.	Name and address	Sl.No	Name and address
1	Sri Bibhudatta Das C/O- Lalit Mohan Das Arobinda colony BJB Nagar, Bhubaneswar	2	Tukuni Sahu Girl’s High School Para Titilagarh, Bolangir	3	Prafulla Sahu At/post-Gop, Puri
4	Manmath Nath Samantaray S/o-Upendra Nath Barik At-Madana, Post-Naindipur, Dist-Kendrapara	5	Ramesh Behera LP-617, Prasanti Vihar, Sikharchandi, Patia, Bhubaneswar	6	Rosalini Dash Plot No.- 845/4320, Fishing Tank, Laxmisagar, Bhubaneswar
7	Sanjib Kumar Patra, S/O- Ramesh Ch. Patra, Flat-C-2/110, Lake View Apartment , BBSR	8	Kishor Ch. Mohapatra S/O- Padmanav Mohapatra At-Kuansh, Post/Dist- Bhadrak	9	Sandhyarani Jena W/o- Sudhindra Mohan Jena Plot No- 1536/B, CDA , Sector-6, Cuttack
10	Jagabandhu Muduli MIG-18, Housing Board Colony, Aiginia, Pk-1, BBSR	11	Gagan Bihari Sahu, S/O-Banchhanidhi Sahu, At-Thakurpatna, Post/Dist-Jagatsingh Pur	12	Nabin Kishore Mohanty MIG-10, Housing Board Colony, Aiginia, BBSR
13	Dasarath Das S/O-Managobinda Das MIG-70, Housing Board Colony, Aiginia, BBSR	14	Bhabani Prasad Mohapatra At-Naripur, Post/Dist-Bhadrak	15	Prasanna Ku. Sahoo At/Post-Kantilo, Dist-Nayagarh
16	Prafulla Ku. Deo At/post-Nadiabhonga, Kalinga Nagar, BBSR	17	Ashok Ku. Das S/O-Nrusingha Ch. Das Ar-Arua, Po-Kadalibana Dist-Kendrapara	18	Biswanath Puhan MIG-11, Housing Board Colony, Aiginia, BBSR
19	Kalinga Keshari Mohanty MIG-24, Housing Board Colony, Aiginia, Ph-1, BBSR	20	Joseph Pradhan At-panganaju, Po-Mallikapadi, G. Udayagiri,  Kondhamal	21	Deepak Barada At/po-Bhapuur, Dist- Nayagar
22	Pravakar Nayak S/O- Dasarathi Nayak At-Karatali, Post-Kalamba Dist-Ganjam	23	Rabinarayan Parida At/Post-Indipur, Dist-Khorda	24	Deepak Ranjan Sahu At-Jhatiasahi, Post-JajpurRoad, Dist-Jajpur
25	Sanghamitra Muduli HIG-1-12, Satyasai Enclave, Aiginia, BBSR	26	Saswati Biswal W/O- Jyotisankar Biswal At/Post- Banapur, Dist-Khorda	27	Maheswar Parida HIG-11-445, Satyasai Enclave, Aiginia, BBSR
28	Zeetoo Patnaik S/O- Padma Ch.Patnaik At/Post-Arisal, Delanga Puri	29	Kanchanabala Nayak At-Nima sahi, Post- Buxibaxar, Dist-Cuttack	30	Panchadeb Dubey S/o- Achaiber Dubey A-114, Dumduma Ph-v, BBSR
31	Snigdharani Sahu, W/O- Saroj Kumar Sahu At-Banamali Pur Patna, Via-Khandapara, Dist- Nayagarh	32	Sanjib Kumar Mishra, IAS d/2- 308, Vinaya Mark, Chanakya Puri, New Delhi	33	Dharmesh Kar Flat No-E-303, Sriram Vihar Apartment, Nayapali, Bhubaneswar
34	A.J.Thomas Flat No- 303, Jagannath Apartment, Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar	35	Saroj Kumar Sahu S/O- Raghunath Sahu Bhabanagar, 3rd lane, Berhampur, Ganjam	36	Ambika Prasad kanungo Qr.No.- D-11/1, Unit-8, Post-Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar
37	Akshaya Kumar Swain S/O- bairagi swain, At-Kunjiapatna, Post-Nuapalamhat, Dist-Cuttack	38	Kailash Ch. Acharya At-Dayanidhipur Sasan, Post-  Narua, Gop, Puri	39	Sanjukta panigrahi w/o- R. Panigrahi LIG-35, Nandan Enclave Kalarahanga, Post-KIIT, Patia, Bhubaneswar
40	Debadatta Dash S/o-Motilal Dash At/Post-Kusumagandha Dist-Mayurbhanj	41	Pranab Ku. Balabantaray S/o- Kalpataru Das Dharmashala Jajpur	42	Bikash Ranjan Sahu At/Post-Gudiapali, Begunia, Khorda
43	Muralidhar Mallick S/O-Basudev Mallik HIG-6, Aiginia, Housing Board Colony , Bhubaneswar	44	Suranjan Nayak S/O- Jagabandhu Nayak At/Post-Pakhar Dist-Balasore	45	Dibakar Acharya S/O- Bansidhar Acharya At-Baraput, Dist-Cuttack
46	Rama Ch. Tripathy S/O- Nityanand Tripathy At/Post-Sadashiv Pur Dist-Dhenkanal	47	Debashis Patnaik S/O- Dasarathi Patnaik At/Post-Sanapadar Begunia, Dist-Khurda	48	Pramod Kumar Parija S/o-Bira Kishor Parija At-Kherash, Post/Dist-Jagatsingh Pur
49	Chandra Sekhar Bal At/Post-Ario, Jaguleipara, Dist-Kendrapara	50	Subal Meher S/O- Abhimanyu Meher At/Post-Kandhakel  gaon Dist-Bolangir	51	Godabarish Sahoo S/O- Brundaban Sahoo Aiginia, Bhubaneswar
52	Sajal Kumar Moulik C-2/110, Lake View Home,  Kalinga Stadium Road , BBSR	53	Gopal Krustan  Dangua AGM, NABARD Paralakhemundi Gajapati	54	Mahendra Prasad Behera S/O-Kusha Behera At/Post-Sirapur, Sora, Balasore
55	Justice Bijay Krustan Patel , Ambedkar Enclave Unit-VI, BBSR	56	Anajn Kumar Das Housing Board Colony, Khandagiri, BBSR	57	Bhagaban Das & Smt. Pratima Das At-Narayan Pur, Post- Angulei Dist-Kendrapara
58	Justice Ratnakar Dash 670, Pocket-E, Mayur Vihar,  Phase-II, New Delhi	59	Iswara Ch. Gajendra At/Post-Malipada Dist-Khorda	60	Dibakar Mohapatra Sec-2/569, Niladri Vihar, BBSR
61	Sarat Ch. Hota At-Puruna Someswarpur Satyabadi, Puri	62	Sankarsan Sahu At-Belarpur Post-Debidwar Dist-Jajpur	63	Smt. Reba Chakrabarty C/o-S.N.Chakrabarty Salt Lake City Kolkatta
64	Manoj Kumar Bisoi At/Post-Jagatpur Cuttack	65	Priyabrat Dash At-Santipara Post- Amrutamanohi Dist- Kendrapara	66	Bijay Kumar Patnaik K-2, Kalpana Road Bhubaneswar

Show-case notice issued to the allottees  having multiple  allotments  in their name
Sl. No	Name and address	Sl. No.	Name and address	Sl.No	Name and address
1	Ahalya Sahu W/o-Duryodhana Sahu Housing Board Colony, Dumduma, BBSR	2	Manasi Dei W/O- Sadhab Minz HIG(S)-124, Maitree Vihar Bhuabneswar	3	Pravat Kumar Mohanty S/O-Khetrabasi Mohanty N-1/337, IRC village Nayapalli, BBSR
4	Nihar Ranjan Dash S/O-Pravakar Dash At-Chhatilo, Post-Harianta Dist-Cuttack	5	Sarat Ch. Dash HIG(S)-81, Maitree Vihar, C.S. Pur, BBSR	6	Mamata Mohanty W/o- Kanungo barada  Mohanty NIT Campus, Rourkela
7	Mahendra Kumar Sahu S/o-Batakrustan Sahu Sidhi Vihar, Khandagiri BBSR	8	Niranjan Sahu S/O-Muralidhar Sahu GRIDCO Colony, Bhoi Nagar, BBSR	9	Surendra Nath Tripathy S/O- Premnath Tripathy HIG(S)- 98, Maitree Vihar C.S.Pur, BBSR
10	Sukanti Dash W/o-Janaki Ballav Mishra At/Post- Taradapara Nimapara, Dist-Puri	11	Shakti Prasad Acharya S/O-Bira Kishor Acharya Professor Para, Cuttack	12	Samir Ranjan Nayak At-Erada, Post-Galadhari Dist-Jagatsingh Pur
13	Prakash Kumar Tripathy S/O- Dharanidhar Tripathy Toshali Apartment, Satya Nagar, Bhubaneswar	14	Birendra Kumar Mishra S/O- Girish Ch. Mishra  B-003, Ambedkar Enclave , Unit-VI Bhubaneswar	15	Sajal Kumar Moulik S/o- Lokendranath Moulik Lake view Home, Kalinga stadium, BBSR
16	Ajit Kumar Tripathy Plot No- 369/2688 Damana Square C.S.Pur, BBSR	17	Nibedita Tripathy  Plot No- 369/2688 Damana Square C.S.Pur, BBSR	18	Birendra Kumar Patnaik At-Gadavihar Sonepur
19	Mamata Panda W/o-Ranjan Kumar Panda MIG-1-13/48, BDA Colony C.S.Pur, Bhubaneswar	20	Basudev Mallik S/o-Khati Mallik Lp- 506	21	Basudev Mohanty S/o-Jayakrustan Mohanty Kuinta Bhawan Arundoyanagar Cuttack-12
22	Laxmipriya Mohanty W/o-Sadasiba Mohanty Jalasarapara, Jamugaon, Jagatsingh Pur	23	Ambika Prasad Kanungo Qr. No-D-11/1/, Unit-8, Post-Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar	24	Mahendra Kumar Das S/O-Gobinda Ch. Das At/Post-Rahania, Dist-Bhadrak

Comments

A.      There are  many ministers, MLAs and Officers  who have taken houses  in name of their relatives  and also fake names  which  could not  be traced out.   Readers are requested  to bring to our notice  about   name of allottees  who have taken  houses  under DQ or  through filling false affidavit.

B.      It is very  interesting  that though 3 and half year  passed, the State Govt. has not taken any action against the allottees who have  illegally taken houses.

Pradip Pradhan, M- 993784482

Date-28.10.17

Take action on poll complaint against Odisha CM: SC directs ECI

Published on October 27, 2017

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court (SC) today directed Election Commission of India (ECI) to take action on the allegation of poll irregularities against Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik. The apex court directed ECI to take a final call on the case within reasonable time.

“The ECI replied in positive to the court when it was asked if it is ready to take action based on the complaint. After that, the SC disposed off the case stating that EC will decide further,” said SC lawyer, Narendra Hooda.

RTI activist Subash Mohapatra had filed a petition in Orissa High Court alleging discrepancies in statement of accounts and expenses submitted by CM Naveen after the 2014 general elections.

Orissa High court had issued the notice to ECI.

Justice BK Nayak scheduled to hear the case on October 31 after a judge of the HC, who was scheduled to hear the case related to the alleged poll fund irregularities, refused to hold trial and requested the Chief Justice to set up a separate bench for hearing.

Moreover, in his declaration to the Election Commission, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has claimed that he received a party fund of Rs 1310625 for his election campaign through RTGS and a cheque (No. 538976288). Interestingly, cheques have 5 or 6 digit numbers. When a scrutiny was made of the BJD bank account, no such payment was found to have ever been made through RTGS or cheque. Patnaik, obviously, made a false declaration.

Naveen Patnaik, while submitting the details of account of election expenses to the Election Commission of India in compliance of section 77 of the Representation of the Peoples Act 1951 on oath in shape of affidavit dated June 15, 2014, in Sl.No.1 of Scheduled 8 of Part –IV of Form of Affidavit, submitted that he has received an amount of Rs13,10,625/- from his party, Biju Janata Dal, as a lump sum amount vide RTGS cheque 538976288 dated April 2, 2014 which is quite contradictory to the statement of expenses submitted by BJD to ECI as stated in the preceding paragraph.

Read related story
BJD Uses Hawala Money in the Odisha Assembly Elections !

Test of Speech of Justice A.P.Shah, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court

Test  of Speech  of  Justice  A.P.Shah, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court  delivered in  the inaugural  session of 5^th  National  Convention  of NCPRI on Right to Information  held  in Bhubaneswar, capital  City  of Odisha  from 14^th to 16^th  Oct. 2017

          RTI and Governance: the distance yet to be travelled         

I thank Aruna Roy ji for inviting me today to this important conference. I am particularly happy to participate because, in another capacity, I had heard a good deal about the perceived benefits and limitations of this important piece of legislation.

The principle of information being made available to those affected by it is an ancient one. In our own times, numerous international covenants have subscribed to it. Despite it, governments have been slow to give it a practical shape. Apart from Sweden’s transparency law of 1776, only 20 countries had such a law till 1995. Thereafter, the pace picked up and till 2011, over 85 countries had enacted and implemented legislation pertaining to it. Civil society pressure in most cases played a critical role in shaping opinion.

In our own country, progress towards right to information legislation was slow and hesitant. The culture of secrecy was pervasive; it was compounded by low levels of literacy and ignorance of the public about government procedures.

The impulse for change came from demands for minimum wages for landless labourers, as also from environmentalists and advocates of human rights, and was helped by decisions of the higher judiciary. An initial effort to legislate faltered in 2002; the law finally saw light of day in 2005. Its title and substance also registered the important transition from freedom to right.

The concept of right to information resonates deeply with the notion of citizenship. The objective of the Right to Information Act, 2005 is spelt out in its preamble. Democracy, it asserts, requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information is essential to contain corruption and to hold government and its instrumentalities accountable to the governed and to harmonize it within a framework of operational efficiency and confidentiality of sensitive information.

The RTI Act of 2005 marked a move from opaqueness to the beginning of an era of transparency. ‘It thus fundamentally restructures the debate on governance from what should be revealed to what must be kept secret.’

Twelve years after its enactment, the official view, as reflected in the latest annual report of the Central Information Commission, is reasonably satisfactory. Reports of the State Information Commissions paint a varied picture. The perception within information providing agencies often is that much of demand is frivolous and vexatious.  The civil society view, however, is that its implementation remains inefficient and as a result, transparency and accountability seems to be under threat.

Experts cite poor record-keeping practices within bureaucracy, lack of infrastructure and staff for running information commissions as the reason for this. Despite it, the culture of transparency brought about by the RTI Act has empowered the citizens and emboldened them to seek information and seek accountability.

What is the element of truth in these perceptions? The different ingredients of the favourable and unfavourable perceptions therefore need to be segregated and analyzed.

Some time back a former Central Information Commissioner, writing about his personal experience, divided RTI applications into 4 categories: (a) those who hope to expose corruption or arbitrariness and improve governance (b) those who wish to correct a wrong and get justice (c) those who wish to blackmail persons who have allegedly violated the law and (d) those who wish to harass public officials to get undue favours. He added that applications in the third and fourth category did no exceed 10% of the total.    

In the first place is the principle and practice of transparency in governance. This is critical to the notion of accountability. It is the corner stone of good governance. It ensures that actions and decisions taken by public officials are subject to oversight so as to guarantee that government initiatives meet their stated objectives and respond to the needs of the community they are meant to be benefiting, thereby contributing to better governance and poverty reduction. This accountability could be legal, political or social or may even cover all these aspects. It can be, and has been, sought through elected representatives at municipal, state or parliamentary levels. The RTI, however, adds a new dimension to it since in this case, accountability is sought by the citizen directly at individual level. 

The hard question is about the efficacy of the Act in actual implementation. To answer this, the experience of twelve years is to be analyzed critically from the viewpoint of the information-seeker particularly amongst the poor and needy and those in rural areas. It is here that response of the information giving agencies, and the rules and procedures under which information is sought to be denied, becomes critical.

A harsh reality cannot be overlooked. According to credible civil society activists and organizations, a good number of information-seekers on sensitive issues have been threatened and some even lost their lives. Specific allegations in this regard have generally gone unanswered.

It is evident that as in other walks of life, surrender of power is resisted. Record shows that procedural devices will be resorted to. One critic has opined that many information-giving agencies view the Act as “the right to reject, deny, obfuscate.” The current controversy over the new RTI Rules made public recently has to be seen in that context.

Many in this audience know that much of the information being sought can easily be made public but has not been done thanks to our legacy of colonial rule and closed governance. A typical case is about land records. A Central Information Commissioner has observed that about 66 % of litigation in courts is about land. It results in loss of GDP. If land records are updated and access to them made easier, it would have a positive impact on pendency before the judiciary and would lead to all round improvement in governance.

The same holds good for educational qualifications of those seeking public office and the requirement to comply with prescribed limits.

The question of exemptions under section 8(1)(a) of the Act has been discussed extensively. The exemptions for the listed security agencies are formulated very generally and could do with precise definitions. Without it, the PIOs has a lot of space to define overarching terms like ‘sovereignty’ and ‘integrity.’ Some judicial rulings have been helpful in this regard. The same holds for invoking the economic interests clause.

Any serious discussion on the RTI Act must be premised on its intent and purpose, as spelt out in the preamble. The letter of law is one aspect of the matter; its intent is another. Today it is undeniable that the Act in the years it has been in existence has changed the public discourse and has brought into being a new framework and a new imagination within which governance is to be viewed. By the same token, the wide-spread public perception about high level corruption has given impetus to a new imagination about countering it. The RTI Act is not an anti-corruption act but given the level of transparency it is intended to achieve can contribute to this objective. It is the beginning of a long journey. Since other nations started on this journey earlier, we can also benefit by taking cognizance of their experience and best practices.

Much depends on the functioning of information commissions. They are critical to the RTI regime and must be endowed with the resources for discharging their functions efficiently. Available data indicates high levels of pendency; this cannot but impede the achievement of the stated objectives. The only corrective is public pressure. The CIC’s decision in May this year that all cases filed in 2015 and 2016 will be cleared by the end of this year is a step in this direction. Another initiative by the government advising public bodies to get their proactive disclosure package pre-audited by a third party every year and report it to CIC should help reduce the load of unattended RTI applications.

Conferences like this will help raise public awareness. I wish you all success in this crusade.

Jai Hind.

Produced by

Pradip Pradhan

M-9937843482

Date – 23.10.17

     

Post-Matric Scholarship to ST students of KIIT and KISS, Bhubaneswar

 Post-Matric Scholarship to ST students of KIIT school and KISS School provided by SC and ST Dept. , Govt. of Odisha

Last year, RTI Application was filed to the PIO, Dept. of SC and ST Development Department, Govt. of Odisha about details of ST Students studying in KISS Tribal School, Patia, Bhubaneswar. The PIO denied to provide the information on the ground of non-availability of information. It means   KISS tribal school  has not been registered  with SC and ST Dept. as required  under  section 44 of Juvenile Justice  ( care and protection  of children) Act.  It is also interesting to  mention here that  the Dept. has never monitored   the functioning of KISS Tribal school   till yet, though same Dept. through  DWO has monitored  all tribal schools  in  all districts  of the State.

But astonishingly,  without  having any information  about functioning of KISS tribal schools, the SC and ST Development Department  has released  crore of rupees  against students scholarship to ST students managed by KIIT and KISS, Patia, Bhubaneswar.  The question is how  is it possible  by State Govt.  to release  such  money  to KISS tribal school. Is it because  of  nexus of Achyut Samant with  Ruling  party and  corrupt bureaucrats  or any other reasons.

The readers  must explore it  in the interest of the state.

The details of post-matric scholarship to ST Students of KISS and KIIT  which has  been provided  by the Dept. of SC and ST , Govt. of Odisha on 17.10.17  through RTI is as follows.

Post-Matric scholarship to ST  students  of KIIT, Bhubaneswar  from 2012 to 2017
2012-13	469	Rs. 2,04,22,450.00
2013-14	474	Rs. 2,51,21,740.00
2014-15	367	Rs. 2,01,21,400.00
2015-16	272	Rs. 1,56,11,340.00
2016-17	293	Rs. 1,52,34,640.00
Post-Matric scholarship to ST  students  of KISS, Bhubaneswar  from 2012 to 2017
2012-13	985	RS. 48,57,774.00
2013-14	2833	Rs. 1,38,11,550.00
2014-15	3620	Rs. 3,34,09,768.00
2015-16	4310	Rs. 4,20,99,650.00
2016-17	4951	Rs. 4,95,20,000.00

Pradip Pradhan

M-9937843482

Date- 23.10.17 

Bhubaneswar Declaration on RTI passed in 5th National Convention

NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR PEOPLES’ RIGHT TO INFORMATION

BHUBANESWAR DECLARATION ON THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION

As citizens and activists committed to building a transparent and accountable democracy we gather together from across the country in the city of Bhubaneswar to celebrate our victories, and squarely face current challenges. In this fifth National Convention on the People’s Right to Information, we re-affirm our commitment to protect the democratic rights of people. We pledge in particular to struggle to make a reality the following resolutions contained in the Bhubaneswar Declaration dated October 16, 2017:

WE, THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE FIFTH NATIONAL RTI CONVENTION, WHILE ENDORSING THE HYDERABAD DECLARATION OF 2013, HEREBY DECLARE THAT:

1.     Several serious problems are plaguing the functioning of Information Commissions across the country which must be urgently addressed by the appropriate authorities. Several posts of information commissioners are lying vacant in commissions across the country and in Andhra Pradesh the commission has not been set up after the bifurcation of the state. The State Government must fill up vacant positions in a transparent manner as the pendency is reaching alarming levels denying people their fundamental right to information. The number of Information Commissioners must be determined through an assessment of the workload in each Commission.

2.     Even after more than twelve years of enactment of the RTI law, governments have failed in fulfilling their obligation to proactively provide information to people under Section 4 of the RTI Act. All public authorities must urgently fulfill this responsibility. We demand that the Government of India immediately implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Section 4 set up by the DoPT in 2011 and set up a mechanism to monitor its implementation.

3.     Government must make rules to operationalize the whistleblower protection law immediately which was passed in 2014. The government has failed to operationalize the law and is trying to dilute it through amendments. We demand that the amendments should be withdrawn. It is the moral responsibility of the Government to protect RTI activists and users, and take swift legal action against those responsible for these attacks. It is also the obligation of governments and information commissions to ensure that, whenever an applicant is attacked, the information that was being sought by the assaulted applicant is urgently and on a priority basis, put in the public domain and followed up. All persons seeking information in public interest must be treated as human rights defenders.

4.     In order to move from transparency to accountability, there is an urgent need for the government to effectively implement laws necessary to combat corruption and the abuse of power. The legislation on Lokpal and Lokayuktas passed in 2014 must be implemented without further delay. Every state that does not have a Lokpal/ Lokayukta Law should enact a law along the lines of the national law and states where laws exist, those must be brought in line with the national law.

5.     The grievance redress bill which was introduced in Parliament in 2011 was deliberated in a standing committee but lapsed with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in 2014. We demand that the law be brought back to Parliament, deliberated and passed.

6.     We demand that the retrograde amendments proposed to the Central RTI rules must be withdrawn. Rules must strengthen the RTI Act and make it easier for people to access information.

7.     We demand  that illegal and anti-people  provisions  of  Odisha RTI Rules, 2005  like compulsory RTI Application Form,    production of proof of  Citizenship while filling RTI Application,  Compulsory  1^st  and 2^nd Appeal Form and fee  should  be withdrawn   and replaced  by  citizen-friendly  Rules.

8.     Assessments have found that there are serious concerns about the quality of orders of information commissions. A standard format for orders of information commissions must be adopted to ensure that orders are not deficient and all the provisions of the RTI Act are complied with such as weighing the exceptions (8(2), 8(3) and parliamentary proviso) to the exemptions in cases where information is denied.

9.     Every year lakhs of RTI applications are filed across the country. Many point towards gaps in governance. To harness these applications for systemic change, the government must analyse the applications and identify the gaps. 

10.  Governments must pay particular attention to the effective implementation of the RTI Act and other transparency and accountability measures in conflict affected areas in order to ensure better protection of human rights, particularly of the disadvantaged and vulnerable segments of society. We demand that the repeal of AFSPA and other legislative provisions which curtail democratic rights of people including the right to information.

11.  We condemn the arbitrary use of Section 24 of the RTI Act to exempt bodies such as the CBI,   anti-corruption agencies, like Odisha State  Vigilance, security and intelligence agencies. As the exemptions under Section 8 are adequate, the list of agencies notified under this Section must be immediately withdrawn.

12.  We demand that all laws enacted by Parliament and the State Legislatures conform to the regime of transparency established by the RTI Act. We demand the immediate withdrawal of provisions in any law, Bill, rule, regulation, or executive order that curtail people’s fundamental right to information.

13.  We demand that all Governments immediately put in place a legally mandated process by which any draft legislation or international treaty is tabled in Parliament or the State Legislatures only after extensive public consultation. All government policies must also be formulated through a similar consultative process.

14.  We are deeply concerned about the all pervading influence and control of the corporate sector over all structures of decision making in Government. All public authorities must take immediate steps to ensure transparency in the functioning of private entities that utilise public resources or provide public services. Information about public private partnership projects must be accessible under the RTI Act at every stage. We demand that rules to operationalise section 2(f) which empowers people to access information about private bodies must be formulated.

15.  We demand that all NGOs, Cooperative societies, Trade Unions, and Religious institutions must be transparent about their income and expenditure.

16.  We demand that all Government funded programmes must be subject to social/public audits conducted under the aegis of an independent authority.

17.  We demand that all details of income, donations and expenses of political parties be made public regularly. The six national parties must implement the 2013 order of the CIC declaring them public authorities under the RTI Act. They must appoint PIOs and comply with section 4 of the RTI Act by proactively disclosing information. We demand that the electoral bond mechanism for donations to political parties must be withdrawn. Mechanisms must be put in place to make political parties’ financial transactions transparent.

18.  Peoples’ ability to access information about the functioning of public servants has been restricted through multiple judgments of the judiciary. We commit ourselves to taking appropriate steps to challenge such judgments which restrict the scope of the RTI.

19.  We welcome measures to make treasury information public in some States. This should be extended to all jurisdictions.

20.  We believe that all natural resources belong to the people. We demand equity and people’s participation in decision making combined with complete transparency, accountability in the management and use of all natural resources. All draft MOUs and leases must be proactively disclosed before they are finalised.

21.  We demand transparency in the ownership and source of funds of all media agencies. Methods of enforcing accountability of the media industry to the people must be explored, while protecting the right to freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution.

22.  We welcome the initiative of the Supreme Court to bring in transparency in the process of appointments of the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. We demand that along with reasons for recommending appointments or rejection which will be made public, the materials which formed the basis of such decisions should also be disclosed in accordance with the RTI Act.

23.  The Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) being drafted for appointment of judges must be made public to ensure transparency and enable citizen participation.

24.  The Judiciary must proactively disclose the case management procedures and provide information about cases which have been reserved after arguments.

25.  The right to information and right to free expression and dissent are inextricably  linked. Public officials are duty bound to and must uphold the constitutional right of citizens to free speech and expression.

26.   Making Aadhaar mandatory for accessing entitlements and services has led to large scale exclusions of people.  We demand that Aadhaar not be made mandatory for accessing entitlements and services. Information accessed under the RTI Act has shown that claims of government about savings through Aadhaar are not backed by government data. We demand that all such claims and proclamations be accompanied with data relied on for such claims. The government should take steps to protect and fulfill every citizens right to informational self determination.

27.  We understand that the government is in the process of drafting the principles of a data protection law and will also legislate such a law. The data protection framework will have a wide-ranging impact and therefore, there must be complete transparency in the process including pre-legislative consultation. The composition of the committee responsible for formulating the principles of the data protection must be such as to include adequate representation of civil society and independent people.

28.  We affirm all resolutions passed at the workshops held at the Bhubaneshwar Convention, 2017. 

Circulated  by

Pradip Pradhan

National Co-Convener, NCPRI

M-9937843482 

5th National Convention on “Right to Information” in Odisha

Open Invitation

5^th National Convention on “Right to Information” in Odisha

 Dear friends

We are inviting  you to the 5^th  National  Convention of  National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) which will be held from  14th to 16th October, 2017  at  Utkal Mandap ( Near Rabindra Mandap), Bhubaneshwar. Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhiyan (a State-level Network of RTI Activists leading campaign for effective implementation of RTI Act in Odisha) is hosting   this convention  which will celebrate twelve years of the use of the Right to Information law and reflect on the current challenges in its implementation in  different parts of the country.

RTI users, Activists , Experts from across the country will   be joining  in this convention and share their experiences of the use of the law by movements, campaigns and individuals and discuss the impact of the RTI Act on governance in the country. A mix of plenary sessions, parallel workshops and an RTI mela will be organised to ensure vibrant peoples’ participation. A host of  Eminent personalities and RTI Activists like  Prof. Pravat Patnaik, Economist, Prashant Bhusan and Sri Anand Grover,  Advocate, Supreme Court, Mrs. Aruna Roy, Sri Wajahat Habibullah, former Central Chief Information Commissioner, Sri Shailesh Gandhi,  former Central Information Commissioner, Mrs. Annie raja,  Prof.  Sridhar  Acharyulu, Central Information Commissioner, Sri Sunil Kumar Mishra, Odisha Chief Information Commissioner, Sri Venkatesh Nayak, Mrs. Anjali Bhardwaj, Sri Nikhil Dey and many others  will be joining in the convention.

The convention will provide an opportunity to deliberate on the current challenges impeding the effective implementation of the RTI Act, including attacks on RTI users.

To trace the trajectory from transparency to accountability in the past four years, since the last NCPRI convention was held in Hyderabad, discussions will be organized on the status of various anti-corruption and grievance redress legislations, including the Whistleblowers’ Protection law, the Lokpal Act, the Prevention of Corruption Amendment Bill and the grievance redress bill.

Recent developments around the right to privacy and how it is likely to interface with peoples’ right to information will be deliberated upon. The convention will also provide an opportunity to discuss and develop strategies for safeguarding and furthering freedom of speech and expression, which is the cornerstone of any democracy and is enshrined in Article 19 (1)(a) of the constitution from which the right to information flows.

Information commissioners, government functionaries, RTI users and people associated with movements and campaigns from across the country will participate in the convention.  An RTI Mela will be organized in collaboration with various citizens’ groups, where campaigns and organizations from different states will put up stalls showcasing the use of the RTI Act.

We request you to   attend and participate in the deliberation of the Convention.  We have fixed Rs.100.00  as  Registration fee to be paid by  each participant to attend the convention. Please kindly confirm your participation by sending an email to  odishasoochanaadhikar@gmail.com or message to mobile no. 9937843482. We have arranged low cost boarding and lodging for all the participants.  The Convention will start each day at 9.30 am to 5 pm followed  by cultural programme in the  night.

Best wishes and regards,

 Pradip Pradhan

State Convener

M-9937843482