Pradip Pradhan nominated as National Co-Convener of NCPRI

Pradip Pradhan nominated as  National Co-Convener of NCPRI

Pradip Pradhan, eminent RTI Activist  and State Convener of Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan has been nominated  as  National Co-Convener of NCPRI ( National Campaign for People’s Right to Information) , a  National Form of RTI Activists  working  for effective implementation of RTI Act  in the country  as well as  undertaking  campaign for   Lokpal, Judicial accountability, Whistle-blowers’  Protection Act , Grievance Redressal law  etc. He enjoys position of one of National Co-conveners along with other eminent RTI Activists Sri Nikhil Dey, Sri Venkatesh Nayak, Smt. Anjali Bhardwaj  ( New Delhi), Ms. Pankti Josh ( Gujurat), Dr. Shaikh Ghulam Rasool ( J&K) , Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu ( Andhra Pradesh).

National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) was founded in 1996. Its founding members included social activists, journalists, lawyers, professionals, retired civil servants and academics. One of its primary objectives was to campaign for a national law facilitating the exercise of the fundamental right to information. NCPRI played pioneering role  in pushing enactment of Right to Information Act  in the country in 2005.

Since 2005, year of beginning of implementation  of Right to Information Act in  the country, Sri Pradhan  along with few  Social Activists started  campaign  in Odisha to enforce implementation of RTI Act.  At early stage of campaign,   he  opposed  various  draconian provision of Odisha RTI Rules made by Govt. of Odisha to make the sun-shining law dysfunctional in the state  and demanded for  its withdrawal. After  a long campaign, the State Government on 29^th May, 2006  amended  Odisha RTI Rules, first ever amendment  of Rules  in the country  which reduced  application fee from Rs. 20.00 to Rs. 10.00,  Fee for information from Rs. 5.00 to Rs. 2.00  etc.  But  still  Odisha Rules  remains anti-people  which  is  the core of the campaign of Sri Pradhan for  its withdrawal.   He  has  conducted  several trainings, workshops, seminars  and  State Conventions each year  in the state. He  has filed  more than 6000 RTI Applications  and exposed  number of corruptions and irregularities  in  implementation of Govt. scheme and Programme.  Last year   under his able leadership,  National Convention of  NCPRI on Right to Information was organised  in Bhubaneswar, capital city of Odisha   from 14^th to 16^th 2017.  Through RTI , he  has also monitored  implementation of various programme and  functioning of   various  Commissions etc.  He is  the  founder of Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan  and leading  this campaign as State Convener  since last 12 years.

Under his leadership, OSAA has been emerged  as vibrant network of RTI Activists  in the state having its district level network  in 25 districts. Over the years, hundreds of RTI Activists have joined in this campaign. It has  a core body of 70 members  at State level  which sits  every month  to chalk out action plan to broad-base  campaign and take up  various issues affecting the state.  Sri Pradhan has compiled 25 booklets , campaign materials, posters , leaflets  on RTI and written a number of articles  on RTI related issues, published in local odia dailies.  

We wish all   success  in his endeavour   for enforcing transparent and  accountable governance system   in the  country in general and Odisha in particular. 

Reported  by

Sri Akhand, Human Rights Activist
Working Group Member : CSFHR
Core group Member : OSAA

9861210101

FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP UNDER RTI ACT 2005

FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIP UNDER RTI ACT 2005

One of the reasons for declining information is fiduciary relationship.

Section 8(1)(e) of RTI Act 2005 reads as under: Notwithstanding anything  contained  in this Act, there shall be no obligation  to give any citizen,- 

“Information available to a person in his fiduciary relationship, unless the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants disclosure of such information”

Black’s Law Dictionary describes a fiduciary relationship as “one founded on trust or confidence reposed by one person in the integrity and fidelity of another.”

To qualify for information as held under fiduciary relationship, it should have following ingredients:

1. Information should have been given to public authority voluntarily by the giver of information. Giver must have choice whether to give or not and to whom it should be given.

2. Information should not have been given to public authority under compulsion or compliance of any law or rule.

3. Information should have been given to public authority for using it for the benefit of its giver.

4. Information should have been given in utmost trust, confidence and faith by giver in the receiving public authority.

Some of the examples of fiduciary relationship are:

Litigant-lawyer, patient-doctor, investor-financial advisor, client-bank, beneficiary-trustee, ward-guardian, attorney-principal, director-shareholder parent-child, insured-insurer etc

Following information held by public authority of third party cannot be said to be held in fiduciary relationship if:

A] It is given to public authority under compliance of any law or rule [e.g. Income Tax Act, customs act, VAT, etc].

B] Giver has no choice but to give information to public authority.

C] Information is not given voluntarily by giver to public authority.

D] Information was not to be used for the benefit of giver by public authority.

E] information is not given in trust, confidence and faith in public authority.

E] it is in larger public interest to disclose, even if held under fiduciary relationship.

Important CIC decisions & judgements on fiduciary relationship:

i] CIC/AT/A/2008/01238 dated 07-06-2010

ii] CIC/SM/A/2010/001634/SG/14617 dated 15-09-2011

iii] CIC/SM/A/2011/001376/SG/15684 dated 15-11-2011

iv] Judgement dated 30-08-2010 of High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam in

WP(C).No. 6532 of 2006(C) -1. TREESA IRISH, W/O.MILTON LOPEZ   Vs CENTRAL PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER

v] Judgement of Full Bench of High Court of Delhi, in Secretary General Supreme Court of India V Subhash Chandra Agarwal, L.P.A. No. 501/2009.

The above material can be used in first or second appeal.

Compiled by: J P Shah, 9924106490   jpshah50@yahoo.co.in on 07-08-2012

Pradip Pradhan

M-9937843482

Date- 26.6.18

43 lakh people depend on alms of Rs.300/- to survive in Odisha

43 lakh people depend on alms of Rs.300/- to survive in Odisha

·      Due to abject poverty and hunger,  43 lakh old persons ,  widows  and disables  depend on monthly pension amount of Rs. 300.00/ Rs. 200.00  for survival  in the state.

·      Besides that the economic condition of the poor people are so distressing  that  Lakhs of  their applications seeking pension  amount of Rs. 300.00  under different schemes are pending in different block offices across the state for years together.  

·      Since last one decade, the state Govt. has been providing just Rs. 200.00 as monthly pension to 14, 18,164 old people as assistance for their survival.

·      Within last decade of recommendation of two Pay Commission reports   being implemented with pay hyke of employees, Ministers and Officers,  the State Government  has not increased monthly pension of depressed  and vulnerable section of society.

·      Nabin Patnaik Government takes much credit by giving mere pension of Rs. 200/-  and Rs. 300/- per month for survival of poor older persons in the state.

·      Whatever fund allocated under Old Age pension scheme, Disable Pension scheme by Govt. of India, the State Govt. could not spend the said amount. 

RTI Application was submitted to the PIO, Department of Social Security & Empowerment of persons with disabilities, Govt. of Odisha seeking information about details of beneficiaries covered under various pension schemes, pension paid to them etc.   On 11.6.18, the PIO  has provided the following information.

A.      Name of various pension schemes  undertaken in Odisha

i.                     Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension scheme ( IGNOAP)

ii.                   Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme ( IGNWP)

iii.                  Indira Gandhi National Disables pension Scheme ( IGNDP)

iv.                 Madhubabu Pension Yojana ( MNPY)

B.      The year-wise information about allocation of Central Government for pension scheme is as follows.

( In lakhs)

Year	Name of the Schemes
	IGNOAP		IGNWP		IGNDP
	Fund received from GOI	Expenditure	Fund received from GOI	Expenditure	Fund received from GOI	Expenditure
2014-15	44381.59	40213.34	20901.83	18751.89	4146.21	3390.11
2015-16	55495.01	40136.11	15461.46	18885.72	3692.38	3151.78
2016-17	54898.40	40179.48	14722.84	18002.37	3265.24	2679.84
2017-18	55561.16	40578.33	15973.51	18502.34	3558.84	2867.22

C.      The No. of beneficiaries covered under each pension scheme of Central Govt. is as follows.

Year	Name of the Schemes
	IGNOAP	IGNWP	IGNDP
2014-15	1418631	528570	90754
2015-16	1418631	528570	90243
2016-17	1407937	495459	74515
2017-18	1418164	513954	79645

D.      The No. of beneficiaries covered under Madhu Babu Pension scheme and funds allocated under the scheme are mentioned below.

( In lakhs)

Year	No. of beneficiaries	Fund allocated
2014-15	1978400	72583.81
2015-16	1985024	72822.27
2016-17	2285024	82092.13
2017-18	2313704	90188.50

E.       The amount of monthly pension for each beneficiary under each pension scheme of State Govt. and Central Govt. are mentioned below.

Year	Name of the  Schemes
	IGNOAP	IGNWP	IGNDP	MBPY
2014-15	200	300	300	300
2015-16	200	300	300	300
2016-17	200	300	300	300
2017-18	200	300	300	300

Pradip Pradhan

M-9937843482

Date- 23.6.18

Discretionary Quota allotment referred by BDA to Vigilance for Enquiry- Hanging in Balance

List of Discretionary Quota allotment referred by BDA to Vigilance for Enquiry- Hanging in Balance 

·         Total no. of 32  allotments under DQ has been referred by Bhubaneswar Development Authority to State  Vigilance  for enquiry.

·         Astonishingly, State  vigilance   has not  finished  a single inquiry  into it, though 3 years have passed.

·         It is State Govt. strategy  to  buy  time  in name of vigilance inquiry  with  ulterior motive to save the  culprits.

·         Most of DQ allot tees  are closed to power circle of BJD and Third Floor

·         In name of  vigilance inquiry  , Chief Minister is protecting  these land Mafias

·         Corruption and corrupts  are well-protected   by Nabin regime.

Dear friends

In view of CAG expose about huge irregularities and illegalities in respect of allotment of land/plot  in Bhubaneswar  and Cuttack by BDA, CDA, IDCO and General Administration Department ,  the State Govt. constituted  a Task Force  to review  details of allotment  and  make  recommendation  to the Govt.  On 3^rd  Nov., 2014, the Task Force submitted the report and on 18^th Dec. 14, the   State  cabinet passed  resolution accepting all the recommendations and released modalities  for  returning  back the land/plot  from the people  who have taken land under DQ by filing  false affidavit or multiple allotments  or through illegal means.  Later on, Chief Minister declared  to hand over   all the cases  for inquiry  by State  Vigilance.  In 2014 and 2015,  Bhubaneswar Development  Authority  has  handed  over  DQ allotment  cases  to State  vigilance  for inquiry.  Though  3 years have passed, the state  vigilance have not  finished  a single  inquiry  into the allotment cases (?).  The details of   DQ allotments  referred  to vigilance  for enquiry  is  as follows. This information has been obtained  under RTI from BDA  on 11.6.18.

Sl.No.	Name of the allottee	House/plot	Scheme Name	Remarks
1	Ambika Prasad Kanungo At-Dharmagatpur, Po-Sunagara, Dist-Cuttack	MIG-104 (c )	Ananta Vihar Housing scheme, Phase-II, Pokhariput	Allotment  changes in the name of Lubuna Dianan Mohanty  on 1.6.2009
2	Satyajit Mohanty Aradhana-2560, Kedar Gouri Park, PS-Badagada, BBSR	73 (C )	Prachi Enclave, Chandrasekhar Pur
3	Laxmi Bilasini Biswal Binayak Nagar, Mahanadi Vihar,  Cuttack	MIG-48	Pokhariput Housing  Schme, Phase-I,
4	Pranab Kumar Balabantaray Vill/Po- Bhotaka, PS- Dharmashala, Dist-Jajpur	HIG ( D)-E-09	Netaji Subas Enclave , Gadakan
5	Pratima Das Vill/Po- Bhotaka, PS- Dharmashala, Dist-Jajpur	Plot No.-42 ( C )	Prachi Enclave, Chandrasekhar Pur, Phase-II
6	Bimbadhar Kuanr, At/Post/Dist-Baragarh	Plot No.-180	Prachi Enclave, Chandrasekhar Pur, Phase-II
7	Mrs. Isa Mishra, A-10, Ground Floor, Lord Gunjan Palace, Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar	HIG ( D )-01	Netaji Subas Enclave , Gadakan
8	Dr. Shailendra Ku. Tamotia, M-8, Chetakpuri, Lashkar, Gwalior, Madhyapradesh	HIG ( D )-G-09	Netaji Subas Enclave , Gadakan
9	Smt. Banalata Das At/Po- Charirakaba, Via-Kendupatna, Cuttack	Plot No- 167	District Centre Commercial Plot , Chandrasekhar Pur
10	Siba Brata Dash At-Peyten Sahi Buxi Bazar, Cuttack	264 ( C )	District Centre Commercial Plot , Chandrasekhar Pur
11	Renubala Sethy At-Kulantiragram, Channahat, Balipatna, Khurda	MIG-80	Ananta Vihar Housing scheme, Phase-II, Pokhariput
12	Bikram Kishor Arukh At-Agajhota, PO- Baunsalundi, PS- Bhanjanagar, Ganjam	HIG Duplex-02	Ananta Vihar Housing scheme, Phase-II, Pokhariput	Allotment  cancelled due to surrender  and reallottee to Sayed Firoj Ali
13	Arundhati Mohanty, At-Kamin Kutir, Post-Old Town, PS-Lanjigarh, Bhubaneswar	C-130	Lingaraj Vihar Hosuing Scheme, Phase-1, Pokhariput
14	Niranjan Behuria At-Gunthal, Post-Manpur, PS- Rajkanika , Kendrapara	D-50	Lingaraj Vihar Hosuing Scheme, Phase-1, Pokhariput	Change of allotment  in name of  Lily Tripathy  At/post- Arilo Sadar, Cuttack
15	Dr. R.S.N.Murty At-Berhampur, Post-Nabeen, P0/PS- Badabazar, Dist-Ganjam	217	Prachi Enclave plotted development Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur
16	Dr. R.S.N.Murty At-Berhampur, Post-Nabeen, P0/PS- Badabazar, Dist-Ganjam	HIG ( D )-13	Pokhariput, Phase-1	Transfer to Sulochana Sahu , At/Post- Rajsunakhela, PS- Bolagarh, Dist-Khurda
17	Jnana Ranjan Dash At-Rasarasik Pur,Post-Athagarh, Dist-Cuttack	HIG-54	Lumbinin Vihar Housing Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur
18	Sarita Agrawal, At/Post/Dist-Boudh	HIG-63	Lumbinin Vihar Housing Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur
19	Suresh Prasad Padhy At/Post-Dist-Ganjam	HIG-S-08	Netaji Subas Enclave , Gadakana
20	Saheb Sahu. At/Post-Mulban, PS-Bhatli, Dist-Baragarh	HIG-129	Lumbinin Vihar Housing Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur
21	Gayatri Singh At/Post-Laxmi Narayan Pur, PS/DIST-Kendrapara	56 (C )	Prachi Enclave plotted development Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur
22	Pradeep Kumar Das, At-Gobardhanpur, Post-Bhusandapur, PS-Tangi, Dist-Khurda	HIG-110	Lumbinin Vihar Housing Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur
23	Rabindra Nath Lenka, Vill-Tarat Sasan, PS- Salepur, Dist-Cuttack	HIG ( D )-B-02	Netaji Subas Enclave, Gadakana
24	Saheb Sahu At/Post- Mulban , PS- Bhatli, Dist- Baragarh	HIG-129	Lumbinin Vihar Housing Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur
25	Ladu Patra At-Matimandap Sahi, Post/Dist-Puri	House No-26	01-02 Housing Scheme, Jayadev Vihar	Transfeered  to the name of Kaplana Padhi, At-Sahadapada. PS-Banki, Dist-Khurda
26	Subhransu Mohan Padhi At-Sahadapada, Post/PS-Banki, Dist-Cuttack	HIG-135	Lumbinin Vihar Housing Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur
27	Debashish Sarangi, At-Rahama, Post- Baban, PS- Mahakalapara, Kendrapara	House No.-26	01-02, Housing Scheme, Jayadev Vihar
28	Pratap Kumar Samal At/Post-Kankili, PS-Talcher. Dist-Angul	247	Prachi Enclave, Phase-11, C.S.Pur
29	Sasmita Samantaray At-Mahanadi Vihar, Post-Nua Bazar, Cuttack	HIG-113	Lumbinin Vihar Housing Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur
30	Bishnupriya Panigrahi, At-Madhusudan Pur, Post-Betada, PS- Basudev Pur, Dist-Bhadrak	HIG-D	Pokhariput Housing Scheme, Phase-1, Pokhariput
31	Digambar Sahoo, At/Post- Pingha, Via-Jenapur, Dist-Dhenkanal	MIG-72	Ananta Vihar Housing Scheme, Phase-III, Pokhariput
32	Sajal Kumar Moulik WN- 10, Parade Pania Sahi, Baripada, Mayurbhanj	S-1/1	Chandrasekhar Pur plotted Development Scheme, Chandrasekhar Pur

Pradip Pradhan

M-9937843482

Date- 13.6.18