Information about Hockey World Cup denied by Odisha Govt.

Information about details of   Fund, budgeted, collected and utilized  for  Hockey World  Cup  is denied  by Govt. of Odisha  under RTI Act

OSAA  gives a  Call  for Mass Demonstration  in front  of  Department of  Sports and Youth Services , Govt. of Odisha  for proactive disclosure of information  about Hockey game in public  domain on 17.1.19

Dear friends

The SLOGAN  “ 3-T” ( Transparency, Team Work  and Technology)  and PEETA Yojana( People’s empowerment enabling transparency  and accountability of Odisha Initiative)  of Nabin Patnaik , Chief Minister of Odisha , claimed   by  him  to enforce transparency  and accountability  in the administration is proved  big hoax  and designed  to  cheat the people of Odisha . 

In fact, RTI Act , enacted in 2005  has mandate  to enforce transparency  and accountability  in the administration  and empower  citizens to access information held  by the public authorities.  But as it is seen several times,  from very beginning, Odisha Govt. has  tried to dilute and destroy RTI Act  in the state. Denial  of  information, harassing information-seekers, giving threats to family of RTI Activists, putting them behind bar  by filling false cases  has become order of the day  in the state. The magnitude of denial of  information has led  to  pending   of  more than 12000 cases  in Odisha Information Commission for  disposal. Due  to inefficiency and lack of experience, knowledge and expertise of two Information Commissioners ,  hearing and disposal of cases  gets delayed  for years  together  frustrating  effort of Information-seekers to get  timely information as mandated  under RTI Act.

However,  in this state of affairs, series of RTI Applications were  filed  to  different Govt. offices  including Department of Sports and Youth Services , a nodal Department  for organizing   Hockey World  Cup event in Bhubaneswar. The  details of RTI Applications  submitted, response of the  PIO and its status upto 12.1.19  is as  follows.

Date  of application	Name of applicant	Information sought for	Response of PIO	Analysis
1.12.18 ( Dept. of Youth Affairs  and Sports, Govt. of Odisha )	Srikant Pakal, RTI Activist, Cuttack  M-9338455092	Details of appointment of Consultant, payment made to each of them,  details of fund  donated  by  International Hockey federation and Govt. of India, cost  for advertisement  for Hockey event, details of  fund earmarked  for  cultural programme organized in Bhubaneswar  and Cuttack	On 3.1.19, the PIO  has responded that “ the Coaching Competition section of this department  has intimated  that the accounts of Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup-2018 has not been settled  till yet.	This is false  information. Settlement  of account  dies not have any relation to supply of information. The PIO  can share part  information and intimate  how much time  he or she  will take  to provide information.
3.12.18 ( Dept. of Youth Affairs  and Sports, Govt. of Odisha )	Pratap Mohanty, RTI Activist, Kendrapara M- 9040222335	Details of  fund received   by Govt. of Odisha  from various sources, details  of assurance  and advance released  to different  organisations  which were engaged, Details of Hotels  and other places booked  for Hockey players, details of  payment made for cultural program organized   in Bbubaneswar and Cuttack	On 3.1.19, the PIO  has responded that “ the Coaching Competition section of this department  has intimated  that the accounts of Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup-2018 has not been settled  till yet.	This is false  information. Settlement  of account  dies not have any relation to supply of information. The PIO  can share part  information and intimate  how much time  he or she  will take  to provide information.
6.12.18 ( Dept. of Youth Affairs  and Sports, Govt. of Odisha )	Pradip Pradhan RTI Activist M-9937843482	Detail of  fund / programme contributed  by Hockey  India  for  Hockey event in Bhubaneswar, Details of  support  provided by Corporate House, details of fund utilized  for light decoration etc.	On 8.1.19, the PIO  has responded that “ the Coaching Competition section of this department  has intimated  that the accounts of Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup-2018 has not been settled  till yet.	This is false  information. Settlement  of account  dies not have any relation to supply of information. The PIO  can share part  information and intimate  how much time  he or she  will take  to provide information.
15.11.18 ( Department of Finance, Govt. of Odisha)	Pradip Pradhan RTI Activist M-9937843482	Information about  details of  budgetary allocation made  for organizing world Hockey cup tournament in Odisha, details of financial allocation under different heads made by  each Department  for World Hockey Cup.	No Information Supplied	First Appeal filed  to the FAA , Dept. of Finance
30.11.18 ( Department  of General Administration, Govt. of Odisha)	Pradip Pradhan RTI Activist M-9937843482	Details of  total fund   earmarked by different department and its respective subordinate offices   for organizing World Hockey Cup in the state, financial allocation made under different heads  by each department  and its subordinate offices for organizing world hockey cup, details of fund spent under different schemes ( mention central and state scheme)    for World cup hockey, details of fund already allocated by Dept  and subordinate offices   to  each agency engaged  for carrying out various work  for    this  event,  details of advances issued  to different agencies for organizing  the world hockey cup.	On 3.12.18, RTI Application was forwarded to the PIO, Dept. of Sports and Youth Services , Govt. of Odisha.  No response  from the PIO till yet.
30.11.18 ( Housing and urban Development , Govt. of Odisha )	Pradip Pradhan RTI Activist M-9937843482	Information  about details of Fund sanctioned for  World Hockey Cup   by  department and Bhubaneswar Municipal  Corporation	PIO forwarded  RTI Application  to the PIO, office of BMC to supply the Information.  The PIO of BMC  has provided  the  following  information. Funds  proposed Mural Art- Rs. 3 crore e-toilet- Rs. 5.76 crore water ATM-  Rs. 42.98 lakhs No information about its utilization has been provided.	First appeal has been filed.
10.12.18 ( Ministry of Youth affairs  and Sports, Govt. of India	Pradip Pradhan RTI Activist M-9937843482	Information about details of fund supported  to  Hockey  India by Govt. of India  to organize the  Hockey World Cup  in Bhubaneswar, capital city of Odisha,  details of events organized  directly  by Hockey India  and amount of money spent  for   each event,  details of  sponsorship  mobilized  by  Hockey India  for  Hockey World Cup  and amount contributed  by each Company or institution,  copy of all correspondence made  by post or in email  between Govt. of India , Govt. of Odisha  and Hockey India  with regard to organizing hockey world  cup event in Bhubaneswar,  details of payment made  to different organisations or individuals  and work assigned to each of them.	Information is yet  to be provided

 It shows  how   the PIOs of Govt. of Odisha   have  deliberately  denied  to provide  information and keep utmost secrecy  in the affairs  of Hockey  game.

Pradip Pradhan

RTI Activist

M-9937843482

Date- 12.1.19

Who has funded for electrification of Odisha

Fund sanctioned by Central Govt. and State Govt.  for electrification in Odisha

Dear friends

Nabin Patnaik  Govt. has put  up big banners and hoardings in different parts of the state  taking much credit  for progress  in rural electrification  in the state . But  in true sense,  Contribution of State  Govt. is  minimal in comparison  to that of Central Govt.. The Central Govt.  has  allocated fund  14  times  more  than  allocation of  fund by State  Govt. during last five years.  While State  Govt. has allocated  just 427.45 crore,  allocation  of  fund  by Central Govt. is  6240.36 crore. 

RTI Application was filed to Department of Energy, Govt. of Odisha and Rural electrification Corporations, a Govt. of India Enterprises seeking information about  details of budgetary allocation made under various schemes  for electrification in Odisha. The  information supplied by both the  offices is as follows ( Dept. of Energy on 9.10.18  and REC on 27.12.18)

1.    Two  schemes  i.e., Biju Gram Jyoti Yojana ( BGJY)  and Biju Saharanchal Vidyutikaran Yojana ( BSVY)  are  implemented  in Odisha  for  electrification.

2.   Rajiv  Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana ( RGGVY)  which has been replaced  by Deen Dayal Upadhaya Grameen Joti Yojana ( DDUGJY) , SAUBHAGYA  are  implemented  by Govt. of India  for  electrification  in the  country.

3.      Details of   fund allotted by Govt. of Odisha   within  last 5 years  is as follows.

                                                                                              ( in Crores)

Year	Name  of State Govt. Scheme	Fund allotted	Name of State  Govt. scheme .	Fund allotted
2014-15	Biju Gram Jyoti Yojana ( BGJY)	73.04	Biju Saharanchal Vidyutikaran Yojana ( BSVY)	17.25
2015-16	Do	54.67	Do	10.00
2016-17	Do	39.57	Do	12.00
2017-18	Do	149.92	Do	10.00
2018-19	Do	61.00	Do	0,.00
	Total	378.20	Do	49.25

N.B.  Total fund  allocated  by State  Govt. for electrification is 427.45 crores ( per year 85 Crores_

4.      Details of fund allocated  by Central Govt. for  electrification in Odisha  is as follows.

( In Crores)

Year	Name  of State Govt. Scheme	Fund allotted
2014-15	Rajiv  Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana ( RGGVY)  )	3550.49
2015-16	Deen Dayal Upadhaya Grameen Joti Yojana ( DDUGJY)	1656.48
2016-17	NIL	NIL
2017-18	NIL	NIL
2018-19	Soubhagya	1033.39
	Total	6240.36

N.B.- Total fund allocated by Central Govt.  for electrification within 5 years is 6240.36 crores

Pradip Pradhan

M-9937843482

Date- 9.1.19

Most of the Buildings of KIIT and KISS is illegal

Most of the Building of KIIT and KISS is illegal and without approval of Building Plan by Bhubaneswar Development Authority, exposed  through RTI

Earlier, we have put in public domain series of irregularities and illegalities of  Achyut Samant, founder  of KIIT and KISS and the people  involved  in management of the  institutions. Encroachment of acres of precious Govt.  land   through fraudulent means in connivance with  corrupt bureaucrats  and BJD leaders, maintaining utmost secrecy  in function of  KISS Tribal school,  functioning  of KISS Residential  school  without  registering it with Govt., blocking  flow of  information to SC and ST Dept., Women and Child Development Dept.  about number of tribal children reading in KISS School etc. are  few  issues  exposed  under RTI Act. I cite  herewith  few links  posted  earlier  in public domain  for readers’ reference.

https://odishasoochana.blogspot.com/2018/08/unbelievable-land-scam-of-achyut-samant.html

https://odishasoochana.blogspot.com/2018/07/cabinet-decision-was-defied-by-achyut.html

https://odishasoochana.blogspot.com/2018/06/kiitkiss-developed-with-public-money.html

https://odishasoochana.blogspot.com/2018/09/huge-bank-loan-taken-by-achyut-samant.html

Now, it  has come to our  notice  that  most of the building of KIIT and KISS  are  illegal. On 24.9.18, RTI Application was  filed  to BDA, Bhubaneswar  seeking copy of approval of building  plan  of KIIT and KISS  on  the  following  land

Mouza	Khata No.	Plot No.	Area  ( in Acres)
Patia , Bhubaneswar	493	347	2.500
Do	492	412	1.550
Do	492	350,407	0.558
Do	491	319	5.725
Do	491	320	0.300
Do	493	318	0.905
Total			11.538

Huge  palatial building  has been constructed  over  the above-mentioned plots in Patia area in which many institutions are  running  since last few years.     On 5.11.18., the PIO  of BDA, Bhubaneswar  has  provided  information that  “ as per record available no application has been received for approval of building plan over plot no. 347, 412,350, 407, 319, 320 &318 under Mouza Patia in favour of KIIT.  Any construction without approval of   building plan by BDA is illegal under eye  of law. That’s  why  the  people  are  waiting  for long  time to get approval of  building plan  from BDA  for  construction of their  houses.  Sri Samant even does not care  to  file application to BDA for  building plan approval. We  will provide more  information  about illegalities  of KIIT and KISS very soon.

Pradip Pradhan

RTI Activist

M-9937843482

Date- 1.1.19

Why “PEET(H)A Yojana” is another Farce of Odisha Govt.

Why “PEET(H)A Yojana”  is  another Farce  of Nabin Patnaik Government  and designed  to cheat the people of  Odisha ?

The people of Odisha  should not be swayed  away  by these  so-called  schemes

PEETA ( not PEETHA) , abbreviation of People’s Empowerment Enabling Transparency  and accountability of Odisha initiative, a scheme  floated   by  Sri Nabin Patnaik Chief Minister, Odisha 0n 3.12.18  has  the mandate , as explained  by Chief Minister  in a Press Conference , to  enforce  transparency  and accountability  in the implementation of  Govt, progarmme.  But  if you look at  design of the programme in practice, it is seen that it is  a Govt. awareness programme  organized  by the officials  to sensitize  the people  about Govt. scheme  and   programme. This programme is also used as day for distribution of pension and other benefits to the beneficiaries under various schemes.  There is neither discussion of transparency nor system of accountability of the officials. Rather  the women Groups are seen asked  to come to this programme with delicious desi cakes .  

In fact, RTI Act (Right to Information Act, 2005) is a law enacted in 2005 has the mandate to enforce transparency and accountability in the functioning of the administration in the  country. This  has  not only  empowered  the  common people  to access the  information held by the public authorities  but  cast responsibility on the  Public Authorities  to proactively  disseminate  information to the  citizens ( section 4 (1b)  of the RTI Act).  This is one of the best laws ever enacted since independence.   More the  information is disseminated; transparency in the administration will be enforced which  will result in strengthening  democracy and bridging  the gap  between the people  and the administration. This law is perceived  as  paradigm shift  from  secretive  colonial administration to a transparent, accountable  governance system in the  country.   

But astonishingly, from very beginning Nabin Patnaik Govt.  which claims a transparent  Govt.  has  conspired  to destroy  this  law  in Odisha through making  anti-people Odisha RTI Rules and destroying  system of  suo moto  disclosure  of information. Nobody will find a single hoarding on RTI in any part of the state. There is no single display board on RTI   in front of any  office  of the state. Unwritten instruction has been issued from Chief Minister’s office not to provide important information to the  citizens  under RTI Act. The common people , Activists  who are  using RTI  to fight out  corruption  are  subject to harassment , mental torture,  false  cases  lodged  against  them.

Similarly , the provision of  transparency and  accountability   in other   progressive laws  are  also not  implemented  in the state . For example,  under Operational  Guideline  of MGNREGA ( Mahatma Gandhi  National Rural Employment Guarantee Act )  ( Chapter-10) , all information relating to NREGS and work  will be  proactively  disclosed  under section 4(1b)  of the RTI Act. As per sechedule -1 ( point no. 15,16,17 ) and Rules  30(3) of Odisha Rural  Employment Guarantee Scheme, all the  information relating to Muster Roll  of work,  Bill and Vouchures   and other related documents must be  put  in public domain  in Gram Panchayat  and Block office  for  public inspection. But  though 12 years passed , not  a single  information is  available  in block  and Panchayat  office  for public  inspection. Whenever anybody  asks  for  inspection of any document, they  are  simply  denied by the  corrupt officials  and asked  to file RTI  to get the  information. 

Secondly, there is also in-built mechanism in National food  security Act,2013  to enforce  transparency  in PDS, ICDS  and Mid-Day-Meal programme.    As per section 27  of the NFS Act, All PDS related  records  shall be placed in the public domain  and kept open  for  inspection to the public. Similarly, section 29 of the Act   requires  Gram Panchayat  to conduct periodic social audit  of all the  food security  schemes under the Act.  But astonishingly, 4 years has passed, the State Government  has  miserably  failed to frames  Rules for  implementation of these provisions of the Act.

This is sorry state of affairs of self-claimed transparent Govt. of Nabin Patnaik.  Everywhere, transparency has been blocked.  No accountability on Govt. officials is fixed to carry out their  work. There is no provision of time-bound hearing and disposal of complaints and petitions of the common people by the official  in the state.

If  the  Govt. is genuinely  interested  to  enforce transparency  in implementation of  schmes  and delivery  of benefits to the people,  all information relating it must be proactively  placed in public domain  for inspection  by the public at large  in every Gram Panchayat  and block office.

Pradip Pradhan

RTI Activist

M-993784382

Date-1.1.19