Whispers Forum

Information regarding entry and departure timings of a particular vehicle as per the record book of a toll plaza was sought by the appellant. The respondent was absent at the hearing despite valid and timely notice of the CIC for which warning was issued to the concerned respondent PIO and Project Director, National Highways Authority of India. The CIC observed that the concerned PIO should desist from committing such lapse in future. The PIO claimed that relevant records are not available whereas the First Appellate Authority claimed that the sought for information is a third party information, hence, the same cannot be provided u/s 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. The PIO and Project Director, NHAI was directed to state on affidavit to the CIC that the information provided on these points is factually correct, based on records and nothing is hidden therein.
Comments
The PIO should either take a prior permission of the CIC before abstaining himself from the hearing or he should send a proper representative to attend the hearing before the CIC after obtaining due permission from the CIC for doing so and after ensuring that the authorised representative is briefed appropriately.
Citation: Dilip Joshi v. National Highways Authority of India in File No.: CIC/ NHAIN /A/2017/102258, Date of hearing: 20.03.2018, 13.07.2018
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is the co-author of the books: RIGHT TO INFORMATION – LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/

DEBATE
Spineless. No. Some wise bureaucrats now believe in the policy of live and let live. Means politician and bureaucrat both are happy.
N C Nigam
EVMs have numerous advantages
EVMs have numerous advantages like faster results, cost-effective, accurate, portable, reducing the role of people, saving a lot of paper, more advanced form etc. Trust of voters in the voting system is the most important thing than convenience or cost-effective solution. Either ‘secure digital voting system’ or ‘paper ballot system’ will ensure the confidence of voters and prevents the failure of nation. The question that paper ballot are more better or electronic voting machines are more better is still a matter of controversy and thus relies entirely on individual’s own perspective and experiences. EVM is more efficient than paper ballot. To temper the EVM one needs a sound mind, but papers can be easily tempered by anyone. EVM is faster and better paper ballot system is a time consuming process, in this modern era no has that much of time to wait for days for results to come out… In our world every computer, smartphone, smart TV and literally everything can be hacked. But does that mean we are always hacked. So do we give up our smart phones and computers and revert back to the old system of paper and writing!!! If any party had any doubt, why didn't they voiced anything about it before. EVM had a successful run of 15 years and suddenly when one election didn't go according to some party's projections, it is bad. And as for some who say that even America follows Ballot Papers, to them then why don't we follow their two party system. Why don't we follow their Presidential election. Its simple. The systems they follow are better for their country. And what we do is best for our country. And now recently in the EVM challenge it has been proved that EVMs are non-tamperable. So where are our so-called protectors of democratic principles????
Kalyan Banerjee
CIC is partial towards the PIO
The CIC is being partial towards the PIO and not imposing penalty. The RTI Act has come into existence since 2005 and even after 13 years if the public authority is not able to train its officials, 4 months would not be of any help. It indicates dis-interest and carelessness on the part of the public authority and utter carelessness. Unless some senior officers are faced with penalty, the situation is not likely to improve.
Sanjiv Jaina

DEBATE
These days bureaucrats know their future is not as per contribution to society but it is shaped by politicians.
Vandita
Return of the Natives
As mentioned in Whispers now many diplomats are happy leaving their postings abroad and working in the MEA. The reason is that IFS officers by and large are an intelligent lot. India has more than 150 embassies. In most of them, there is no work of any consequence. Introduction of evisa has made many consulates redundant. The only reason why an intelligent officer will like to be posted as an Ambassador in an unimportant country is that allowances are very good. Many countries – including countries with global reach like USA and UK - are cutting budget of their embassies. But only few embassies are being closed. Israel and Singapore are two countries who have modernised diplomacy. Foreign office officials in these countries are designated Ambassadors to unimportant countries. India and Venezuela lead the world in posting more than a hundred Ambassadors with no work. In a globalised world, the best brains in the country need to be used for formulating and implementing foreign policy and coordinating with other ministries and state governments. It is a tragedy that they are being used around the world for nothing other than protocol and alcohol.
Prof N C Saxena
Ideal age of retirement
It is the human psychology that prevents a man from withdrawing from his worldly affairs irrespective of his advancing age , deteriorating physique ,lack of concentration and absence of responsive skills since the death no doubt he assumes imminent but for others. The demand for enhancing the retirement age to 62 years for Government employees, 67 years for Supreme Court and 65 for High Courts etc. etc. is based on the justification of above analogy. It sans all merits and emanates only from interested quarters. Firstly the concept of prescribing different retiring age for different category of functionaries is discriminatory and thus violative of Article 14 of the Constitution that prescribe equality before law. What is the logic or rationale that guarantees a Judge to superannuate at 67 years if he enters the Apex Court but must quit at 62 if the Judges belong to High Courts. However a bureaucrat must superannuate at 60 as his office files stops listening to him thereafter. No amount of argument can substantiate the spirit of actions and their purity in finalizing such benchmarking. If the 60 plus age defuncts a bureaucrat from the realm or thought process of decision making so as it would logically impact the Judge of his capacity of appreciation of the circumstances of the case and also the interpretational skills as the process of aging being uniform derecognize the culture of privilege. Of course the outcome of the process shall be subject to exceptions and that again will be subject to prescribed Medical standards and Medical scrutiny of each individual. While no doubt the life expectancy in India as also all over the globe has increased given the medical advancement or medical breakthrough, the fact can not be denied that a major portion of productive time at 60 or plus is devoted or spent by the Seniors(citizen) in tackling health issues at the Hospitals. Be it replacement of knee joints, diabetes, hypertension etc etc at the cost of exchequer .Whereas the medical expenses are taken care of by the government even after retirement , the salary and perquisites that are normally at its peak at the stage of about to retire are paid without his performance. People shouting from the roof tops for enhancing the age of superannuation are bereft of substance or data to prove the desirable standards of fitness of a government official /judges at the age of beyond the existing retirement age. They all must realize that the country is manifest with the problem of unemployment and unless the seniors are forced to vacate the youngsters remain deprived of their genuine right to occupy the seats wrongfully held by their otherwise retired seniors. Similarly the government of the day must stop offering post retirement placements in the government to one and all by offering such positions/posts to the talented and believe it India has no dearth of it. Such a move by the Government shall yield all round applause and be a further step in protecting the Exchequer from unjustified and unhealthy financial burden that gets inflicted by payment of maximum salary to the officials at the or after the age of their retirement. Let the Government put 60 years as the age of superannuation for one and all including the Judges of High Courts or Supreme Court.
O P Sharma

DEBATE
Exceptions are every where in the society.
T N Chawla
IFS and IA&AS are ahead in promotion ?
It is a misconception that any service other than IAS gets timely promotion, forget early promotion. So much is the efficiency (?) in cadre management that an IAS Dy Secretary gets upgraded to Director wherever posted in GoI, Director becomes JS wherever posted so on and so forth. They retain houses in Delhi even after going back to their home states, get their choice of housing by getting pools changed (those following Directorate of estates allotment would know) as and when convenient from Departmental to Tenure Pool. Check the DoP&T funded study abroad over the years and you will see who gets what... It is high time the suffix IAS is disallowed by anyone other than those in administration say the District Administrator, that too not as an tail to the name since the Constitution of India has done away with all prefixes and suffixes except those Military in nature. A new promotion policy is required where batches from all services are promoted together -those who qualified through the same exam. The caste system based on birth is too regressive for this age. Only the twice born want to perpetuate it since they are the beneficiaries of this system.
Sunita
Say of Government employees is the least
There are only 1 crore (approximately) central government employees in the country, which is say 0.80% population of the total population of the country. The say of the Government employees is the least. Moreover, 50% of them do not go out to vote. The person who has said that enhancement of retirement age will benefit the BJP is trying to forward his own personal agenda. If he had said that enhancement of retirement age will help the government in financial terms by postponing post retirement benefits for a period of two years, then I would have agreed with him.
BBS

DEBATE
Fear of politicians has made the present day bureaucrats spineless.
M N Saikia
Raising retirement age would adversely affect poll prospects of BJP
Raising the retirement age of cg employees would adversely affect the election prospect of the BJP. As 65% of the present population is below 35 years of age. So BJP should be careful and not to take such blunder step.
Sovan
No provision of cooling off period of one year
This provision is in vogue for CPSEs and they have to submit a bond of Rs 10 Lakh, giving an undertaking that they will not join a company with which their current employer has got business relations.
Vishnu Agrawal

DEBATE
Need of the time to be spineless.
N K Goel
Paper based ballots
We, lakhs of members of All India Confederation of Election Workers Union, welcome and profusely thank all the leaders of seventeen opposition parties for having decided to approach Election Commission of India to revert to paper ballot based voting from the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Old timers may recall the yeomen service rendered by our members during elections to all political parties without fear or favour especially at the booth level. The introduction of Electronic Voting Machines drove most of our members into poverty. As Leaders may be aware, it is almost twenty years since EVMs were introduced. Since then our members have had to take to other professions. Therefore it will take us sometime to mobilise new members and to train them. So we request that paper ballots may be introduced during the State elections due to be held by the end of this year. It will give us the opportunity to mobilise and train our cadres. We also appeal to the leaders to appeal to the government to ban internet since it has become a major source of fraud. Also our brethren Traders are suffering huge losses due to e-commerce firms. Once internet is banned we will be back to our golden age of old times.
Protik Mondal, Gen. Secretary AICEWU
IAS officers fed with States’ politicians
The non-promotion in CSS cadre is a big design. The IAS officers want to leave the States as they are fed up with the politicians and they want to rule the roost at the centre level. Further, it also a part of the design of the BJP party to provide lateral entry to the RSS cadre people in the centre.
BBS

DEBATE
Yes bureaucrats are totally spineless. Their quality is opportunism.
Prof D P Singh
Why not Sunil Gawaskar or Kapil Dev, both are very well connected with New Pakistan PM Mohd. IMRAN KHAN. Gawaskar can maintain peace at Border which is biggest challenge for Modi jee for 2019.
Vivek Dhawan
Can Delhi government work on pollution and dengue ?
Can one expect the Delhi government to work on pollution and dengue, the two biggest issues before them? The number of lung cancer patients is continuously on the rise in Delhi. Unless pollution is controlled, the situation may become even more alarming. The seasonal dengue menace is round the corner and would it be too much to expect the government to address these issues ?
Vijay Kumar

DEBATE
Yes the bureaucrats have become “Chamchas” these days. Really surprising.
N K Jain
Both BJP & Congress don’t want Lokpal !
On the issue of appointment of Lokpal both BJP & Congress are one. None wants appointment. They will never make any appointment.
Maheshwar
On morale of civil servants from lateral recruitments: Govt
The lateral entry of professionals at senior levels of the government ensures the civil servants are not complacent. GoI please keep up the good work, and consider bringing experts in the social sectors ( health, education , environment, rural development ) not just at JS level , but also at AS / Secy level.-
VP