Whispers Forum

It is now clear that there is a group of officers who enjoyed patronage in the previous government and now find themselves as persona non grata. They have become active now writing letters to criticise the government, on small issues, making them appear as national issues. Their conscience was not stirred when all atrocities took place in Congress regime including 1984 riots or the massive scams that took place in UPA regime. Some were even participants in it. Now they have started criticising through your forum also, in the hope that if a khichri govt comes to power, they will again be fit for crumbs of office.
S Chatterjee

Fully endorse the views on CGHS. A computer literate clerk can be posted to each of the Wellness center who can enter the details of medicines prescribed by the Specialist. Why a qualified Doctor’s time is wasted on clerical work ? It is high time that CGHS authorities take note of it and act on it.
S Gopal
Change your habit first and then advise politicians
Politicians don't have the level to understand the facts and the bureaucrats who are close to the power are also behind this. First the person at top should change their habit and then advise the politicians to change.
Manas
Pleasant New Year news
The Promotion of 1986 batch of IRS Officers as CCIT has come as a pleasant New Year News. I congratulate all of them and hope to see the remaining batchmates being promoted soon.
Ajay Kumar Verma, ISS (Retd.)

PSU's have become habitats for kith and kin of politicians and Babus. How can it be commercial organisations. One of loss making Maharatna PSU’s Independent Director staying in five star hotels like Oberoi Grand hotel in Kolkata at the cost of Public and tax payers money, instead of staying in company guest house. The so called Maharatna PSU has not revised Pay scales for Employees and not even implemented the Pension scheme. When Directors are corrupt, incompetent and relatives of politicians and babus take undue advantage, how can PSU's become profit making ?
Rao

The most dangerous trend in a democracy is that as soon as any political party takes over either in a State or at the Centre, there is a reshuffling of bureaucrats on a mass scale. Are these bureaucrats inefficient or were they working as workers of a particular party? Legislators are non-permanent whereas the civil servants are permanent. Is it not unconstitutional practice in the sense that there is a separation of power between the three pillars of democracy, i.e., the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary? Transfer of a civil servant in a normal course is justifiable, otherwise not. This is a clear indication that the bureaucracy, which is required to be non-partisan, is made party-tools.
Zile Singh
CGHS can be improved
The trajectory of a beneficiary in the CGHS is more complex than that of Black money. It is a case study in harassment of people: beneficiaries and doctors! Patient and doctor time is wasted in an exercise that can be drastically cut straightaway. When the specialist prescribes medicines, the doctor in the dispensary writes again before issuing medicines, whereas that part of the exercise can be cut by single specialist prescription which connects the patient to his/her card number through computer. Even the medicine can be issued from the RML/SJH like facilities rather than making patients run to the dispensary, file the prescription and make another visit for medicines (worth less than even 100 rupee or so). Tests can also be conducted at the facility itself (Arvind is quietly stealing the show- Mohalla clinics giving CGHS a healthy competition- tests, consultation and medicines in the Mohalla itself rather than distanced locations. A free service against paid service to CGHS beneficiaries).
M L Gupta

It has been pointed out in Forum that Indian embassies do not care for NRIs though few of the 150 embassies have any substantive work to keep them busy. The fault lies not with the Ambassadors but with the Prime Minister. Vajpayee reversed Congress policy of treating NRIs as renegades and his government treated them as a resource by creating a Ministry for Overseas Indians. Modi abolished the Ministry and the work of Overseas Indian was given to an officer of Ministry of External Affairs who looks after consular affairs. Foreign countries can hardly be expected to respect India when India does not take care of its own citizens living in those countries. Hopefully, the next Prime Minister will reestablish the Ministry abolished by Modi.
Prof N C Saxena
Diluting the credibility of Whispers
While Whispers is indeed a very popular and useful window to happenings in the corridors of Government machinery, one observes that this particular column betrays political leanings, even if unintentionally. True journalism should be objective, and if at all biased, it should be critical of the Government of the day, which undoubtedly and invariably be deficient in some respect of the other. That one particular individual and his party are always right cannot be a valid axiom, anywhere. To that extent, despite disclaimers, this column tends to dilute the credibility of Whispers. One would expect the author to become more balanced.
R Kash

Appellant submitted before the CIC that he has not received any reply from the CPIO or the FAA till date regarding his query about the ownership of a particular land. In response to a show cause notice for imposition of penalty, the PIO regretted that the RTI Application dated 31.03.2017 was not replied to. He further submitted that later, Appellant filed a RTI another RTI Application dated 02.02.2018 wherein he sought information which is covered in the information sought in RTI Application dated 31.03.2017 also. A reply dated 28.02.2018 was sent to the Appellant asking him to inspect documents and take copies as required. The PIO prayed that the show-cause proceedings may be dropped as there was no malafide intention in the failure to provide a reply on the RTI Application dated 31.03.2017 within the stipulated time frame. The CIC observed that the facts of the case reflect very poorly on the lack of rationality of the PIO even as malafide intention is not evinced. The CIC dropped the show-cause proceedings with a severe warning to the PIO to remain careful in future.
Comments
All the PIO’s should remember that each RTI Application has to be dealt as per the provisions of RTI Act. Merely on a belief that two very distinct RTI Applications seek similar information,a PIO cannot absolve himself from the statutory duty of replying to one of the RTI Applications within the stipulated time frame of RTI Act. Reply to one RTI Application cannot take care of the other even if the information is similar.
Citation: Kartik B Joshi v. CPIO O/o Cantonment Board, Devlali Cantt in Adjunct Decision File No. : CIC/IARMY/A/2017/155555/SD/Adjunct, Date : 26/12/2018
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/
Citation: Mr. Shiv Kirti Singh v. CPIO M/o. Finance in Complaint No. CIC/BS/C/2015/000189-BJ, Dept. of Revenue CBDT, Date of Decision: 17.04.2017, 29.11.2018

Sad that non-serious games have become the political agenda of today: perhaps a sign of the disengagement which will beget systemic collapse with all-round big losses for everybody, so-called winners included. Leadership failure and circumstantial acknowledgement thereof, appears to be the final writing on the wall for 2018. Let us hope that 2019 will show light on a path to happier times for India and humanity. Best wishes for the new year unfolding.
Namit Verma
Public Sector Enterprises are commercial organizations
Public Sector Enterprises are a commercial organization. If you people do not work and put the PSUs into red, then how can you expect the government to come out with proposal so early which favour the non performers from out of the scarce resources of the tax payers. I am not saying that you are a black sheep. Thing will take time. There is no bar on the PSUs who are on their own feet to give Rs.20 lakhs as gratuity to its employees.
Anurag Srivastava

The present government is suffering from a management crisis. There is no mechanism for checking the ground reality. There is no coordination between the government and its well-wishers. As a result, there is no tangible relief to the middle and the lower class. Even BJP Cadre is not able to get justice from different ministries because BJP does not know how to deal with the Babus and get the work done. As at the implementation level, there is no change, all good works done by the government have failed to generate the necessary support to the NDA.
Ajay Kumar Verma, ISS(Retd.)
Boosting credit growth
Government of India, as proposed by representatives of NBFCs sector to the Prime Minister on 26th December, 2018, is considering lending by Banks to NBFCs Sector as Priority Sector Lending. This move is to give boost to credit growth to MSME Sector, especially IFCI, a Government of India Company as also ND-SI-NBFCs registered with Reserve Bank of India.
BMA

UPA’ tenure babu lobby is frustrated in NDA regime as they are unable to loot and they are sabotaging by giving internal inputs to UPA bosses. Classic example are implementation of enhancement of Rs 20 lakhs gratuity for retired CPSE employees w.e.f. March 29, 2018 instead of January 1, 2016 as recommended by cabinet committee in the month of September 2017, second, not implementing EPS 95 pension to all exempted CPSE's though SC and other High court issued orders. That is why many senior citizens ( around 80 lakhs) are annoyed with BJP govt, particularly against Modi & Arun Jaitely. This is ground level fact.
Rao
She is hard working, efficient and capable
I have known Seema since many decades when we worked in NTPC and subsequently as a project member of ADB. I think she is hard working, efficient and capable. Go for it my friend. Your well wisher.
Ajay Guha