Whispers Forum

With due respect Mr A K Saxenaji, your comments are clearly showing that you are an anti-incumbent govt. I have seen your comments in this column for the last several years. Since you have retired, you cannot blame the entire system, as you were also part of, when you were in Govt. No doubt, India has progressed steeply after 2014 which no one can refute. Accident is an accident which cannot be accepted at any cost. But entirely blaming the Govt. machinery will not augur well for our future. We should go according to the merits of each and every action. We cannot rely on only old trains and new system and trains should be ensured, taking into consideration the security aspects and its viability. I hope you will look into the mirror at least now.
Ramesh

While having full faith in leadership of Prime Minister Modi and a technocrat and highly effective Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav one cannot understand the logic of sending Railway senior officers on deputation to various irrelevant departments like shipping, non Railways PSU and public Examination bodies like CBSE when Railways are short of staff as per media, parliamentary and CAG reports and where IAS Officers and specialist direct recruits can deliver better. It's a clear case of brain drain for Railways at the cost of public exchequer and safety. Looking to this latest accident the least the government and Railways ministry should do is to call back all its officers from various non Railways departments and non technical departments and put a brake on further deputations.
S C Saboo

Sadly, two passenger trains and a stationary freight train were involved in the accident. It will be simplistic to link the serial accidents to things like signal failure, interlocking etc. It is clearly a man-made disaster that was waiting to happen.
Where is the indigenously developed Kavach, the state-of- the-art anti-collision device? Were these not installed in the three trains? If not, why?
The malaise lies much deeper. Was the continuous negligence of the Railways in keeping thousands of Group B, C, D posts vacant in its anxiety to achieve economy in expenditure to create larger profits, the root cause? Conventional wisdom. The numbers of posts at higher echelons were, however, increased manifold as part of the cadre review for quicker promotions.
The Railway seems keener on launching high speed trains than strengthening the present infrastructure. The rickety tracks are not worthy to run high speed trains. The intent is to enhance political gains to reap votes in the coming elections. Money is being spent lavishly for renovating platforms and stations while the trains are not well looked after. Mere cosmetic touch to woo the gullible public.
The Railway Board, has, in the meanwhile, recommended CBI investigation, a clever move to cover up the whole issue of accidents. The Supreme Court (SC) is urged to immediately intervene and restrain the central government from CBI investigation. Let SC order setting a judicial commission for a thorough probe.
Non-compliance of Parliamentary and Statutory Reports is a scam. The government refuses to learn from its history of mistakes and blunders.
Consider Parliamentary Standing Committee Reports condemning Railway's negligence. And worse, what about the damning indictment of the Railway's functioning by the CAG.
But, who cares to peruse these reports and implement their recommendations.
Disempowerment of the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) that reports to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, was in the news recently but for wrong reasons. Can it be trusted? Why is an independent judicial commission not created for a comprehensive inquiry?
Finally, Will Ashwini Vaishnaw the union Railway Minister, like the late Lal Bahadur Shastri ji, own the moral responsibility of the accident and resign or, in the alternative, be sacked by the PM?
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

The appellant appeared in a promotion test and sought the Online test marks, Interview marks, APAR marks, Group discussion marks, Total marks obtained and Minimum cut off marks for selection. The respondent informed that online test marks, and APAR marks were already informed to the individual. Further, at the time of promotion process, the complainant was charge-sheeted and as per the rules, some of the details like interview test marks, group discussion marks and total marks obtained by the complainant was kept in sealed cover. It was further submitted that since, the complainant was punished, so sealed cover was not opened. They informed that in the sealed cover process, if the applicant/charge sheeted employee exonerated, then only sealed cover was opened and given to him. While hearing the complaint, the CIC observed that point-wise reply was given by the respondent. The respondent while exercising their wisdom denied some information and that being so no mala fide could be attributed to the decision taken by them and accordingly, the complaint was rejected.
Comments
The CIC has upheld the denial of information without mentioning the provision of the RTI Act under which the denial was justified. If the investigation was likely to be impeded by the disclosure of information, the same should have been specifically emphasized by the Commission.
Citation: Pramod Kumar Thakur v. Indian Overseas Bank, CIC/IOVBK/C/2021/140197; 17.05.2023
Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Visakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books, RTI Right to Information - Law and Practice and PIO’s Guide to RTI. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and Third party audit. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link www.rtifoundationofindia.com

With thousands in refugee camps and complete breakdown of law and order and mutual trust among tribal and non tribals gone which may spread to other neighboring states sharing crucial border with enemical nations which may exploit it for their benefits the BJP in national interest should take the services of Shri Ram Madhav former BJP General Secretary once again for North East as he was instrumental in creating a goodwill for the party and held in high esteem by all stakeholders in North East and knows tribal and non tribal aspirations and can easily work out peace once again in North East. The national spirit and belongingness created by our Prime Minister Modi in North East should be further strengthened by peaceful negotiations with our own citizens.
R C Saboo

It is astonishing that most of the statutory organizations do not work and have failed to fulfil the goals for which they were set up. It is equally astonishing that nobody cares - people can discuss a stick calling it by the most grand names. The whole issue is discussed in a light different from what the issue actually is. The RNI is supposed to fulfil some function for which it was set up. Are they collecting the copies of the newspapers to sell them to the person who buys the old newspaper as scrap? It is so easy to digitalize the data for posterity. Is anyone willing to think, plan and act???
Shalin Bhatnagar

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a term that has become common in contemporary time. We use AI in our daily lives; it has become part of human lives. Every answer is there; all we need to do is ask, and more or less, every query is answered. AI chatbots have become our companion. From ordering "Alexa" to asking "Bard or Chat GPT", we are all surrounded by AI in our lives. It is a boon for students, especially, as it puts their curiosity to rest and parents too are happy as their child's ability to ask questions develops from an early age.
Nidhi Jain

It is learnt that the tussle between Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and his rival Sachin Pilot has finally ended. Congress leader KC Venugopal said we will fight elections unitedly and win. More details are not available. We don't know what the terms of agreement are. Only speculations are being made and information is being received only from unidentified sources. But such a truce is likely to end very quickly. We have seen that both Gehlot and Pilot are stubborn and ambitious. Will they maintain unity till elections? If this unity breaks now then it will send a very wrong message as agreement was reached after a marathon meeting at Kharge's residence in which Rahul and other senior leaders were present.
Nancy Singh

The death of six cheetahs, including three grownups and three cubs, in Kuno Park has shocked wildlife lovers. Some are even saying the project was ill-conceived. It is true there was no need to bring cheetahs all the way from Africa when we are not able to take care of the already existing wildlife. Only 2 days back a leopard was beaten to death by villagers in Khandwa when he strayed in search of food and water. Why don't we spend money and resources on our wildlife while forests continue to be destroyed at a frantic pace? Even the Himalayas are sinking. But now that cheetahs have come it is our duty to look after them well. Today Union Minister Bhupinder Yadav was in Bhopal. He said all possible cooperation including financial resources will be provided by the Central Government for the success of Cheetah Project. Let's hope these cute animals adapt and flourish in our country.
Yogita Malviya

The appellant sought to know if the record copy of the newspapers maintained by the Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI) was in print format or otherwise; and some other related information was also asked. The PIO informed that the details of newspapers received in RNI as per section 11(B) of PRB Act, 1867 is updated on regularity portal on RNI website and RNI does not maintain copy(s) of newspapers. The Appellant contended that the PIO has provided a false and misleading reply and quoted Rule 5 of the Registration of Newspaper (Central) Rules, 1956. The CIC observed that the PIO has reaffirmed the factual position of not maintaining copy of newspapers and is within the confines of the RTI Act. The CIC observed that action or inaction of RNI in not maintaining the said record cannot warrant any punitive action against the PIO under the RTI Act. The CIC directed the PIO to place this order before their competent authority to look into the allegations of the Appellant in consonance with the extant rules governing RNI.
Comments
It is a classical case which demonstrates how the RTI Act can be used to initiate action against non-compliance of any act or rules. Rule 5 (1) of the Registration of Newspaper (Central) Rules, 1956 reads that “Every publisher shall, within 48 hours of the publication of an issue of his newspaper, send to the Press Registrar one copy of the issue by post or by a messenger”. Sadly, in many cases, no copies of the newspapers are retained for future.
Citation: Samir Sardana v. Office of the Registrar of Newspapers of India, CIC/RNIND/A/2021/662365; 27/04/2023
Dr Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is a RTI Consultant currently working with IIM Visakhapatnam. She has co-authored the books, RTI Right to Information - Law and Practice and PIO’s Guide to RTI. She offers consultancy on RTI matters and Third party audit. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link www.rtifoundationofindia.com