Whispersinthecorridors

This is History(2295)

I know my own heart to be entirely English.

Will Gandhis stand in queue ?

Gandhi family has lost SPG cover in November last year after 35 years. With this scenario now they  are required to stand in a queue and board the aircraft along with the hoi polloi.

Biography of Gautam Adani  ?

Grapevine has it that there is a move to write Biography of rising business tycoon Gautam Adani.

PM’s Bangladesh visit aimed at West Bengal elections ?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Bangladesh on its 50th anniversary in March next year . It is said that it is aimed to affect the West Bengal elections.

As many as nine IPS officers of various cadres and batches are retiring in November, 2020. The officers are: A S Khan of Andhra Pradesh; Lungrinding of Assam-Meghalaya; Rajesh Ranjan and Sekhar Kumar of Bihar; Pritam Singh Uikey of MP; Shambhu Nath Singh of Manipur; Vinoy Kumar Singh of Telangana; Anil Kumar Raturi of Uttarakhand; Dip Sankar Rudra of West Bengal and D Kanakratnam of Maharashtra cadre. 

Former Secretary Economic Affairs in the GoI Atanu Chakravorty is likely to succeed HDFC Bank Executive Chairman Shyamala Gopinath in January. He is a former 1985 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre.

Four IRS officers who joined the Government of Andhra Pradesh on deputation have been given assignments. M Ramana Reddy has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, AP Towers Ltd while M. Ramana Reddy full additional charge of Chief Executive Officer, Concept Cities and Raieswara Reddy will serve as Managing Director, AP Education & Welfare Infrastructure Development Corporation. Besides, S B R Kumar Laqhimsettv has been appointed as Director, Insurance Medical Services.

Anshul Gupta has been appointed as GM, North Eastern Frontier(NEFR) Railway, Guwahati. He is an IRSSE officer. 

Satish K Kashyap will be new GM of Chitaranjan Locomotive Works, Chiteranjan in WB. He is an IRSEE officer. 

Kumar Rajesh Chandra, DG, SSB, has been assigned an additional charge of DG, CISF. He is a 1985 batch IPS officer of Bihar cadre.

Vikram Pagaria has been appointed as JCIT (OSD) in ITCC Division, CBDT, while Shibanka Das Biswas was posted as DCIT (OSD) (FT&TR-III) (1), CBDT and Shravan Kumar Gotru is CIT (OSD) in the office of Principal CCIT, Delhi. Besides, Mrs Neerja Pradhan has been appointed as CIT (OSD) in the office of Principal CCIT, Bhopal, MP & Chhattisgarh.

The hot topic in the power galleries these days is related to the vacant posts in the govt of India. Sources said that this govt is not like UPA govt, where appointments were cleared only on recommendations. But the present government goes into deep investigations. When it is satisfied, then only appointments are made against the vacant posts. Many officers were reportedly found ineligible and rejected. And that is the reason that some officers are holding two to three responsibilities.

The ACC has approved the empanelment of Anil Kumar for promotion to the grade of Additional Director General (ADG) in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). 

Bijay Kumar Das, ED, NALCO, will be taking over the charge as Director (Production) in National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) on December 1, 2020. He will succeed incumbent V Balasubramanyam retiring in November. 

The Ministry of Railway is yet to relieve Amit Kumar Singh, Senior DGM in South East Central Railway (SECR), to enable him to join as Director (M&CP), Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC). He is a 1987 batch officer of Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS).

Mrs. Renuka Gera, Executive Director of BHEL, will be taking over the charge as Director (Industrial System & Products), Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) on December 1, 2020. She will succeed present incumbent S Balakrishnan retiring in November, 2020.

On completion of term of deputation to Government of Andhra Pradesh, Sura Bala Krishna has been repatriated to his parent cadre. He is an IDES officer.

Ms Param Jyoti has been posted as DIG (Pers) in CISF on deputation. She is a 2005 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre. 

Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, has issued n clarifications in respect of Special Cash Package equivalent in lieu of Leave Travel Concession (LTC) Fare for Central Government employees during the block 2018-21. An employee can avail this scheme utilizing the applicable LTC fare without opting for leave encashment. Leave encashment is optional. If an employee opts for only deemed LTC fare without the leave encashment, the reimbursement on pro-rata basis would be 1/3rd of actual expenditure. Payment of premium policies purchased between October 12, 2020 and March 31, 2021 only are eligible for reimbursement under the scheme.

The Ministry of Finance has asked the ministries and departments to check FAQs available on website doe.gov.in before sending any clarifications about Special Cash Package in lieu of LTC  concession fare. It is said that the govt offices are reportedly facing problem in clearing package and LTC bill payments.. 

The Enforcement Directorate has invited applications for filling up five vacancies in the grade of Additional Director of Enforcement and eight vacancies of Joint Director of Enforcement on deputation basis. 

The Centre has sought willingness from officers of 18 Central Services for posting in UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to overcome shortage of officers there. While there has been a good response with several officers from different Central Services including some locals willing to serve in J&K, there was not similar enthusiasm for Ladakh. The officers will be posted after proper verifications including their service records, experience etc. The J&K Government also seeks return of two senior IAS officers of J&K cadre from the Central deputation besides inter-cadre transfer of three IAS officers, one each from Tamil Nadu, Nagaland and AGMUT cadre, for their posting in J&K. Only 55-60 IAS officers have been posted in J&K and many of them are on Central deputation. The 18 Central Services, whose officers have been sought by the Centre for posting in J&K include ICAS, IDAS, IOFS, IDES, IPoS, ICFS, IFS, IA&AS, ICLS, ICAS, IIS, IRS, ICCES CCS, IRAS, IRPS, IRTS, RPF and ITS.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has warned all the departments and organisations of disciplinary action if they don’t complete the exercise by November 30.  “Non-filing of property returns constitutes good and sufficient reasons for instituting disciplinary action against the delinquent officials,” the CVC has said.

Altogether 31 IRS(C&CE) officials have completed their two years and more in North- East, J&K and Sikkim. They were posted in these regions between 2012 to 2017. It is said that many of them are likely to be posted in peace areas in coming months.

 UP CM Yogi Aaditya Nath has thwarted the attempt to close the AIR Station of Gorakhpur. After his intervention, the Prasar Bharti has decided to continue the service. Now the question is who took the decision to close down this AIR station .

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is seeking to fill up a post of Assistant Director (Cooperation/Credit) on deputation and one post of Horticulture Commissioner on deputation/promotion basis, in the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare.

Four IPS officers have been transferred in Delhi. Accordingly,  Chandra Srivastava has been appointed as Jt CP, Licencing while Suvashis Choudhary will be Jt CP, Southern Range and Tusar Taba is Jt CP, P&L. Besides, Parwiz Ahmad has been appointed as Addl CP Training.

Manish Singh has been appointed as Secretary, Urban Development and Housing in Madhya Pradesh. He is a 1997 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh government.

Satish K Kashyap, who is presently working as Director General, Indian Railway Institute of Electrical Engineering (IRSEE), has been appointed as General Manager, Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW). He is an Indian Railway Service of Electrical Engineers (IRSEE) officer.

Anshul Gupta, who is presently working as Additional Member (Signal), Railway Board, has been appointed as General Manager, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in place of Sanjive Roy, who is superannuating on November 30. He is an Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) officer.

A Sudhakar, who is Group B officer in Accounts Department of South Western Railway (SWR) and is presently working as Additional Divisional Finance Manager, Hubli, has been transferred to South Central Railway (SCR) on his own request and posted in the cadre.

DD Singh has been promoted to higher administrative grade (HAG) and posted as Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer (CSTE)/C on Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR). He is an Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) officer.

Anil Kumar Mishra has been appointed to higher administrative grade (HAG) and posted as Principal Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer on North Eastern Railway (NER). He is an Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) officer.

Shobhana Bandopadhyay has been appointed to higher administrative grade (HAG) and posted as CCE on Northern Railway (NR). She is an Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) officer.

Anil Kumar Sanghi has been promoted to higher administrative grade (HAG) and posted as Principal Chief Signal and Telecom Engineer (PCSTE), Projects on South Central Railway (SCR). He is an Indian Railway Service of Signal Engineers (IRSSE) officer.

Dr Molishree has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs. Dr Molishree is a 2011 batch IES officer.

Ms Ruby Srivastava has been promoted to the grade of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr CCIT). She is an IRS-IT officer.

Atul Pranay has been promoted to the grade of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr CCIT). He is an IRS-IT officer.

Kaushalendra Kumar Singh has been promoted to the grade of Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Pr CCIT). He is an IRS-IT officer.

Rahul Navin has been appointed as Special Director of Enforcement in Enforcement Directorate on deputation basis.

Arun Singh Rawat, Director, FRI, Dehradun, has been appointed as Director General, Indian council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFRE), Dehradun on deputation basis. He is a 1986 batch IFS officer of Jharkhand cadre.

Subhash Aggarwal has been appointed as Special Director of Enforcement in Enforcement Directorate, Kolkata on deputation basis.

S Ravichandran has been appointed as Special Director of Enforcement in Enforcement Directorate, Chandigarh on deputation basis.

Prashant Kumar has been appointed as Special Director of Enforcement in Enforcement Directorate, Chennai on deputation basis.

Uplaksh S Adlakha has been appointed as Additional Director of Supernova Advertising Limited.

Anil Malhotra has resigned from the post of Director (Non-Executive) of Timex Group India Limited.

Anil Malhotra has resigned from the post of Director (Non-Executive) of Timex Group India Limited.

Pramod Narang, Executive Director, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), has been appointed as Additional Director of Petronet LNG Ltd. in the capacity of Director (Technical).

Parth Pareshbhai Shah has been appointed Additional Director designated as Independent Director (Non-Executive) on the Board of Gokul Refoils Limited.

Vellayan Subbiah has been appointed Non-Executive Non-Independent Director and Chairman, while N Srinivasan has been made Managing Director of CG Power and Industrial Solutions. Besides, MA Arunachalam has been appointed as Non-Executive Non-Independent Director, while Shailendra Narain Roy, Sasikala Vardachari and PS Jaykumar have made as Independent Non-Executive Directors.   

MV Iyer has been appointed as Additional Director and Director (Business of GAIL (India) Limited.  

Rakesh Kumar Natubhai Zala has been appointed as Non-Executive Independent Director of Chandrima Mercantiles Limited. Kunal Jitendrabhai Mehta has resigned from the post of Director.

Ms. Sunita Rani Parida has been appointed as Independent (Non-Executive) Director of Warner Multimedia Limited and Unisys Softwares and Holding Industries Limited.  Mrs. Saroj Devi Kothari has resigned from the post of Independent Director of the company.

Sanjay Jaju, Additional Secretary (DP), has been appointed as Government Nominee Director (Part-Time Official Director) on the Board of Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited.

DEBATE(1)

It is quite long since the debate on 'Who will lead Congress other than Gandhis ' is continued. It is time to declare the result now.

Paarth Garg

DEBATE(2)

Sachin Pilot a young and dynamic leader who is hardworking can be an acceptable leader.

B Prasad 

DEBATE(1)

It is quite long since the debate on 'Who will lead Congress other than Gandhis ' is continued. It is time to declare the result now.

Paarth Garg

DEBATE(2)

Sachin Pilot a young and dynamic leader who is hardworking can be an acceptable leader.

B Prasad 

Responsibility of Nodal PIO

The appellant sought to know about the movement of his complaint to DDA and the action taken on it. The CIC observed that till date no information has been provided to the appellant on his RTI application dated 26.08.2018. Instead of transferring the RTI application to one specific PIO, the Nodal PIO had transferred the same to numerous PIOs within the public authority without application of mind. The CIC expressed its anguish observing that the RTI Act is clearly violated by the hands of the DDA and the PIOs are handling the RTI application with lackadaisical approach. A notice was issued to the then PIO, Commercial Land branch to show-cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on him for contravening the provisions of the RTI Act by not giving any reply to the appellant on his RTI application within the stipulated period of time as per the provisions of the RTI Act. The CIC advised the Vice Chairman, DDA to look into the style of work in the RTI cell and what methods are being adopted by the Nodal PIO regarding the disposal of RTI applications.

Comments

The PIO is only a communicator of information based on the records held in the office and hence, he cannot be expected to do research work to deduce anything from the material therein and then supply it to the RTI Applicant. However, the Nodal PIO should analyze the RTI application properly and then transfer the same to the specific PIO. One RTI application should not lead to multiple appeals just because of indiscriminate transfer of RTI Application.

Citation: Akshay Kumar Malhotra v. Delhi Development Authority in Complaint No. CIC/DDATY/C/2019/101384, Second Appeal No. CIC/DDATY/A/2019/101389, Complaint No. CIC/DDATY/C/2019/101502 and Second Appeal No. CIC/DDATY/A/2019/100447, Date of decision: 19.10.2020.

Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com