E-MEMORANDUM
To : Sri Manmohan Singh The Prime Minister of Government of "Hon'ble Prime Miister of
From : Members of " YAISHWARYAJ " and " SURYA " , the Lucknow and Bareilly , Uttar Pradesh , India based AOP , involved in Social Activism
Date : 03rd of November , 2010
Re. : Alarming trend indicated by the Corruption Perception Index figures Released by Transparency International for last 10 years involving both Pre and post Right to Information Act periods , Introspection and Action needed at the Government of India Level to combat the corruption by ensuring Compliance of Right to Information Act 2005 in " letter & spirit " --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On behalf of the Members of " YAISHWARYAJ " & " SURYA ", the undersigned have drafted this memorandum to communicate our collective concerns for the alarming situation of rising Corruption in the Country , as indicated by the data released by Transparency International for last 10 years involving both Pre and post Right to Information Act periods. We are alarmed and distressed to learn from the recent newspaper reports and website of the of Transparency International that for the year 2010 , India moved up the ladder of corruption despite there being an act called the Right to Information Act 2005 .
We, the Social activists from Uttar Pradesh , discussed RTI Act 2005 vis-à-vis Corruption Perception index Data released by Transparency International and decided to send this memorandum to you with the demand to constitute a committee to study this scenario in the light of implementation of Right to Information Act 2005 in " letter & spirit " since 2005 to date . The Preamble of the RTI Act 2005 states "And whereas democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed; "
Here emphasis has been laid on the words " to contain corruption " means prime motive of enacting this act was to contain corruption and the spirit of the act was to diminish it gradually.
As per Transparency International's annual survey ,
Corruption's ultimate consequences has to be borne by the poor , vulnerable and deprived section of the society . This section constitutes the largest chunk of
So we collected Corruption Perception Index Data from the Transparency International's Website from year 2001 to 2010. The Time period selected involved both Pre and post Right to Information Act periods . The data tables are given below –
Table – 1
Table – 2
The C.P.I. data for these 10 years show that in these ten years · the least honest in year 2001 with C.P.I. Score of 2.7, · showed no improvement in year 2002 with unchanged C.P.I. Score of 2.7 , · showed improvement of 3.70% in year 2003 with C.P.I. Score of 2.8 , · showed no improvement in 2004 with unchanged C.P.I. Score of 2.8 , · showed improvement of 3.57% in year 2005 with C.P.I. Score of 2.9, · showed improvement of 13.79% in year 2006 with C.P.I. Score of 3.3, · showed improvement of 6.06% in year 2007 with C.P.I. Score of 3.5, · showed decline of 2.86% in year 2008 with C.P.I. Score of 3.4, · showed no change in 2009 with unchanged C.P.I. Score of 3.4, · showed decline of 2.94% in year 2010 with C.P.I. Score of 3.3,
The analysis shows that The remarkable point of study is that with the advent of RTI act 2005 in the year 2005 , corruption diminished by 13.79% in year 2006 and further by 6.06% in year 2007. From 2008 onwards corruption is showing continuous increasing trend thereby raising a question as to for what purpose the RTI act was enacted and if it is serving that purpose or not ?
We discussed the matter and we are of the view that there is strong need for the Government of We are sending this memorandum to you to look into the matter with desired seriousness , Constitute a Committee having considerable representation of civil societies to analyze the factors responsible for this undesirable situation of rising corruption thereby implying failure of " RTI Act 2005 " in the Country and take other appropriate measures as may deem fit by your office in this regard to safeguard the interests of all the people of the nation . Yours truly , The Signatories – 1- Urvashi Sharma 2- Usha 3- Prabhuta 4- Babita Singh 5- Anjali 6- Vishal Pandey 7- Premisagar 8- Vadam Singh 9- Ramautar 10-Ram Prakash 11-Vishnu Datt e-mail rtimahilamanchup@yahoo.co.in |
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Memorandum to introspect and act about Containing the rising Corruption by ensuring Implementation of RTI Act 2005 in “ Letter & Spirit ” at Government Of India level
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Manipur journalists shut down newspapers to protest threats from armed groups
http://www.ifex.org/india/2010/11/02/manipur_newspapers/
(IFJ/IFEX) - November 1, 2010 - The International Federation of
Journalists (IFJ) stands in solidarity with media workers in Manipur,
in India's North-East, who shut down newspapers last week for the
third time in less than two years to protest persistent threats from
underground armed groups.
According to IFJ sources, the All-Manipur Working Journalists' Union
(AMWJU) declared the mass closure after cadre of the Kangleipak
Communist Party (KCP) visited media houses on October 26 to demand
publication of a statement issued by the party's putative leader.
In the statement, a faction of the KCP claimed responsibility for
killing a local official for alleged criminal activity.
Media outlets were at the same time told by a rival KCP faction that
the statement and the person who issued it had no credibility, and
newspapers would risk retaliation if they published the statement.
"This is not the first time that journalists in Manipur have been
caught in the crossfire between rival groups, each claiming
responsibility for a particular action," IFJ Asia-Pacific Director
Jacqueline Park said.
"The IFJ strongly endorses the AMWJU action and urges all journalists
in Manipur to stand firm in the face of these threats."
The AMWJU organised the state-wide shutdown of newspapers in Manipur
between October 27 and 29 and staged a mass rally on October 28,
presenting a memorandum to the chief minister of Manipur state,
demanding that the rights to free speech and a free press be
respected. A sit-in demonstration at a prominent spot in Imphal,
capital of Manipur, was also held.
Newspapers only resumed publication following expressions of regret
from both KCP factions.
"The AMWJU has led efforts to deal with the multi-faceted threats that
journalists face by adopting a code of conduct for media practitioners
in situations of endemic conflict. This has been an example for many
other journalists' organisations in South Asia", Park said.
"We call on civil society in Manipur to support the struggle of the
state's journalists for a safe and secure environment, so they can
work to fulfil their responsibility to keep the public informed."
--
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )
Monday, November 1, 2010
UPSIC summons LU vice-chancellor
The UP State Information Commission (UPSIC) has taken a stern view of
the RTI anomalies in Lucknow University (LU). The commission has
directed LU vice-chancellor (V-C) to appear before it in connection
with at least three RTI cases and explain why the cases were not
disposed of. The V-C is also the first appeals authority in these
cases.
The three cases pertain to the complaints made by three RTI applicants
where either they were not provided the information or the first
appeals was not disposed of. The complaints were heard by information
commissioner Gyanendra Sharma.
In connection with one of the first appeals, filed by applicant Mohan
Krishna, the commissioner has issued a show cause notice to the V-C on
why the appeal was not disposed of as per the Right to Information
(RTI) Act. The commission is yet to get V-C's reply.
The commission said it was shocking to learn that despite notices
being sent by the SIC, the university did not take the matter
seriously. "The commission takes it very seriously and orders the V-C
to be present in the commission in the next hearing and explain about
the action taken on the applicant's first appeal," said the
commissioner.
Similarly, in connection with the complaint filed by another applicant
Vikas Kumar, though the first appeals authority of the university (V-C
in this case) heard the appeal, he did not mention the date when the
appeal was heard in his order. The commission has also ordered the
university to pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 to two
applicants.
This isn't the first time when the UPSIC has taken note of the lapses
on the part of the state universities as far as implementing the RTI
Act is concerned. In April, the commission had issued show cause
notices to the V-Cs of at least three universities in the state asking
them to explain the failure on their part on the above count.
The universities in question were Uttar Pradesh Technical University
(UPTU), Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut and Lucknow
University. The commission was getting lot of complaints from students
regarding delayed or no response from the universities on their
queries about marksheets and certificates.
The SIC took a stern view of it and sent show cause notices to the
V-Cs of the universities asking them to explain why the students were
not being provided information under RTI.
--
Urvashi Sharma
RTI Helpmail( Web Based )
aishwaryaj2010@gmail.com
Mobile Rti Helpline
8081898081 ( 8 A.M. to 10 P.M. )