The Newsletter of Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT)

VOL. 4, ISSUE 2, October 2013

Price : ` 10/-

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Profile

RTI ANNIVERSARY DAY

Public Concern for Governance

October 12, 2013 at Indian Merchants Chamber, 4th Flr., Churchgate

Trust (PCGT), a registered trust,

5.30 p.m. onwards (Tea), Main Event at 6.15 p.m.

founded by concerned citizens,

mobilises public opinion, increases
public participation and activism
towards

promoting

honesty,

transparency and accountability in

governance.

Vision
To strive for good governance,
contain corruption, uphold and
inculcate

values

and

enhance

Sadbhavna in the citizens.

Board of Trustees
CHAIRMAN
Mr. J. F. Ribeiro
MANAGING TRUSTEE
Mr. Dara Gandhy
JT. MANAGING TRUSTEE
Mr. Narayan Varma.
TRUSTEES
Dr. R. K. Anand
Mr. Kumar Ketkar
Dr. Ratna Magotra
Mr. S. S. Puri
Ms. Nandini Sardesai
Mr. Gulam A. Vahanvaty

Chief Guest : Mr. Ratnakar Gaikwad, State Chief Information

Commissioner
Mr. Ratnakar Gaikwad will give the keynote address. The programme
also includes a short animated film on RTI which will be released
by Mr. Gaikwad, a street play and a clip on RTI. Mr. V. S. Kundu,
Director General of Films Division will also be present.

VIGILANCE AWARENESS WEEK (VAW)

CLOSING CEREMONY
October 31, 2013 at Indian Merchants Chamber, 2nd Flr., Churchgate
at 5.30 p.m.
As has been the practice over the years, PCGT, under the aegis
of the Central Vigilance Commission and in partnership with the
Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) & Indian Merchants Chamber
will be celebrating the VAW this year also. The programme will
include an interactive session with Vigilance Commissioners of
various departments like Income-Tax, Sales Tax, Central Excise
and Customs, BMC, ACB. The Navleen Kumar Award will also be
presented to Mr. Vijay Kumbhar, RTI activist from Pune.

TURMOIL TO TRANQUILITY
November 25, 2013 at
at 6.00 p.m.

Tata Theatre, N.C.P.A., Nariman Point

PCGT has been commemorating the unforgettable terror attacks of

26/11 in Mumbai for the last 4 years. There will be a musical event
depicting transcendence from Turmoil to much needed Tranquility.
Mr. Rakesh Maria, Addl. DG-ATS, Mr. Raghu Raman, an expert on
terror and Inspector General S.P.S. Basra, Commander Coast Guard
Region will address the audience on how well we are prepared today
to combat the terrorists.

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 4, ISSUE 2, October 2013

VOICES

EDITORIAL
Electoral Reforms Key to Good Governance

Communal

violence
in
Muzaffarnagar
and
preceding
suspension of young IAS officer,
Durga Shakti (since revoked) in U.P
have brought home the danger of
mixing politics with religion. Could
the Durga Shakti Nagpal case
then become an inflection point
that results in serious debate on
genuine governance reforms? The
Muzzafarnagar riots in U.P and
subsequent failure of young Chief
Minister in bringing the guilty to book
betrays the faith in youth power. The
law keeping machinery succumbed
to pressure as widely reported. A day
after the riots began on September
7, it was not Chief Minister Akhilesh
Yadav, but his father and Samajwadi
Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav
who called an emergency meeting
just like it was he and his brothers who
issued statements in Durga Shaktis
suspension case; ruling by proxy
is a well known game of seasoned
politicians.
Sardar Patel had placed great hopes
in all India Services to administer a
highly diverse country that had taken
birth after severe jolts of a painful
and violent partition. He believed that
an efficient and unified service will
protect public good. While politicians
are blamed regularly for weakening
the efficiency of IAS and IPS, it is
also true that some amongst them
have connived with their political
masters in eroding the fine system of
www.pcgt.org

governance. The rising anger of civil

society and the growing scrutiny of the
courts should nudge the bureaucracy
to free itself from the shackles of
political class as indicated in the
now famous caged parrot acronym
given to CBI by none other than the
Supreme Court. The political class is
still shy to redeem itself by bringing
about long awaited administrative and
electoral reforms. Much discussed
Police Reforms cannot bring about
the change in isolation and should be
part of larger Administrative Reforms.
The rape of young photojournalist is
symbolic of changing face of Mumbai.
After the Nirbhaya case in Delhi last
year, who would have thought that
there would be an occasion for similar
outrage so soon as in Shakti Mill
case in Mumbai and that too when
late Justice Varma and his team
had worked overtime in submitting
the report that resulted in tough law
against such heinous crimes. Several
women including little girls continue
to face terrible assaults in different
parts of the country. The experts
agree that the root cause of such
perversions is poor convictions and
judicial delays though the sociologists
can argue on the victimhood of
criminals psychological makeup to be
influenced by culture, environment,
economics and survival instincts.
There is perhaps a great mutation
in the ''gene of morality'' in common
Indian that thrives in an atmosphere
of no fear of law or punishment.
This mutation has weakened the
resistance to crime just as it would
happen in an immune-compromised
host succumbing to a virulent virus
like HIV.

At another level, newspapers every

day carry scary reports about public
health scenario in a city that boasts of
hospitals with best high-tech medical
care. Government of Maharashtra
and Municipal Corporation of
Greater Mumbai cannot remain mute
spectators to failure of public health
system as is evident by soaring
number of cases and deaths by
Dengue and T.B including Multi Drug
Resistance strains. The shocking
reports of health care personnel
afflicted with T.B in public hospitals
require a sharp and immediate
attention of health authorities to have a
strategy in place to prevent dangerous
spread of disease.
Seemingly unconnected events
mid-day meal tragedy in Bihar,
Muzaffarnagar riots, suspension of
Durga and deteriorating public health
systemabortive attempt in bringing
the ordinance to save the Lawmakers
with convictions with all the drama
point towards shaky foundations of
governance.
For now three cheers for the Supreme
Court for taking important steps
towards electoral reforms by firm
rulings on disqualification of convicted
MPs and NOTA
When you see corruption being
rewarded and honesty becoming
self-sacrifice - you may know that
your society is doomed.
Ayan Rand in Atlas Shrugged, 1957
- Dr. Ratna Magotra

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 4, ISSUE 2, October 2013

PCGT PUNE

Late Shri B. G. Deshmukh Memorial Lecture Series - 2013

By
Public Concern for Governance Trust, (PCGT) Pune and
Symbiosis Law School, Pune
introduced the theme of the Memorial
Lecture 2013. Through interesting
short stories he tried to explain the
concept of good governance and the
role of PCGT in it. He said their job is
just to point out the thieves and its for
society & the law to punish them.

S
ymbiosis Law School, Pune, a
constituent of Symbiosis International

University, Pune, and Public Concern

for Governance Trust (PCGT) Pune,
jointly organized the Late Shri B. G.
Deshmukh Memorial Lecture 2013 on
August 30, 2013.
This Annual Public Lecture Series
has been instituted in honour of Late
Shri B. G. Deshmukh, IAS, Former
Cabinet Secretary, Government of
India and Principal Secretary to the
Prime Minister. The basic objective
behind the launch of this Annual
Public Lecture Series is to explore the
challenges in governance in India.
The topic for the lecture this year
was Elections Without Corruption
With Reference To Supreme Court
Judgment On Candidates With
Criminal Records.
Dr. Shashikala Gurpur, Fulbright
Scholar, Director, Symbiosis Law
School, Pune and Dean, Faculty
of Law, Symbiosis International
University, in her welcome address
spoke about the importance of Good
Governance. She said the need of the
hour is not just to ignite the passion
for debating but for reforming the
whole system for good governance.
Shri S. C. Nagpal, acting Chairman
of PCGT Pune, elaborated on the
role of the organization in raising
awareness on social causes like
Water Problems, Rape Victims and
other crimes against women. He also

Mr. Ajit Nimbalkar, Member, Advisory

Council, Pune Chapter, PCGT, threw
light on the Late Shri B. G. Deshmukh
Public Memorial Lecture. He said
Shri B. G. Deshmukh was a pioneer
to join Indian Administrative Service
through competitive examination
from then Bombay State in 1951. Mr.
Deshmukh, Founder Chairman of
Public Concern for Governance Trust
(PCGT), was a true leader in matters
of public administration & civil society.
He stated that the biggest strength of
Mr. B. G. Deshmukh was his perfect
Time Management. He further stated
that Shri B. G. Deshmukh's vision
and activities mainly pivoted around
ensuring good governance in the
nation's public administration system.

criminal cases against themselves.

Quoting from the data collected by
ADR, he said that 30%out of the
543 Lok Sabha MPs have declared
criminal cases against themselves,
14%of the current Lok Sabha MPs,
17%of sitting MPs from Rajya Sabha
have declared these in their affidavits
and 7%of the current Rajya Sabha
MPs have declaredserious criminal
cases. He said that the accounts of
Political Parties should be strictly
maintained as per the format
prescribed by ICAI. He further added
that the need of the hour is to get
people without any criminal records
as our parliamentarians. There is
a dire need of reforms with respect
to the kind of candidates and the
procedure selecting the candidates
representing a party. There were
interesting questions from the young
audience. Dr. Ranade appealed to
them to vote in great numbers and
become stakeholders in the society
by vigorously pursuing the electoral
reforms.

Shri Satish Khot introduced the

Chief Guest Dr. Ajit Ranade as
an economist and political analyst
who serves on the board of various
national and international companies.
He is the Chief Economist of the
Aditya Birla Group and also a Founder
and a Trustee of The Association for
Democratic Reforms (ADR).
Dr. Ajit Ranade began his lecture
by revisiting his association with
Late Shri B. G. Deshmukh. He
recounted how he always found
Shri B. G. Deshmukh to be correct
and courteous in his dealings and
also as a person who lived by his
principles with highest standards of
honesty, integrity and independence
of mind. Talking on Criminalization
of Politics in India he mentioned that
18% of the Candidates have declared
criminal cases against themselves.
8%of this 18% have declared serious
www.pcgt.org

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 4, ISSUE 2, October 2013

KUCHH AUR

Some Responses
Thank you very much for showing the
film and conducting the programme
thereafter. The children enjoyed it very
much and they said they learnt a lot.
They were very happy receiving the
prizes. Hari Singh and Kajol Maurya
are some of our brighter students.
Ms. Suruchi Pawar

s. Suruchi Pawar, the new Programme

Manager, joined us in July 2013. She has

been conducting Kuchh Aur sessions in
municipal and some private schools very
successfully. 19 sessions in 9 different
schools have covered 2833 students from
July 2013 onwards. These sessions have
been highly effective with children actively
sharing their experiences and singing songs
based on the movies. Kudos to Suruchi for
having established a wonderful rapport with
the children..

Best wishes,
Bijal Kara
Bhavishya Yaan Co-Ordinator.
Rotary Club Of Bombay.
On behalf of our team of volunteers for
CES classes at MPS, Vikhroli, I would
like to thank your organization and
you for the opportunity provided to the
students to enjoy the film session on
22nd Sep, 2013. We all enjoyed the
session a lot and believe it would have
benefited the ethical construct of the
students..
Warm regards,
Samreeti,
Volunteer, Dharma Bharati Mission

Youth For Governance

Ms.

Shivani
Akashi
joined
PCGT
as
Programme
Manager
in
August 2013 to
take charge of
the Youth For
Governance programme.
Kuchh Aur is our attempt to influence
the young and impressionable minds

Students of Gurukul School, Ghatkopar, eager

to answer questions

Suruchi taking a Kuchh Aur session in the

dormitory of Sant Gadge Maharaj Vidyalaya
www.pcgt.org

with good values coming from sources

other than formal education. A natural
extension of this project is to reach out
the youth in colleges and make them
an effective vehicle for change. Youth
for Governance aims to cultivate and
involve the youth in nation building.
This outreach is being tried through
RTI sessions in different colleges
with the hope that this will provide us
an opportunity to connect with youth
and have more volunteers. Youth for
Governance cell will be steered towards
becoming a self-sustaining entity with
Trustees of PCGT as mentors.

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 4, ISSUE 2, October 2013

RIGHT TO INFORMATION
RTI CONVENTION IN NEW DELHI

amendments although Mr. Narayan

Varma, along with other activists,
had even drafted a resolution to be
presented in the convention.
The activists questioned, How can
you amend the law without taking
into consideration peoples concerns,
sentiments and demands?

From Left : Ms. Shraddha Bathija,

Mr. Suresh Joshi, former Maharashtra
State Chief Information Commissioner,
Mr. Shailesh Gandhi, former Central
Information
Commissioner,
Narayan
Varma, S.K. Nangia, Vijay Kumbhar,
Bhaskar Prabhu & Afzal Mohammed.

T
he 8th Annual Convention of the
Central
Information
Commission

was held in New Delhi on 2nd & 3rd

September, 2013. It was inaugurated
by Shri Pranab Mukherjee, President
of India. Valedictory Address was given
by Shri Omar Abdullah, Chief Minister
of Jammu & Kashmir.

8 RTI activists from Maharashtra had

received the invitation from the Central
Information Commission to attend the
convention as delegates.
- Narayan Varma

The RTI activists had an occasion to

cheer the victory of peoples power. A
last-minute turnaround in Parliament
led to the RTI Amendments Bill being
referred to the Standing Committee. In
all probability, this was a face saving
tactic and an acknowledgement of the
current mood of impatience and anger
of people against self-serving political
system.

Breaking News

There were three technical sessions:

(i)
RTI
and
Inclusive
Growth
addressed by Prof. Abhijit Sen,
Member Planning Commission
& Shri Harsh Mander, Former
Member of NAC).
(ii) RTI An Anti Corruption Tool - Shri
J. M. Lyngdoh, Former CEC, Shri
Pratyush Sinha, Former CVC and
Shri S. C. Agarwal, RTI Activist
addressed the activists.
(iii) Media and RTI The session
was addressed by Shri Siddharth
Varadarajan, Editor-in-chief of The
Hindu & Ms Sonia Singh, Editorial
Director, NDTV.
All the sessions created a lot of
interaction. Even though none of the
sessions had direct context of the
RTI (Amendment) Bill, the delegates
discussed it at various sessions. The
Hindu (Sept. 4, 2013) carried the report
on first page as under:
The RTI activists from across the
country were extremely disappointed
that
neither
President
Pranab
Mukherjee nor Mr. Narayanasamy
even mentioned the crucial issue of

RTI ONLINE

37 ministries or departments of the

central government have opened up
the facility to file RTI online. Payment
can

be

made

through

internet

banking of SBI and its associate

banks and debit/credit cards of
Master/Visa through this portal. On
line RTI applications/first appeals
can be filed by Indian Citizens only
for the main ministries/departments
of Central Govt., located at New Delhi
and not for other Public authorities
under Central/State Govt. through
this portal. NRIs can file online RTI
applications along with fees via
e-IPO in Indian missions abroad.

Department of Post to comply

with CIC verdict for issue of
RTI stamps:
RTI stamps in denomination of
` 10/- to be paid as convenient
and economical mode of
payment of RTI fees.

RTI SUCCESS STORY

How

RTI helped in bringing

about
systemic
improvements
in Intelligence Bureau (IB) by
interventions made by PCGT.
DSR Rao retired as an Assistant
Director from IB in January 2010. In
May 2010, he received a Demand
Draft, dated 11.3.2010 for a sum of
` 12 Lakhs plus as part of his pension
benefits. DSR wrote to his pension
paying authorities about the delay of
two months in posting the DD. He also
asked to be compensated for the loss
of interest on such a huge sum that he
would have otherwise earned, had the
amount been credited to his pension
account online as was the practice
everywhere. The department did not
reply despite several representations.
DSR finally took the route of RTI with
active help from PCGT. The pension
disbursement authorities at New Delhi
were put on notice. They not only
expressed regrets to DSR but the
department also switched over to ECS
way of disbursing the pension benefits
forthwith.
This case study illustrates as to how
effective use of RTI can bring about
transparency and accountability in
public administration and governance.
The Electronic Clearing Service (ECS),
hitherto unavailable for expeditious
disbursement of pension benefits, must
bring relief and cheer to all pensioners
in IB.
www.pcgt.org

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 4, ISSUE 2, October 2013

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PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 4, ISSUE 2, October 2013

GET INFORMED

RTI Clinics In Mumbai

PCGT : Every Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.

For appointments and details call : 23526426 / 23526452.
RTI HELPLINE NO.: 93 2288 2288
Address : B/2, Mahalaxmi Chambers,

22,Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai-400026.
Email : publicconcern@gmail.com Vist us at www.pcgt.org

Giants International Charitable Trust : 1st & 3rd Monday of

every month between 4.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.
For appointments and details call 23679698
Address: Orient Club., 2nd Floor,

9, Chowpatty Sea Face, Mumbai-400007
Email: giantwld@mtnl.net.in
Visit us at www.giantinternational.org

BCAS Foundation : 2nd, 3rd & 4th Saturday of every month

between 11.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m.
For appointments and details call 66595601-05
Address: 7, Jolly Bhavan No.2, Ground Floor,

New Marine Lines, Mumbai-400020
Email: bca@bcasonline.org
Visit us at www.bcasonline.org

Indian Merchants Chamber 1st & 3rd Wednesday of every

month from 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Resource Person: Mr. S. K. Nangia
For appointments and details call 22046633
Address: IMC Building, Churchgate, Mumbai-400 020

RTI Clinics In Pune

Pune Municipal Council : Every Friday between 11.00 a.m.

and 2.00 p.m.
For appointments and details call
Mr. Marutirao Sail Tel. 020 - 64005613
Address: Nagrik Suvidha Kendra, Pune Municipal Council,

Shivaji Nagar, Pune-411005
Email : pcgt@rediffmail.com Visit us at www.pcgt.org

PCGT: Every Saturday between 10.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m.

For appointments and details call
C. R. Kutpelli Tel. 020 - 64005613
Address: No 3, Thube Park, 16 Shivaji Nagar,
Pune-411005
Email: pcgtpune@rediffmail.com Visit us at www.pcgt.org
Printed & Published by Shri J. F. Ribeiro on behalf of Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT) and Printed at Finesse Graphics & Prints
Pvt. Ltd., 309, Parvati Industrial Premises, Sun Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai-400 013. Tel. Nos.: 24961685/24961605 Fax No.: 24962297
Published at Public Concern for Goverance Trust, B/2, Mahalaxmi Chambers, 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai-400 026. Editor: Dr. Ratna Magotra
www.pcgt.org

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 4, ISSUE 2, October 2013

FRIEND / VOLUNTEER WORK FORM

Name:

I would like to volunteer with PCGT : YES NO

From home At office (specify time)
Skills that I would like to contribute:
I would like to be involved in the following projects of PCGT:
RTI
Corruption Hatayenge
Kuchh Aur

Address:

Email:
Tel. No.

Fax No:

Mobile:
I would like to be a Life Friend of PCGT
1) I would like to join as I BLESS YOU
I enclose herewith:
Voluntary Donation to the corpus of PCGT ` 25,000/ Subscription for Life
` 1,000/-

Date:

Signature

Note: Cheques to be drawn in favour of Public Concern for

Governance Trust.

2) I would like to be LIFE FRIEND

I enclose herewith :
Voluntary Donation to the corpus of PCGT ` 10,000/ Subscription for Life
` 1,000/-

Detach & send form to:

3)

Mumbai - 400026

Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT)

B/2, Mahalaxmi Chambers,
22, Bhulabhai Desai Road,

I would like to join as Annual Friend

I enclose herewith cheque of ` 500/- being
Admission Fee
` 200/-
ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION
` 300/-

Tel.: (022) 23526426

Email: publicconcern@gmail.com

(Please note that donations to Public Concern for Governance Trust

qualify for deduction u/s. 80G(5) (VI) of the Income Tax Act, 1961)

Registration No. E-20164 (Mumbai)

(The BOMBAY PUBLIC TRUST ACT, 1950)

tear along this line

BOOK POST

PUBLIC CONCERN
C/o. Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT)
B/2, Mahalaxmi Chambers,
22, Bhulabhai Desai Road,
Mumbai 400 026.

To

Registration No. E-20164 (Mumbai)

(THE BOMBAY PUBLIC TRUST ACT, 1950)

www.pcgt.org