News Analysis India

Tag: Right to Information

  • Chhattisgarh forest department yet to act on Centre’s plea to cover open wells

    Express News Service

    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh forest department has not initiated any action as asked by the Centre to ensure covering of open wells located in and around forests to safeguard wild animals from getting killed or maimed. The department has given the response to a query under the Right to Information.

    The union ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has written to Chief Wildlife Wardens of all states and union territories early February this year to cover the open wells stressing the need for the protection of wildlife and construct safety walls.

    The forest buffer zones, which mark the transition between jungle areas and human habitation, are dotted with uncovered open wells, many remaining dry after the monsoon. With the wild animals competing over the decreasing prey base and their territory are forced to venture out into human settlements and simultaneously are at risk of falling into uncovered wells.

    The Centre has written to states following the concern raised by the Chhattisgarh-based wildlife enthusiast Nitin Singhvi over the unsecured wells that has emerged as another threat to wildlife leading to their casualties and serious injuries.

    Singhvi, unhappy over the “lackadaisical approach” of the forest department, has asked the additional chief secretary (Forest) to fix the responsibility on officials if any wildlife gets killed or maimed after falling in open wells.

    ALSO READ | Cover up all open wells near forests, Centre tells states, UTs

    “Such callous attitude of the department is unacceptable. If the forest officials would have been really worried, they would have taken swift action. At least should have raised essential budgetary demand under their Annual Plan Operation (APO) for the works related to cover the open wells under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority. But nothing has been done”, Singhvi thundered.

    In India, hundreds of wild animals including leopard, jackal, civet, wolf, jungle cat, hyenas, elephant calf, bear among others die every year after accidentally falling into open wells in and around forests. Several animals die, many sustained enduring disabilities are unfit to be released back into the wild and kept either at a rescue centre or zoo as they cannot fend for themselves.

    Black bear that fell in open uncovered wellThe forest officials stated they are not in a position to comment on why no action has been initiated. PCCF (Wild Life) PV Narsingh Rao said that the reason could be known from the state forest headquarter. However, the officials in Raipur cited that the PCCF (wildlife) can only respond.

    “The officials are passing the buck with little realisation about the pressing need to act”, Singhvi said.

    RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh forest department has not initiated any action as asked by the Centre to ensure covering of open wells located in and around forests to safeguard wild animals from getting killed or maimed. The department has given the response to a query under the Right to Information.

    The union ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has written to Chief Wildlife Wardens of all states and union territories early February this year to cover the open wells stressing the need for the protection of wildlife and construct safety walls.

    The forest buffer zones, which mark the transition between jungle areas and human habitation, are dotted with uncovered open wells, many remaining dry after the monsoon. With the wild animals competing over the decreasing prey base and their territory are forced to venture out into human settlements and simultaneously are at risk of falling into uncovered wells.

    The Centre has written to states following the concern raised by the Chhattisgarh-based wildlife enthusiast Nitin Singhvi over the unsecured wells that has emerged as another threat to wildlife leading to their casualties and serious injuries.

    Singhvi, unhappy over the “lackadaisical approach” of the forest department, has asked the additional chief secretary (Forest) to fix the responsibility on officials if any wildlife gets killed or maimed after falling in open wells.

    ALSO READ | Cover up all open wells near forests, Centre tells states, UTs

    “Such callous attitude of the department is unacceptable. If the forest officials would have been really worried, they would have taken swift action. At least should have raised essential budgetary demand under their Annual Plan Operation (APO) for the works related to cover the open wells under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority. But nothing has been done”, Singhvi thundered.

    In India, hundreds of wild animals including leopard, jackal, civet, wolf, jungle cat, hyenas, elephant calf, bear among others die every year after accidentally falling into open wells in and around forests. Several animals die, many sustained enduring disabilities are unfit to be released back into the wild and kept either at a rescue centre or zoo as they cannot fend for themselves.

    Black bear that fell in open uncovered wellThe forest officials stated they are not in a position to comment on why no action has been initiated. PCCF (Wild Life) PV Narsingh Rao said that the reason could be known from the state forest headquarter. However, the officials in Raipur cited that the PCCF (wildlife) can only respond.

    “The officials are passing the buck with little realisation about the pressing need to act”, Singhvi said.

  • Over 1.59 lakh RTI applications filed online in eight years, 11,376 by women: Personnel Ministry

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Of the more than 1.59 lakh applications filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in the last eight years, 11,376 were filed by women and the rest by men, according to the personnel ministry’s data.

    Replying to an RTI query, the ministry said that a total of 1,59,107 applications were filed under the Act between April 22, 2013 and November 12, 2021. Of the applicants, 11,376 (slightly over seven per cent of the total number) were women and 1,47,731 men, it said.

    Commodore (retd) Lokesh K Batra had sought the gender-wise details from the personnel ministry on the total number of RTI applications filed through a dedicated website. The portal — www.rtionline.gov.in — allows online filing of RTI applications.

    There is a provision for the applicants to mention their gender — male, female and the third gender — while raising RTI queries through the website.

    In response to the application, the ministry said as many as 15,986 applications (1,507 by women and 14,479 by men) were filed in 2021 (till November 12), 20,792 (1,968 by women and 18,824 by men) in 2020 and 20,762 (1,612 women and 19,150 men) in 2019.

    A total of 19,709 RTI queries (1,433 women and 18,276 men) were raised in 2018, 18,869 (1,219 women and 17,650 men) in 2017, 17,800 (885 women and 16,915 men) in 2016, 16,210 (981 women and 15,229 men) in 2015 and 16,626 (1,049 women and 15,577 men) in 2014, it said.

    As many as 12,353 RTI applications were filed in 2013 (from April 22 onwards — the date of the launch of the portal). Of the applicants, 722 were women and 11,631 were men, the reply said. “The data shows that there is a need for creating larger awareness among females about their right to know,” Batra said.

  • SC refers to other bench pleas of banks against disclosure of information under RTI

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Tuesday referred to another bench the clutch of petitions of banks including SBI and HDFC Bank Ltd against directions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asking them to provide crucial information such as confidential annual reports and list of defaulters to applicants under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

    A bench comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari considered the fact that a bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao had earlier dealt with the pleas of banks seeking recall of a 2015 judgment in the Jayantilal N Mistry case by which it was held that the financial institutions will have to disclose information under the transparency law.

    On April 28, a bench of Justices Rao and Vineet Saran had refused to recall the judgement as sought by some banks, saying that under the law and the apex court rules the pleas seeking recall were not maintainable.

    It, however, had permitted the banks to pursue other remedy before apex court against the verdict and the RBI’s directions to them and the pleas have been listed before the bench headed by Justice Nazeer which took the decision to refer to the bench which had dealt with it earlier.

    Earlier, banks had said that they were neither parties nor heard in a case which led to the 2015 judgement holding that the RBI would have to provide information such as confidential annual reports and list of defaulters under the transparency law.

    The Centre, State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Canara Bank (CB), Union Bank of India (UBI) and HDFC Bank Ltd have moved the top court assailing the 2015 verdict in the Jayantilal N Mistry case and the consequential directions of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asking them to provide crucial information to applicants under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

    The bench headed by Justice Nazeer had said it would first decide whether the pleas of the banks and the Centre should be dealt by a bench headed by Justice Rao.

    “In all fairness the case should go to a bench headed by Justice Rao,” Justice Nazeer had said.

    Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for SBI, said he has no problem which bench hears the case, but the matter needed to be heard by a three-judge bench as “the issue of statutory embargo (under RTI) on holding back the confidential information was not adverted to in the judgement”.

    While dismissing the pleas of banks for recall of the 2015 verdict, a bench headed by Jusitce Rao had then made it clear that it was not dealing with any of the submissions of the banks on the correctness of the judgment.

    “The dismissal of these applications shall not prevent the applicants (banks) to pursue other remedies available to them in law,” it had said.

    “Banks were not parties to the case in which the judgement came,” senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for HDFC Bank, had said, adding that how can a private bank be asked to divulge its confidential banking secrets and details of its customers to a “fourth party”.

    The RBI had taken the ground that it has fiduciary relationship with the banks and hence cannot part with the information to applicants under the RTI, Rohatgi had said, adding that many more grounds are available to the banks and they could not be taken up then as they were not parties to the litigation.

    The submission was opposed by lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the RTI activist, saying the Indian Banks’ Association, to which all the banks are members and the ICICI were parties to the plea.

    The solicitor general had said that the matter needed hearing by a three-judge bench and a holistic judicial view of the entire issue was needed as banks were not party to the 2015 judgement.

    Banks are aggrieved by the RBI notices to them under Section 11(1) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act asking them to part with information pertaining to their inspection reports and risk assessment.

    The RTI Act empowers the RBI’s CPIO to seek information from banks.

    On April 28, the top court had, on legal grounds, refused to recall its 2015 judgment in the Jayantilal N Mistry case, which had held that the RBI will have to provide information about banks and financial institutions (FIs) regulated by it under the transparency law.

    Several FIs and banks, including CB, Bank of Baroda, UCO Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank had filed applications in the top court seeking the recall of the 2015 judgment, saying the verdict had far-reaching consequences and they were directly and substantially affected by it.

    The banks had contended that the pleas for a recall of the judgment, instead of a review, is “maintainable” as there was a violation of the principles of natural justice in view of the fact that they were neither parties to the matter nor heard.

    “A close scrutiny of the applications for a recall makes it clear that in substance, the applicants are seeking a review of the judgment in Jayantilal N Mistry. Therefore, we are of the considered opinion that these applications are not maintainable,” the apex court had held.

    While dismissing the pleas, the bench, however, had made it clear that it was not dealing with any of the submissions made by the banks on the correctness of the 2015 judgment.

    Now, the apex court is seized by several pleas of banks against the RBI’s direction to disclose information under RTI.

  • Review of implementation of RTI Act provisions is an on-going process: MoS Personnel Jitendra Singh

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: There have been constant efforts on the part of the government to strengthen and streamline the existing mechanisms under the RTI Act and the review of the implementation of its provisions is an ongoing process, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

    This was said in a written reply by Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh to a question on whether the government has any plan to review the Right to Information Act, 2005 “specially in view of the many cases pending in the Hon’ble Supreme Court”.

    “Review of the implementation of the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005 is an ongoing process. There have been constant efforts on the part of the government to streamline and strengthen the existing mechanisms for the successful and effective implementation of the RTI Act,” he said.

    As far as RTI replies through the digital portal are concerned, Singh said that the government has already launched the RTI Online portal (https://rtionline.gov.in) w.e.f. August 21, 2013 to facilitate online filing of RTI applications and first appeals in English as well as in Hindi, along with the facility of payment of RTI fees, by the citizens.

    Due to the concerted efforts by the government, the number of public authorities aligned to this portal has risen to 2,427 as on July 29, he said.

  • PM-Kisan: 11.3 lakh fund transfers failed in four months during lockdown

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  The Centre’s much-touted PM-Kisan fund saw 11.29 lakh cases of failure of fund transfer to farmers between March 23 and July 31 last year, reply to a query filed under Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed.

    The RTI reply to transparency activist Venkatesh Nayak shows the highest cases of failure of fund transfer were reported from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

    Responding to the RTI plea,  Union Ministry of Agriculture also informed that nearly half (6.33 lakh) instances of failed transactions were successfully re-processed, as of July 31.

    Madhya Pradesh accounted for 7.29 lakh failed transactions, followed by Maharashtra with more than 85,210 transfer failures and Karnataka, which recorded over 55,791 instances of failure of transfer of PM-Kisan funds to bank accounts during the lockdown period last year.

    Bihar, with 51,004 cases of transfer failures and Uttar Pradesh with 47,918 instances were among the other states that saw very high number of failures.

    These five states together accounted for almost nearly 90 per cent of the total transfer failures between March and July 31, 2020.

    The ministry in its reply did not divulge the reasons why the fund transfers failed. It also did not indicate the amount of funds that could not be transferred.

    It’s also not known how many beneficiaries were affected. The PM-Kisan scheme provides income support of `6,000 per annum to all eligible farmer families across the country.

    The information further shows that Sikkim accounted for the lowest number of transfer failures. Other Northeastern states — Arunachal Pradesh with 141, Mizoram with 218 and Meghalaya with 233 — also reported less cases. On successful re-processing, Madhya Pradesh had the highest with 6.12 lakh cases followed by Maharashtra reporting 12,810 cases and UP reporting 1,986 cases.

    SC panel begins talks with farmer organisations

    The SC-appointed panel on the new agri laws on Thursday started its consultation process and interacted with 10 farmer organisations from eight states. The panel, in a statement, said the interaction was held through video conference.

    Ten farmer organisations from Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharasthra, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh interacted with the committee members.