December 30, 2008

Shailesh Gandhi’s Report Card

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — Sucheta Dalal @ 10:51 pm

Shailesh Gandhi is one among the handful of people whose dogged perseverance has demonstrated that the Right to Information Act is a devastating tool that can be used by ordinary people to resolve issues and to clean up public life. The latter is a lot more difficult, but Shailesh succeeds because of a combination of factors – he frames his queries with care, follows them through multiple appeals until he gets the answers he wants, he has built up a terrific rapport with a wide swathe of reporters who happily publish his findings and, most importantly, he often follows up his inquiry by filing public interest litigation.
So, when he was appointed a Central Information Commissioner, I thought to myself that some smart bureaucrat had found a way stop him filing sharp queries and at the same time bury him in a mountain of paper, red tape and procedure. When Shailesh idealistically started out saying he would work at a salary of one rupee, he seemed doomed to fail. Fortunately, he was quick to read the situation and do a swift and much needed course correction. His year-end “report card” shows that he had passed with flying colours! Well, more power to you in 2009 Shailesh Gandhi!

Shailesh Gandhi: My Report Card for 2008

My conviction that Right To Information is the most potent change agent to make India a truly participatory Democracy continues to dominate my life. In the first quarter of 2008, RTI was able to uncover the fact that the Maharashtra Chief Minister’s relief fund is used for Gazal programs, Foreign trips, making films; building the gym in the Governor’s residence, and also the toilets in the Press Club of India at Delhi. In many other cases Citizens are using RTI to empower themselves to get the governance they want.
. In August Arvind Kejriwal discovered that the Central Government had decided to appoint four Central Information Commissioners in an arbitrary and opaque manner. He suggested that we should challenge this, and also suggest some alternate names. A few names,-including mine,- were suggested to the Selection Committee comprising of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and the DOPT minister. My name was selected by this Committee;-I have no idea why,- and I was offered the post of a Central Information Commissioner. Though I believe that the process by which I was selected was flawed, I accepted. I saw an opportunity to deliver what we were demanding from Information Commissioners.
The backlog of cases has been building up at the Information Commissions at the States and the Centre. Commissioners across the Country are individually disposing 70 to 1500 cases each year, leading to mounting pendencies; whereas they should dispose over 4000. Most Commissions,- like the judiciary,- have rendered most laws meaningless, by allowing huge backlogs to develop. This has resulted in the common Citizen being deprived of the rule of law. Denial of Justice by delaying, has become the norm in India. I saw a similar fate for the Right to Information act at the hands of the Information Commissions. When shifting to Delhi to take up this position, I made a Public commitment that I would ensure that the pendency of cases before me would not be more than 90 days by April, 2009.
I took charge on 18 September and discovered that there was almost no office or staff available. I was given 11 departments including Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Government and HRD with a total pendency of about 1650 cases. In October, -when I started my hearings and disposals,- my staff was of 5 people. The task looked daunting. I then started finding staff for my office, who have to be hired through a Contractor. The Government offered to give me some (Computer) illiterate staff1, which I have refused. By November, I had a total of 12 people with me, but was told that only 8 people would be paid by the Government. Therefore I have four interns who are not paid by the Government. The Government will provide me more than 8 people, only if I am prepared to take (computer) illiterate staff.
However, there is an immense feeling of satisfaction, since I have been able to dispose over 450 cases in December itself. In October-November I had disposed 333 cases. By April 2009, I will be able deliver on my promise of having a pendency of less than 90 days. I see no problem in disposing over 4500 cases in a year. The Central Information Commission presently gets about 14000 cases in a year and has one Chief Information Commissioner and seven other Commissioners. If each Commissioner disposes atleast 3000 cases2 per year, there need not be any backlog. Citizens will insist on accountability of a minimum disposal from Commissioners, and a fixation of norms. If the Government appoints Information Commissioners without norms3 of a minimum performance, it would only be a burden on the Public exchequer, without any benefit for the Right to Information.

My New Year Promise for 2009
I shall ensure that over 95% of the appeals and complaints before me will be disposed in
less than 60 days by September 2009.

He adds:
1. For a Government which claims to be moving to egovernance, it is an irony that a very significant number,-perhaps over 50%,- of Government officers are (computer) illiterate.
2. The average disposal of a Bombay High Court judge in 2006 was 2530 per judge.

Viewing 6 Comments

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    It is indeed a very pleasant surprise to me to learn that Shri Shailesh Gandhi has been nominated as a Central Information Commissioner. I have been hearing , from Sucheta Dalal, and reading about the great work you have been doing for last several years. This is a huge, though unexpected, positive step taken by Committee in nominating you.

    After reading the difficulties you, (and other CICs) face due to lack of resources and manpower, I would like to make a small suggestion, in all humility, with a view to speeden up things. Can we, as ordinary and well meaning citizen of this country, make small (may be monthly or one time) monetory contribution to CIC , and all such contributions may be pooled and used by CIC for defraying some of the additional expenses. I would be too happy to do my (small) bit in such an endeavour.

    News of your nomination is the best present we could have expected at the dawn of a New Year.

    Virendra Jain
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    RTI is indeed a powerful tool, which I gathered in the process of unearthing the malpracties in existence at the SC registry which is being shielded under negligence . I could not have thanked Shailesh more for giving us this tool. We have also been reading and watching the news of the exposure of malpractices in the SC registry - the executive arm of the Apex Court. In my case, the accused are a bunch of rich and powerful and have the right means and resources to incentivise people at Registry to do things that serve their vested interest in delaying the process of justice till the victim is worn out or may be wait for a change of bench, which they think would be favorable for them. Often as we also know such malpractices are either suggested by the equally high profile lawyers or executed through them. If CAs have been hauled up for bribing IT officials to get favorable orders for their clients and in case of Satyam for abetting crimes, it was a surprise to see the advocate in SC being arrested by CBI along with the officers of the SC Registry who were involved in the case of bribe of Rs. 75,000/- being paid by the Ohio based doctor to the SC registry officials as per their demand to list the matter which has been pending since 2005. Hats off to the doctor to have done this single- handedly and best wishes to him to get justice for his wife who died of medical negligence in an operation that she underwent in 1998 in Calcutta. A Decade has passed and the journey to justice is a long fight against a system laden with greed/ corruption. So much for the fundamenatl rights of a victim seeking justice in this country.
    I am sure many others face this and encounter this but bear in quiet. I firmly believe that at our level we must take a vow to stop giving bribes even if it of Rs 50 to the traffic havaldar each time when a traffic rule is broken. We must raise our voice and expose the wrong and blow the whistle each time we become aware as by not doing so, some day each of us may also be a victim of such malpractice and then criticize it. It has to start from each of us .......to create a good and ethical environment for the future generation, in our home, office, community and the results will multiply manifold.. I hope so !
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    On 4/3/09, Hi.This is Karan <karand87@yahoo.co.in> wrote:
    “Today I went to the Unreserved Ticketing Counter at Malad station and <asked for a Dadar-Churchgate-Dadar Extension to my Quarterly Season Ticket. The ticket cost Rs 12 and I gave two Rs 10 notes to the lady at the counter. Quickly, instead of returning Rs 8 in cash to me, she tore out two Rs 4 coupons from a CVM Coupon Booklet and handed them over to me!

    I protested this "alternate currency"
    I would like to know, how legal is this procedure of issuing CVM Coupons as ‘alternate currency’?”
    _ The above incident is the tip of the iceberg.
    This problem is due to the black holed economy at the macro and micro level.
    At the macro level, according to a reported estimate of more than $7 Trillions, deposited in Swiss Banking System, about $2 Trillion deposits might be from India. The financial irregularities in Satyam Computer Services Limited, due to which investor's confidence has been badly shaken, will pale into insignificance in contrast to the scale of alleged irregularities perpetuated in Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), India's largest private sector company.
    It is hoped that the G20 Summit Finance Minister’s Meeting will solve this problem.
    At the micro level, the disappearing small change is the Achilles’ heel of the Indian economy.
    Formerly, there were 64 pice in the Rupee.
    In the changeover to the Metric System, Re.1 = 100 paisa.
    However, Re.1 = 64 pice =Re.1.36 paise, not 100 paise.

    In the British India days, a chicken dish on the Frontier Mail dining car cost 6annas, 3 pice, and 2pies.
    Today, there is no value for the small coins. The largest denomination coin is the bottom of acceptable currency.
    Beggars delight in this practice .They refuse to accept low denomination coins, saying it is time consuming & wastage of their labor.
    Super malls print bills 'rounding off' the small coins. Traders distribute chocolates and toffees. Contractors and architects submit tenders, quoting Rs.5000.25paise per square foot.
    Hardware dealers buy in 'Metric' and sell in 'British.’ A ton of nails bought in metric system sells at Rs.2 per dozen, British system!
    None of our economic experts bother to touch on this aspect.
    The time worn adage,' Take care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves has never been more relevant.
    Further, according to an estimation based on a secret unpublished Report of Swiss Banking Association, out of aforesaid more than $7 Trillions, deposited in Swiss Banking System, about $2 Trillions, deposits might be from India. This issue hopefully awaits a solution at the current G20 Summit Finance Minister’s Meeting.
    Political will is necessary to strengthen the regulatory framework in order to solve this problem of disappearing small change at the micro level, and vanishing crores of rupees at the macro level.
    What do you think?
    Regards, Denis
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    That's the great article! I just pass 'n read it, two thumbs up! ;)
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    Congrates! to sri Sailesh Gandhi for the nomination as a central information commisioner.good luck for fulfilling the promises he had done.
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    Partially due to the isolating geography, the Swiss people have switzerland clothing maintained a strong commitment to tradition, independence and the preservation of their long-established way of life.
 
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