Rally to protest Amit Jethwa's death- 26 July 2010

Isn't it ironical that we crossed ITO in this particular rally and found not even one reporter from the mainstream newspapers to cover an event about protesting the killing of RTI activist and environmentalist Amit Jethwa, who like other whistleblowers, needed protection after allegedly taking panga with powerful ministers by daring to question their anti-people activities?

In this case, Jethwa had filed a PIL in HC as well against a BJP bigshot in Gujarat against his illegal mining activities. At least for me, I kept thinking about this irony while passing offices of TOI, IE and others on the day of the rally. They seemed like high-rise buildings that stood watching tamasha, as people clapped and raised slogans in protest right under their noses. 

 

What increased this sense of irony was this that a handful of people - the activists in protest against this kind of silencing of voices of truth - ensured they gave media bytes at the venue (Gandhi Peace Foundation) much before even beginning to protest! Many of them are well-known faces anyway.

All the shouting and sloganeering happened much later, after it was ensured that every activist worth their name, took mileage out of a sad situation, most of them promoting their NGO's agenda as the best solution.

Soon enough Amit Jethwa was lost to the background. Felt extremely sad at witnessing all this. Just didn't know which side to look at. 

 

For more pix, click here.

Mockery of CIC Order

As a result of four complaints filed by Pardarshita, Central Information Commission (CIC) gave orders to all Assistant Commissioners of Food and Supply Department (F&S) and Public Information Officers regarding suo moto disclosure of information under Right to Information Act and Public Distribution System (PDS) Control Order of 2001.

Today was fourth day of field visit to F&S Circle Offices in East Delhi. The purpose was to inspect compliance of CIC order of December 2009, asking all Circle Offices to display basic information on notice boards that is legible, prominently placed and complete, for instance, names of BPL cardholders, list of officers and their duties, procedure of making a ration card and so on. We covered Circle No. 56, 57 and 59 today in Dayanand Vihar, Kalyanvas, and found that there was either no information or incomplete information displayed on torn A-4 size sheets (not big notice boards), pasted on walls/boards at places where people wouldn’t even notice it or won’t be able to read it because the sketchy information was in English!

A copy of the inspection report made by Pardarshita members has been sent to Assistant Commissioner of F & S Department (East) besides CIC, hoping for quick action by all departments so that they display important information under Section 4 of the RTI Act.

My Association with Pardarshita

I was working with The Times of India when I first met Rajiv Kumar of Pardarshita in connection with a story on the utility of Right to Information (RTI) Act. Travelling to Seemapuri (East Delhi) was a difficult proposition that time so I ended up using all modes of public transport to reach Parivartan- former version of Pardarshita. There was one computer tucked away in a corner of a big room with four-five people working around it. I distinctly remember one of them as a young girl, who later told me someone had put a blade in her neck because she wouldn't stop venturing out while working for the community. That day ended with interviewing beneficiaries of the RTI Act leading to my first byline (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=Q0FQLzIwMDUvMDgvMTcjQXIwMDIwMA==&Mode=Gif&Locale=english-skin-custom).

Since then, whenever possible, we have collaborated on many occasions, even though Rajivji and few others now call themselves members of Pardarshita. No matter what they call themselves, these people and their relentless fight against a corrupt government system remains unwavered.

Sometime last year, we went for a survey of schools run by the Delhi government in the South Delhi Zone and East Delhi, more specifically, to inspect whether the school notice boards displayed information about money due to students belonging to Economically Weaker Section quota, whether they were getting free books and uniforms as per the Central Information Commission (CIC) order etc. In East Delhi, I was told, there may not even be a concrete school building, even through papers would indicate a properly running school! 'Many times, a panic attack would grip school administration a day before inspection by some higher-ups. School staff would ensure that flower pots appeared outside the main gate, descrepit roofs got a fan or two, maybe a light bulb if lucky, to pass off as a 'fully' functional government school!' says Ritu of Pardarshita. In South Delhi, the state of government schools was much better than in East Delhi, at least at a cursory glance. Of the five schools we inspected that day, most children said they were getting free uniforms and books or at least partly, while the rest 'was due' in future. As far as display of information was concerned, at least three schools displayed some information, though not all of it and that too, scribbled on a blackboard with chalk instead of being displayed on hard boards as per the CIC order.

Anyway, what also struck me most, other than the scope for corruption worth crores of rupees by school administration, was that in one government school, the principal authoritatively called out to few senior girls, probably the class monitors, to serve us biscuits and tea, almost like it was part of their learning assignment as students. I was left wondering what they were teaching their girls anyway- housework for future use? Hypothetically, even if all schools, everywhere, get every piece of physical infrastructure in place, what if every poor student got his/her due towards attaining a school degree, what if teachers start attending school and teaching deligently, does it mean they’ll churn out ‘thinkers’ of tomorrow? Agreed, it’s important to have a room to teach in, benches to sit on and blackboards to write on, water, electricity etc, besides children who can afford to sit in those classes, with books to read, but all this for what? In the Indian education system, Indians are being ‘trained’, not ‘educated,’ a big lesson from 3-Idiots, if you have seen the film.

Power of RTI

(From R to L: Saroj, Pushpa, Firoza, Domni, Amma, Asmatara. These people now get kerosene oil at subsidised rates after utilising RTI)

It all began with an awareness camp organised by Pardarshita in 2008. About 250 residents of Bawana resettlement colony filled application forms demanding kerosene oil from the Food & Supply (F & S) Department. Even though they have ration cards, local shopkeepers would regularly scare them away each time they asked for their fair share of kerosene oil. Four months passed since the first complaint, still no action was taken by the Food and Supply Officer (FSO) or even the Assistant Commisioner (AC), despite repeated visits. Disheartened, they met the Joint Commissioner (Fuel) at his ITO office, again to be given verbal solace but no real oil to cook food with.

Each family in Bawana has about 6-7 persons on an average, using about 20 litres of kerosene oil per month, primarily for cooking purposes. As residents of this colony ran from one office to another, they had no other option but to purchase expensive oil from local markets at three times the cost of subsidised kerosene.

An year went by, yet there was no hope of getting any kerosene on their ration cards till last year, in April 2009, when members of Pardarshita assisted them in filing complaints with the Assistant Commissioner under the Right To Information Act 2005, demanding to know status of their initial applications and reasons why they still haven't got the subsidised kerosene. The F & S Department didn't give any satiffying answer to any of these queries after which the issue reached the highest level i.e. to the Central Information Commissioner (CIC) for final resolution. The CIC promptly sent notice to the AC (North West) making it compulsory for him to answer queries raised by people, especially emphasising on reasons for delay in issuing kerosene to them.

Cutting a long story short, people of Bawana resettlement colony finally got kerosene oil at subsidised rates for the first time now in years, but only after they utilised RTI in their fight for securing basic human rights. Wish more people knew about the power of RTI.

Discussion on 'Implementation of EWS Quota in Public Schools,' 15 January 2010

I am happy to have made it for at least some part of the meeting on 'Implementation of EWS Quota in Public Schools' at ISI, Lodhi Road, organised by Pardarshita, Sajag and Asha Delhi. I walked into a hall full of people from the poor community. Mothers spoke of their struggles with school administration and how it paid off while children spoke of how it feels to be poor, yet to 'fit in' at school with children from a better class. Poor children have made it to schools like GD Goenka and Sanskriti through EWS quota. This meeting was about lots of sharing and lots of bonding between people who have fought similar battles but from different locations. Their fight continues...
Here are some photos from the meeting.

 

      

BPL BENEFICIARIES: CIC orders publication of PDS details

http://indiatogether.org/2010/jan/pov-pds.htm
CIC Shailesh Gandhi orders that information about the public distribution system and its beneficiaries should be made public, offering hope that a corrupt system may finally see some reform. Shaweta Anand reports.

13 January 2010 - Musmat Musarrat has two children to support on her own - she is a widow - but she earns a mere Rs.1000-1200 each month to run her family's finances. One source of succour for people like her is the Below Poverty Line (BPL) card she is entitled to from the government. But getting and keeping this document has proved quite difficult.

In Bawana'a JJ Colony in Delhi, Musarrat and many others have been hopelessly pursuing government officials, enquiring about the status of BPL cards that were deposited with them for renewal back in 2007, during a 'renewal drive' by the Delhi government. If the card were with her today, she could have purchased basic food items at subsidised rates under the government’s Public Distribution System (PDS), which is one of the largest welfare distribution systems in the world. But having surrendered the old card for renewal, she is caught between the loss of that card and the yet-to-be-issued new one.

Musarrat represents not only the plight of people of Bawana Colony but also that of poor people spread out in various parts of the city, who are fighting a PDS that is both corrupt and functions dismally.

Pardarshita, a non-profit organisation, has been working to make various governmant departments in Delhi more transparent and accountable through extensive use of the Right to Information Act 2005, and also including communities in this struggle for social justice. "Like Musmat, about 1.5 lakh poor people in Delhi are struggling to make ends meet and running around government offices to find out status of their card. [This is the case with] not only those who have applied for renewal of BPL cards but also those who have applied for new ration cards, the status of which they should ideally know within 45 days of the first application," says Ritu, an activist with Pardarshita.

"This is not the only problem with PDS," adds her fellow activist Rajiv Kumar, "even the ration shops, which should open for 25 days a month, are open only for about five days, if you enquire!"

With complaints piling up from people of many resettlement colonies - Bawana, New Seemapuri, Sundernagari to name a few - Pardarshita filed a complaint under Section 18 of RTI Act 2005 to the Central Information Commission that the Delhi Food & Supply Department is not following Section 4 of the RTI Act, which mandates government departments must sou moto disclose information about their work. Pardarshita sought the list of people whose BPL card applications were cancelled, as well as the reasons for their rejection. Additionally, a list of beneficiaries of PDS system was also asked for.

Following this complaint, Central Information Commission member Shailesh Gandhi notified the Food Secretary, and held a hearing on 21 December. The meeting was followed by an order the following day, directing all concerned to display the following information online and outside 70 ration shops/circles of Delhi, before 31 January. A complaince report detailing how much of this order has been carried out, has also been demanded by CIC, to be provided by 5 February 2010.

The information to be published includes:

• Entitlement of essential commodities for all type of Ration Cards.
• Scale of issue of each essential commodity for all types of ration cards.
• Retail price of each essential commodity for all types of ration cards.
• Working hours of Fair Price Shops.
• Stock of essential items received during the month.
• Opening and closing stock of essential commodities.
• Name, designation and contact numbers of officials for redressal of grievances with respect to quality and quantity of essential commodities.
• Daily updating of stock position information.
• Information about inspection of records by any citizen on every Saturday except for second Saturday as per the PDS Control Order 15/06/06.
• Display of samples of food grains being supplied through Fair Price Shops.
  
  
  The ration shops, which should open for 25 days a month, are in fact open only for about five days.

Soon after these directions by the Commission, its impact can already be seen, at least on the Government of India's Food & Supply Department website, which now provides some information on the above-mentioned lines. According to the order, such information is also to be provided at the points-of-delivery of the rations (i.e. the fair price shops themselves), and that will be an even bigger boost to the transparent functioning of the distribution system.

Disclosure of all this information will be an important milestone in larger struggle for effective PDS in India, which has been going on for many years now. When information regarding the quality and price of grains and other essential commodities becomes available at every FPS, daily, including lists of bonafide card holders and people to contact for grievance redressal at Circle Offices, then there will be much less scope for corrupt officials to deny proper rations to the beneficiaries, or to seek bribes from them to give them what is their due. This should also bring down the practice of shop-owners hoarding essential items for sale in the open market, after diverting them from the beneficiaries.

Moreover, an increasing number of citizens and activist groups will know what to do about unjust practices rampant, and they can in turn intervene on behalf of the poor, even if the beneficiaries themselves are not confident of taking on the system. "The other advantage," says Rajiv Kumar, "is that through the new lists of beneficiary card holders, all bogus card holders will stand exposed. A lot of essential items were earlier taken away from the PDS under the guise of distribution to such fake beneficiaries, and these are instead sold at market rates for earning hefty profits,".

This CIC's order promises to cast new rays of light on the dark corruption of the PDS, and offers hope that poor people like Musmat Musarrat will be able to get the rations they desperately need. ⊕

Shaweta Anand is a freelance writer and a volunteer with Pardarshita.