Pankti Jog | SabrangIndia

Visually challenged lady seeks appointment with Gujarat CM, is ‘unofficially’ detained

Wed, 13 Nov 2019 05:38:22 +0000

Ranjanben Vaghela in DYSP office, Khambhat

It was a usual noon of November 10. I got a phone call on our Right to Information (RTI) helpline No 9924085000 from Ranjanben of Khambhat, narrating her “disgraceful” experience after she had requested for an appointment with Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. She wanted to meet Rupani, on tour of the Khambhat area in Central Gujarat as part of his Janvikas Jumbesh (Campaign for Development).

“I was compelled to sit in the DYSP office and then in a police outpost for at least two-and-a-half hours. They recorded my statement. We were called at 10:00 am and they allowed us to go only after 12:30 noon. They insisted that a lady constable would accompany me till I reached home. Why I was treated like an accused? What was my fault?” she wondered.

Ranjanben Vaghela belongs to a socially and economically marginalised family. She resides inside the compound of a crematorium, Muktidham, as it is called, as her parents lay wood on the bodies that come for cremation. She lost both her eyes when she was two, but with the moral support of her father and uncle, she completed her SSC (high school). She learned cooking and other household work, is able to walk independently.

Ranjanben has always wanted to help others. She began working on issues of disability in her own village and nearby rural areas. She would use RTI to get information on issues related to disable citizens, and advocate policy changes. She is part of the core group of the Disability Advocacy Group (DAG), an NGO operating in Gujarat. Today, she is known as an RTI and human rights activist in Khambhat area.

“Disabled citizens are looked down upon, we are not respected. We want hurdle free access to offices. We want effective implementation of the laws meant for the disable citizens. I wanted to meet the chief minister to discuss these issues. I wrote a letter seeking appointment way back in May 2019, to which I never received reply”, she said.

“When I got to know that the chief minister would be in Khambhat for his campaign, I approached the deputy collector and handed over a letter to him, stating my desire to meet him. What was the problem in meeting him when he was on campaign trail? Can’t he meet citizens?”, she asked.

On the day the chief minister was to come in Khambhat, she was asked to reach the DYSP office at 10:00 am. Ranjanben and Ishwarbhai, who helps her, had no idea that they would be detained or compelled to sit there till the chief minister had finished his programme.

Ranjanben’s letter to Gujarat CM

She was also made to sign a strange statement, which read, “I was not aware that one cannot meet the chief minister without Sachivalaya permission. Police have explained this to me today. I will follow the procedure henceforth.”

She asked me on the helpline, “Was everyone who attended the chief minister’s programme in Khambhat given permission from Sachivalaya, as they told me?”, adding, “I am going to file an RTI application to get all the details.”

As I could sense the feeling of insult and humiliation for not being allowed to meet the chief minister, and instead made sit in the DYSP office, I thought of inquiring about this first with the DYSP office. The person who picked up the phone denied that the incidence had ever occurred, asking me to inquire with the city police station.

This person out-rightly refuted the information I had with me, stating no one called Ranjanben visited the DYSP office on November 10. I was a little surprised. When I inquired with the city police station, the police inspect told me, “No, it was DYSP office, not us”.

After playing the shuttlecock game for half an hour, an official in the DYSP office admitted that they were asked to hold Ranjanben in the office and not allow her to go to the chief minister’s programme. “We gave her snacks and tea, and there was a lady police all through. Ranjanben was very comfortable”, was the reply.

This was the justification given by a police officer, whose office had earlier denied that Ranjanben had visited the DYSP office. He was quite insistent: The police attitude was quite well-behaved towards the visually impaired lady.

Ranjanben is no exception to be treated like this by the Gujarat police. During several of the Prime Minister’s visits to Gujarat, human rights activist are known to have been detained, are kept at some place for a few hours, even offered tea and snacks.

The Gujarat Police, in fact, appears to have institutionalized this method. They detain individuals who are suspected as trouble makers, are offered snacks and tea at no cost, and are set free after the VVIP programme ends. This has been going on for the last 10 years.

Ranjanben’s letter to deputy collector

Some years back two veterans, late Gautambhai Thakar, human rights activist, and Indukumar Jani, social worker, were detained for the whole day. They were prevented from attending an important human rights meeting. A similar treatment is known to have been frequently meted out to farmer rights activist Sagar Rabari and many others, who are detained and prevented from organizing or participating in a peaceful protest.

Off the record officials, of course, deny that this could be called detention. One official confided to me that it’s an unofficial detention, as no records are kept. However, Ranjanben is adamant. She has decided to file RTI application to find out on whose orders she was detained and why, who from the deputy collector’s office informed the DYSP office, which called her. She would also seek bills and vouchers of the snacks and tea offered to her.

In one of its orders (Writ Petition No 154/2019), the Kerala High Court has expressed its deep concern about refusal to follow procedure during detentions. There should be an official detention order from the magistrate, which the police could execute, it ruled. At the same time, the order said, those sought to be detained could take legal help.

“There are no proper guidelines for the lower rung police officials regarding detention. It is being done in a haphazard manner”, said Harinesh Pandya, executive secretary of Janpath, a state-level network of voluntary action groups. “This leads to suppression of fundamental rights,” he added.

After local media took note of preventing Ranjanben from moving freely or attempting to attend the chief minister’s programme on November 10 at Khambhat, the RTI helpline started ringing more frequently the next day.

Callers wanted guidance on what could be done to ensure that police acted responsibly.

Many of them told me they were going to file RTI applications to Gujarat police offices, district collectors and the chief minister’s office about this. They would be demanding copies of detention orders from the magistrate, of the food bills, and of the orders on how the detainees are kept, for how long, where, how is the place chosen, whether there is availability of medical and other facilities, especially for women detainees.
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*With Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Ahmedabad

Courtesy: counterview.net

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Post-monsoon rains, Narmada woes grip Gujarat’s 8,000 salt producers of Little Rann

Wed, 06 Nov 2019 05:30:09 +0000

Youths from Zinzuwada villages came to the rescue of the devotees. Only villagers living in the periphery know the vast expanse of the Rann thoroughly. Just by looking at the mud pattern and humidity they can sense how safe or dangerous could it be during the day. All the devotees were brought back safe.

Two days later, there came the warning of Maha cyclone and heavy rainfall. The local Sankalan Samiti, or the coordination committee, chaired by the deputy collector, met in the presence of the local MLA, discussing several serious issues concerning the Rann, especially hundreds of agariyas, who had already already moved to the Rann for salt cultivation.

No doubt, rainfall at the start of the season usually saves some amount they spend on diesel, which they require to pump out water to make bunds for saltpans and level the beds of the saltpans. This earthen work continues for a month, after which agariyas pour water into saltpans in order to cultivate salt.

“One barrel of crude oil/diesel is saved if we get rain water during this time”, said Keshubhai Surani, one of the salt farmers from Ghatila Rann area, pointing towards the reason why most of the agariyas did not leave Rann despite recent post-monsoon rain. One barrel costs around Rs 12,500, an amount which they usually borrow from trader.

“However”, he admitted, “This time, prolonged post-monsoon rains affected us. We wouldn’t be able to cultivate crystal salt for more than six months this year.” Traditional salt farmers of the Rann make crystal salt, called Vadagaru, or Poda which takes six months to take the shape of full size crystal to fetch price of up to 24 paisa per kg.

Surani continued, “This time rainfall continued for quite some time. The Rann got filled up with much more water than what we required. Block officials, activists working with the agariyas, belonging to the Agariya Heet Rakshak Manch (AHRM), and community leaders had to work overtime to evacuate them from the Rann.

These agariyas had already made their makeshift huts, a temporary shelter during their stay in the Rann . But as water levels increased, they were in a dire straits. The whole area got flooded. It was impossible to keep their utensils, blankets, grocery, everything, safe. They had to leave the Rann immediately. They had to walk several kilometres through water with muddy and slippery ground to reach their villages safe.

Their woes did not end here. Narmada department engineers conveyed to the agariyas that they too would release extra water into the Rann from the Narmada branch canal. They wanted to ensure that the agariya are not trapped, hence they contacted agariya leaders and AHRM team members.

Agariyas told the engineers it was not a good idea to release Narmada water into the Rann. One of the leaders told a senior Narmada engineer, “If Narmada water is released, we will not be able to go into the Rann for another 20 days and continue with salt cultivation.” They were not sure if Narmada officials would listen to their plight.

Meanwhile, water level in some parts of Santalpur and Visanagar Rann started rising. This could happen only if water was being released from the Narmada branch canal. One official confided to an agariya leader off the record, had they not released it, the poorly constructed canal’s safety would be at stake.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government announced compensation for farmers for crop damage due to heavy rainfall this season. However, the salt producers were at a loss: They wouldn’t be getting any of it.

Rued an agariya leader, “Each agariya has suffered huge losses. We have been cultivating salt in Survey No Zero – as the land on which the saltpans are situated is known — for centuries. No doubt, the government has reaches us with water supply, education, mobile health van, spending huge amount for welfare and development. But when it comes to compensation for our losses, we do not exist”.

“If you look at the past 10 years, every year either agariyas are at a loss due to unseasonal rains, or due to sudden release of Narmada water. Agariyas have been demanding compensation. Sometimes officials do conduct survey and seek details. But no compensation is ever paid”, said Harinesh Pandya, trustee, AHRM, which has been working with the agariya community for the last 15 years.

“On one hand, despite salt farming for decades and centuries, they are deprived of their land use rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).

On the other, they are excluded from any protection mechanism like compensation or insurance cover. How can the state behave like this? Why can’t it come up with a fair policy to protect salt farmers? After all they contribute 1/5th of the total salt produced in Gujarat,” he added.

The present and the future of over 8,000 agariya families from nearly 110 villages of Surendranagar, Patan, Morbi and Kutch districts is at stake. Nature and government both are unkind to agariyas, leaving them at the receiving end.
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*With Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Ahmedabad

Courtesy: counterview.net

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RTI Act holy cow for Govt of India? Official insists, don’t ask why, when, what, where

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 06:39:36 +0000

The Government of India appears to have begun treating the Right to Information (RTI) Act as a holy cow. Its officials seem to believe that the Act is a sacred law, under which people shouldn’t be questioning its functioning. One recalls what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while addressing an RTI convention in 2015: “Why should government wait for people to ask information, we will have all information out in the domain, we have nothing to hide.”

Modi’s speech was appreciated as one with vision of “proactive governance”. And yet, nearly five years down the line, we find his government failing to practice what he said, with the RTI Act slowly turning into a law of secrecy, a sacred law which does not allow people to question its decision-making process.

In reply to an RTI application filed with a government TV channel, its Central public information officer (CPIO), appointed for providing RTI replies, outrightly denied information saying the RTI Act is “sacred” and shouldn’t be used to question government actions.

The applicant had asked for a copy of the contract signed with an expert engaged by the government TV channel, which is a public authority, and also details of service conditions, rules and remuneration paid to this expert as per the contract. Denying the plea for information, CPIO also insisted that the Act can only be used for a “bona fide” purpose and queries like “why, when, where and what” shouldn’t be made.

This is a matter of deep concern. For, one of the circulars dated June 1, 2009 states that RTI cannot give justification to particular a thing, or a document, but can provide the copy of a document. This came to light in the judgement given by the Goa Bench of the Mumbai High Court in the Dr Celsa Pinto vs Goa Information Commission case. The judgement said that RTI can provide copies of documents, but need not answer the question “why”.

“All document related to any decision, noting, can definitely have answers to these questions, PIO can provide relevant documents, even if citizen asks certain question”, says the government resolution (GR), but nowhere does it say questions are banned. Despite this, the CPIO of the TV channel, while refusing to give information, mentions some judgement without quoting the source. This is a clear case of misuse of GR as also different orders by the Central Information Commission (CIC).

This detail has been shared on Twitter, too. It reveals the truth as to how RTI, which is a law of transparency, is misinterpreted as “law of secrecy”, and is being called “sacred law”. We at the Gujarat RTI Helpline No 9924085000 have received more than 67 calls over the last one month, citing PIOs of different public authorities denying information when there is a “question mark” in the RTI application.

Actually Section 6 of the RTI Act clearly states that the RTI applicant should be assisted by PIO whenever needed in framing queries. If one wants to see copy of the list of people who got support for building toilets, and if she/he can’t frame a query, one may ask, “How many toilets were built?” PIO is supposed to give copy of the list of toilets built with government support.

Statistics from different commissions show that every year around 60 lakh citizens apply under RTI to different public authorities. Over the last few years, the number of RTI applications have decreased. A major reason is, the government does not like people to question its functioning, decision making, budgeting, expenses etc. The vision of proactive governance and transparency appears to have vanished in the air.

In fact, as things stand today, the government seems to have turned itself into a “holy cow”, which cannot be questioned anytime.

*With Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Ahmedabad

First published on https://www.counterview.net

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Can’t go to court with RTI information, rule Ahmedabad authorities: Kankaria accident

Mon, 19 Aug 2019 04:53:44 +0000

In a shocking reply to an application filed by me, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) authorities have said that the information provided under the Right to Information (RT) Act should be used in court or in a judicial process. The Act is known to be a major tool that enables citizens to seek certified copies of documents, records from any public authority of state and Central government within 30 days, as per provisions of the Act.

Citizens across the country have been using this Act not only to access information but also as a means to monitor the extent of government’s transparent and accountable to citizens, which is expected in any vibrant democracy.

Gujarat, one of the states with rapid industrial development, has always claimed that it sets an example of best governance practices, and has bagged several awards at the national level for it. However, it is found to be lagging far behind in giving access to information to citizens.

Public Information Officers (PIOs) not only give strange, often innovative, reasons to deny information, but go so far as to restrict citizens to use information that they receive for getting justice.

In the reply dated August 14, AMC denied information to the RTI application filed by me for seeking copy of the contract given to the ride operator/company at the Kakaria Adventure Park, next to the historic Kankaria lake of Ahmedabad, and details of checking done by AMC regarding the ride’s safety. The information was sought in the context of an accident, which caused several deaths and injuries.

AMC denied the information saying that a first information report (FIR) had been filed against the company, and hence the information could not be provided. Further, and this was simply scandalous, the AMC’s public authority instructed me that the information should not be used anywhere as evidence or in the “judicial system” (court).

During the accident, which took place on July 14. two people died and 27 others injured when the ride carrying around 30 people in the Kankaria Adventure Park collapsed after a pipe of the main shaft broke. At least 15 people were critically injured. AMC gives contract to private contractors to operate rides in the park.

The accident took place a month after the Ahmedabad Fire Brigade carried out a midnight rescue operation after as many as 40 people were stuck on a ferris wheel at a fare in the city. Fire officials had to use a 55-metre-tall snorkel to rescue those who were stuck, including 14 children and eight women.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation should proactively disclose information relating to safety checking of rides and conditions in the contract

“This is unconstitutional, and even violates the principle of natural justice”, Harinesh Pandya, master trainer of RTI and founder of the Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, an organization that promotes the use of RTI to enhance people’s participation in the democratic process, told me.

“Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation should proactively disclose information relating to safety checking of rides and conditions in the contract, as it is a very vital information as far as public safety in concerned”, Pandya insisted.

The information sought, he pointed out, falls under the proactive disclosure category as per the provisions of the RTI Act. He adds, RTI has been used by victims of casualties, or injustices done to them in such cases, and certified copies of documents obtained thereby have been produced in court as evidence.

Hence, according to Pandya, it is shocking that AMC instructs not to use the reply in court. In fact, some of the major scams and irregularities that were exposed and governments could take action against the culprits has been due to RTI. The information produced from RTI has often been quoted extensively in courts.

Significantly, the RTI reply shows poor quality of training inputs AMC officials get regarding RTI, and also reveals a very negative approach towards transparency or disclosure to citizens. The reply suggests a very bad sign of governance, which is a matter of major concern.
I have decided to not only filed the first appeal against the reply but I am also planning to make a separate representation to the Municipal Commissioner, Ahmedabad, the Gujarat government’s Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA), which is responsible for training centre for government officials, and to the State Information Commission.

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*Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel, Ahmedabad

First published on https://www.counterview.net/

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