Re: Application under Right to Information Act, 2005

To:
(Dhiraj Srivastava)
Central Public Information Officer,
National Advisory Council,
2, Motilal Nehru Place,
New Delhi.

CC: Ms. Rita Sharma / Secy/NAC
CC: US(RTI)/DoPT to file alongwith my objections to draft RTI Rules

27-Dec-2010

Dear Mr Shrivastava

Many thanks for your response.

You will appreciate that each and every piece of information I have
asked for is to be published proactively by the public authority u/s 4
of RTI Act 2005 with effect from 12-Oct-2005. If you wish I can set
out the relevant sub-sections of section 4 for your ready reference,
but I am sure that the NAC (and its PIO) possesses a copy of the RTI
Act and can easily explain why this body in existence since 2004 has
failed to publish even the bare minimum mandatory information on its
website, and why the NAC cannot take the moral high ground to lecture
/ advise other public authorities (like DoPT) on implementation of
RTI Act and amendment of its RTI Rules etc.

You will appreciate that there is no fee to be paid either for
requesting the information or for being provided the information.
Furthermore a division bench of the Central Information Commission, in
one of my cases, has held that the information proactively published
under section 4 of RTI Act is to be be provided immediately, without
application and free of cost by the CPIO failing which the CPIO is
directly liable for penalty.

You will further appreciate that the NAC is apparently a body
constituted by an order of the Cabinet Secretariat/Govt of India and
is fully funded by the Govt funds. The NAC ex-facie appears to be a
public authority in its own right. It is therefore not clear to me why
I should pay a fee of Rs.10 made out to the section officer of the
PMO, unless you confirm to me that the NAC is neither a public
authority nor the concerned public authority, since I can then apply
to the PMO or Cabinet Secretariat etc. directly.

As the information is urgently required by me to file my objections to
DoPT on the draft RTI Rules (last date 27-Dec-2010), I am constrained
to send a copy of this communication to everyone concerned. I do hope
that you will reply to me within 24 hours. You will recall that I
spoke with you telephonically about 6 days back specifically asking
who the PIO at NAC was, but you never informed me that it was you.

Best Regards

Sarbajit Roy

On Mon, Dec 27, 2010 at 5:31 PM, Dhiraj Srivastava <dhiraj.s@nac.nic.in> wrote:
>
> Dear Sir,
>
>
>
> I am to refer to your E-Mail on the subject mentioned above and to request you to kindly remit Rs. 10.00 as application fee by way of Postal Order/Demand Draft in favour of Section Officer, Prime Minister's Office, New Delhi to enable us to process your RTI Application. In addition to above, the information has been sought under the clause of life or liberty, for which you are requested to submit proof in support of your claim. Otherwise the application shall be processed as per normal provisions.
>
>
>
> Thanking you,
>
>
>
> Yours faithfully,
>
> sd/-
>
> (Dhiraj Srivastava)
>
> PS to CP and Central Public Information Officer,
>
> National Advisory Council,
>
> 2, Motilal Nehru Place,
>
> New Delhi.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Sarbajit Roy <sroy.mb@gmail.com>
> Date: Friday, December 24, 2010 1:06 pm
> Subject: Concerning: RTI Act 2005
> To: Rita Sharma <ritasharma.secy@nac.nic.in>, K Raju <k.raju@nac.nic.in>, Dhiraj Srivastava <dhiraj.s@nac.nic.in>
>
> To:
> The National Advisory Council (Government of India), by
> 1 Smt. Rita Sharma (Secretary)
> 2) Sh. K Raju, (Joint Secretary)
> 3) Sh. Dhiraj Shrivastava (Secy to Chairperson NAC)
>
> 24-December-2010
>
> Dear Madam,
>
> Sub: RTI Act 2005
>
> I would be obliged if you could inform me immediately by return as follows.
>
> 1) Whether or not the NAC is a public authority in its own right under the Right to Information Act 2005. If so, who the CPIO and First Appellate officer(s) are. It is pertinent that I require information under the life or liberty clause therein for information pertaining to the NAC, which I am listing out below..
>
> 2) Irrespective of whether RTI Act is applicable to NAC or not, kindly inform me if Mrs Aruna Roy is a member of the NAC, the details of all monies paid to her as salary and emoluments in terms of the Cabinet Secretariat's order of 29.March.2010. I am also interested in knowing if Ms. Aruna Roy is a public servant.
>
> 3) Irrespective of whether RTI Act is applicable to NAC or not, kindly provide me the complete details of all experts and academics who have been engaged by the NAC after March 2010, and the details of their contracts / agreements and all monies paid and facilities provided to them till now.
>
> I require this information within 48 hours as I need to make a formal submission to the DoPT in this behalf concerning the minutes of meeting of the NAC held in 26.Nov.2010.
>
> Thanking you
>
> Sarbajit Roy
> My contact details are: "sroy.mb@gmail.com".
> My Tel is : 09311448.069