Dear friends,
As you may be aware, our Municipal Commissioners have initiated a crackdown on activists and concerned citizens by labelling them "blackmailers" "professional complainants" "repeat complainants" "extortionists" "professional RTI applicants" etc so as to deter us from complaining and seeking information on their misdeeds.
This exercise had been carried out a couple of years back by an Asstt. Mun. Commissioner in BMC - Mr Devendra Jain and very recently the Asstt. Mun. Comm. of H-East ward too is in the process of listing out such"blackmailers" etc. Having seen this list, it is noticed that names of our own colleagues who have been seeking transparency and better governance since years together have been blacklisted.
This seems to be a conspiracy on the part of such officers and their superiors to keep us away from complaining and seeking info about illegalities in their jurisdiction and thus give these officers a free hand in continuing with their misdeeds, abuse of power, corruption and other illegalities.
So do be vigilant about such movement in your municipal ward. If you notice that a list has indeed been prepared, then I request you file an RTI Application with your respective ward seeking info about this "blacklist".
I am attaching a ready-made RTI Application which you may edit and file in your ward so as to get all details on what necessitated drafting of such "blacklist" against citizens.
I am copy-pasting the main parts of this proposed RTI application below :
- Subject matter of information :-- Information about the list, prepared by your office, of citizens who are "regular complainants", "regular RTI applicants", "professional complainants", "blackmailers", "extortionists" etc. (Henceforth called "the said list")
- The period to which the information relates : From 1.1.2016 till the date of reply to this RTI application.
- Description of the information required :
(Kindly provide certified and / or authenticated copies of the following information.)
a. Copy of the said list, if prepared.
b. Copy of the Circular, Directive, GR, Notification, File Notings etc. received from any authority by which the said list has been prepared.
c. Reasons recorded for undertaking this exercise of preparing the said list.
d. Minutes and file notings of all the meetings held with any authority, officials etc wherein it was decided to prepare the said list.
e. Copy of the relevant Sections of Law, Rule, Regulation etc under which the said list has been prepared.
f. Copies of all the evidence relied upon which necessitated preparing the said list.
g. Copies of all correspondence with any Govt. authority (by letter, verbal, email or in any other manner) with regards to the above subject matter of information.
h. Number of complaints received against each of the citizens mentioned in the said list.
Please see attachment for the entire format.
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