In his white and grey uniform, big school bag, bespectacled Mobashshir Sarwar stands out in the bustling premises of the Delhi High Court. The XII standard student has a date with the judge, one of the many he has had since he took his school to court for expelling him in December.

At 17 and already a 100-odd RTIs old, Mobashshir is no ordinary rebel. He has taken on the administration for everything from bad rotis served at the hostel to how school fee is being misused at annual functions by seeking information using the RTI.

No wonder then that on a Monday morning when his classmates were concentrating on finishing a three-hour exam paper, Mobashshir, having turned in his answer sheet in 45 minutes, was waiting in queue at the Delhi High Court to get his pass made.

On 20 December 2010, Mobashshir was sent an expulsion notice, banning him from campus and debarring him from exams for “unending complaints of misbehavior and indiscipline”.

In March, after his appeals to the administration fell on deaf ears, Mobashshir filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court challenging his expulsion. The school, since, has been directed by the high court to hold supplementary exams for Mobashshir and allow him to attend classes while the case remains pending.

So what led to Mobashshir’s expulsion from school?

The principal of Jamia Senior Secondary School, Tariq Habib, speaking to Firstpost, said, “I know Mobashshir for a long time. And he is still my student. Whatever I am doing, it is for his good. I have no ill-feeling against any of my students. If a student does something wrong, it is the duty of the teacher to correct him. I don’t mean that he has done something wrong; it may be that he has done something wrong. Students are still very young and they may do something wrong. As teachers we have a duty to bring them to the right path.”

The principal refused to comment on the Mobashshir’s use of the RTI Act to seek information from the administration. He added that the school came under the purview of the Jamia Milia Islamia University and that further questions should be directed to the university’s media coordinator.

A little background on Mobashshir, a boy who moved to Delhi from Bihar’s Madhepura district in 2005 to study at the Jamia school:

Last year, Mobashshir sought information through the RTI Act about the sanctioned budget for the school’s annual function. “I asked what the sanctioned budget was and to provide me with a copy of the approval for the budget. I didn’t get the information I sought. I had also asked for details of the guest list. Is it right to invite 200 guests who have no direct connection with the school at the expense of students?”

As a XI standard student, when Mobashshir was not allowed to take up Home Science as a subject, he sought information through the RTI Act asking on what grounds he had been denied. “By law, boys are allowed to opt for Home Science. Besides, the prospectus of Jamia does not state that there is a bar on boys from taking up Home Science.”

The reply he received from the administration stated that it was not the practice in Jamia that boys took up Home Science. “Practice does not make law,” says Mobashshir. “I gave a detailed representation, in which I also pointed out that Home Science is one of the subjects for civil services. And even in CBSE schools, there is Home Science… I am now thinking of filing a PIL on this issue,” says the civil service aspirant.

In another instance, information he got through RTI exposed the difference between the amount charged to students towards the hostel mess and that charged by administration to the contractor.

“I asked in my RTI applications whether Jamia was a profit-making institution. The answer was no. Then I asked why was this money — Rs 200-300 per student — being saved? If they paid the contractor the amount they charged the student, the food quality will be considerably better.”

When Mobashshir was only in the VI (sixth) standard, he shot off a letter to this principal complaining that the rotis were of poor quality. The provost sent him a reply that accused him of violating hostel norms by approaching the principal directly. “The provost’s reaction surprised me. I responded in writing by saying that in my previous school directly speaking to the principal was not a violation and if it that was the case here, it should be stated so in the prospectus and in the Act of Jamia. The provost was removed from his job after a few days.”

His first victory? “I don’t think of it as a victory. I was not fighting any one person,” he says.

Asked what makes him take such risks, he says, “It is just that the truth should come out. I don’t think of consequences.”

The administration seems to have realised early on the potential Mobashshir had to shake things up. He received his first notice in VI Standard. He rebutted allegations of poor attendance and indiscipline with hard facts. “I concluded my letter by saying that it was my apprehension that a ground was being selectively made for my expulsion from the hostel since I had brought the issue of poor quality of food to the notice of the vice-chancellor,” said Mobashshir.

Despite such constant tussles between him and the administration, Mobashshir has continued to pass with first division marks. So what do his classmates have to say about all this? “They support me. They believe this should be done and that these issues need to be raised. I tell them too to file RTIs. But some of them are scared.”

But Mobashshir already knows what it means to take on the high and mighty. While his case was pending in court, he was threatened by members of the administration. “I immediately filed a police complaint stating that if harm should come to me, such and such persons should be held responsible.”

Mobashshir says he likes to read Delhi High Court and Supreme Court judgments. And he seems to know the Delhi High Court like the back of his hand. “Ever since my case went to court, I would have gone a hundred times. Once I get a pass, I spend the whole day going from courtroom to courtroom listening to cases.”

He has even attended the 2G case hearings at the Special CBI court. “But it’s no fun. There is just too much crowd. It is a tamasha.”

Mobashshir is from Bihar’s Madhepura district. His father is a businessman, his mother a housewife. He has three sisters. Ask him about his parents’ reaction to his campaign against corruption and he only says, “Without the help of parents, nothing can happen. They support me.”

The UPA government appears to have put its most vocal campaign the Right to Information (RTI) Act on the silent mode. This comes in the backdrop of growing clamour within a section of the government to review the Act.

The RTI Act, which was enacted in 2005, has been the main factor behind major scams exposed in the last couple of years.

According to official statistics tabulated by the personnel, public grievances and pension ministry, the funds earmarked for the propagation of the RTI scheme have been grossly underutilized. With the 11th five year plan (2007-12) just five months away from termination, only 73 per cent of funds released under the RTI publicity had been utilised until September 30 this year.

An analysis of the government spending on propagating RTI showed a consistent decline. As per the ministry’s accounts report , the actual spending last fiscal was 80% of the allocated budget. However, in 2008-09 and 2009-10, the utilisation was 94.68% and 96.72 % respectively. A total of Rs24.16 crore was allocated to the RTI under the 11th plan.

This development has angered votaries of the RTI Act. Expressing his concern over under utilisation of funds, information commissioner ML Sharma said, “After six years of enactment, this is the most crucial time for publicising the Act as maximum citizens are still unaware of the stipulations of this Act.”

Sharma further demanded an increase in the allocation of funds for the propagation of the Act to help realise its true potential. He said that because of lack of proper information on various provisions of the RTI Act, several irrelevant applications had got filed with the CIC.

“Proper and sustained information on the Act and its use have to be the top priority to ensure that the Act reaches every home in the country,” he added.

Demanding more publicity for the Act, RTI Activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal said, “This (under utilisation of publicity funds for RTI) is really sad and the government should look into it. The propagation of the RTI Act should be in the hands of the Central Information Commission.”

Rather than spending on publicising their own personalities, politicians should look for raising funds for the publicity of the RTI Act, he said.

As reported by Puneet Pal Singh Gill in The Tribune on dated 26 October 2011

For the first time in the history of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC), a clerk posted in the health branch of the civic body has been suspended for failing to provide information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. This action was taken by MC Commissioner AK Sinha during a hearing related to RTI cases.

The suspended official has been identified as Naveen Kumar. He was responsible for compiling information sought under the RTI Act, but failed to do so.A resident, Rohit Sabharwal, had sought information regarding the tippers running within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation for handling municipal solid waste. He had asked for the latest copies of the fitness certificate issued to all tippers, but the concerned APIO did not forward the certificate.

“I was not satisfied with the reply filed by the MC and made a written submission before Sinha. The APIO provided old fitness certificates instead of the latest certificates which are prepared in compliance to the statutory provision under Clause-56 of the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988,” Sabharwal said.

He had demanded names along with designation of those who were operating the tippers and copies of the driver’s licence of those operating the tippers.

The APIO replied that the sought information was to be provided by the health branch. On September 26, the applicant appeared for the first appeal and due to some administrative reasons, the same could not be heard. The representative of the health branch appeared before the RTI superintendent and stated that the information demanded by the applicant pertained to the workshop branch of the MC.

“The workshop branch is stating in its reply that the information is related to the health branch. Both branches, instead of providing the information, are trying to exhaust the application. I would like to draw your attention towards the fact that the officials are prohibited from doing such a thing and are obliged to forward/transfer my application to the public authority which is holding the sought information. These provisions exist in the Act. It seems that the PIO and the APIO have not taken the application seriously and did not bother to forward/transfer it to the appropriate public authority. By doing so, they have violated the provisions of the Act,” he said. ‘Take applications seriously’

All MC officials should take the applications filed under the RTI Act seriously, else I will be forced to take strict action against them. — AK Sinha, MC Commissioner

In the midst of a debate over dilution of the RTI Act, Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh feels that liberal access to government files has put fear among officials on giving their views, an issue which has to be addressed. 

"RTI has expanded the scope. Nothing is secret anymore. Cabinet decisions and opinions expressed by officials are also accessed using this Act," the Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences said. 

He said the liberal use of RTI has put fears in officials on freely expressing their views on any issue. 

"This has led to officials being apprehensive on noting their opinion on the file. A joint secretary has the right to overrule the views of an under-secretary. But now even a joint secretary thinks ten times before making a file noting," Deshmukh said. 

An official fears about his decision being questioned and he being called to give an explanation, he said. 

"These difficulties...faced by the administration have to be given a thought," said the two-time chief minister of Maharashtra. 

He said Information Commissioners have been appointed for implementation of the RTI Act and there was no reason for hiding any information. 

"Getting information about the final decision is proper. But the decision-making process and who said what in the process...if this is also made known then nobody would give his views. Everybody fears this. This may have led to the debate on dilution of RTI," he said. 

It was during Deshmukh's tenure as Maharashtra chief minister RTI Act was enacted in the state in 2002. The Maharashtra RTI Act was considered as the base document for the RTI Act passed by Parliament in 2005. 

Incidentally, RTI was made into a law in Maharashtra after a hunger strike by social activist Anna Hazare in early 2000. 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's call at a conference of Information Commission for... a critical look at the RTI Act triggered a debate with the BJP and a section of the civil society criticising the remark. 

Singh had later clarified that he had never called for dilution of the Act....

Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on said Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) projects should be covered under Right to Information (RTI) Act, but government agencies involved in the projects should be asked to provide information under the law.

Ahluwalia was in favour of full disclosure by public authorities of all relevant aspects of PPPs and performance under them. "PPP should be covered under RTI Act, but government agency should reply to the information sought," he said.

The deputy chairman argued that RTI Act could not apply to private companies as under the information law, only public authorities were covered. He was reacting to a question at the economic editors' conference to a letter written by chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra to him suggesting that conditions should be built into every PPP agreement requiring the respective concessionaire to provide information regarding their projects under RTI Act.

The CIC had written to the Planning Commission that all future contracts under PPP should be made public since public money was involved. At present, the Act does not refer to PPP contracts. Mishra had asked the Plan panel to consider a PPP entity to be deemed to be a public authority for the purpose of RTI Act.

A public authority under the RTI Act can include a non-governmental body only if it is substantially financed by the central government. Mishra used this argument to make his case saying that in all projects handed over to a PPP entity for building, operating or maintaining, the land, if not any other resource, given by the government formed a vital component of the project and to that extent, could be said to be substantial financing.

Goa politician Rajan Ghate's expose of a multimillion rupee scam involving the purchase of high value coastal land by foreigners, including the Russian mafia, has made it to the Right to Information (RTI) hall of fame this year.

The RTI awards, announced Tuesday, were instituted by the Delhi-based Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF), which picks and honours those applications which have triggered the biggest and wide-ranging impact in terms of change in government policy.

Ghate heads the Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) youth win. His RTI quest of getting to the bottom of land sold to foreigners in violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) norms was chosen as one of the five 'best RTI citizen' awards.

"The RTI is a brahmastra (deadliest weapon) in the hands of citizens. I had a hunch about coastal land being sold in complete violation with FEMA norms and that the local sub registrars were a part of the racket," Ghate said on Tuesday.

Ghate's RTI four years ago unearthed more than 350 cases, in which prime coastal land was sold to foreign nationals, and in some cases alleged fronts of the Russian mafia, in violation of law between 2003 and 2007.

After the scandal broke, the state government ordered the enforcement directorate (ED) to probe the land deal in 2008. According to a senior ED official, the process for cancelling the purchase and seizing of the land from the foreign national has already begun in four cases.

The ED has also frozen the assets of True Axis, a hospitality resorts company, which was obliquely linked to the Russian mafia. The True Axis resort was spread over 30,000 sq mt land in the coastal village of Morjim, about 30 km from here. The company has subsequently appealed to an appellate authority against the ED's decision.

The best RTIs were selected by a panel of eminent jurists, including Aamir Khan, Fali Nariman, Madhu Trehan, N.R. Narayana Murthy, Prannoy Roy and J.M. Lyngdoh.

Among other recipients of the RTI awards 2010 are Vinita Kamte, wife of slain Mumbai cop Ashok Kamte, one of the 26/11 victims, for using the RTI act to expose the government inefficiency and ill preparedness which led to the death of her husband.

Other winners were Manoj Karwasa and Ramesh Kumar Varma, both from Haryana, who used the RTI route to expose corruption in rural administration and public health delivery systems respectively, and Athar Shamsi from Uttar Pradesh who fought for the rights and wages of beedi workers in his home state.

Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports said that the revised draft National Sports Development Bill, 2011 is an effort to streamline the Bill while retaining transparency, good governance and de-control from government intervention.Maken made it clear that the Bill attempts to rejig the image of his ministry as it is widely believed that it was directly interfering in sports.

The Bill is sent to Indian Olympic Association and all recognised national sports federations seeking their feedback within two weeks, the minister said. Unlike the previous version, this Bill eliminates the power of the government to recognise National Olympic Committee and National Sports Federation. In case of any flouting of law, the government can refer the matter to the Independent Appellate Sports Tribunal.

There will be no duplicity of work as the Bill proposes to continue with the registration until it is suspended or cancelled by the Appellate Sports Tribunal, Maken said. From now on, all penalties that are levied by the Appellate Sports Tribunal would vest with the National Sports Development Fund Scheme for retaining sports fund, as per the proposed Bill. 

The Sports Ombudsman and the National Sports Development Council stand removed in the new draft. Earlier in August this year, the National Sports Bill saw stiff resistance in the cabinet. Maken, who saw the development as a setback said he would try and complete the fine tuning work of the bill as quickly as possible.

“We are waiting for the minutes of the cabinet meeting. Once we get that, we will start reworking the National Sports Development Bill and place it before the cabinet again,” Maken said in August this year. “We will consult the ministers to know their specific objections and address those as much as possible in the bill. Hopefully we will be able to get the cabinet’s clearance next time around,” he said. Maken during that time did not give a time frame on when he would complete the fine tuning work.

The special projects, launched as an integral part of Maharashtra’s housing policy, were permitted FDI and provided infrastructure at concessional rates. But while they appear attractive, the implementation and monitoring leaves much to be desired

When special townships with a minimum area of 100 acres launched their ambitious projects in Pune and Nagpur in 2008 (Mumbai does not have such a large, uninterrupted area), as a sequel to Maharashtra's new housing policy of 2007, some queries posted on various blogs revealed the nervousness of investors, specially those residing abroad.

A question about whether these townships would live up to their claims, received the following answer: "These townships provide infrastructure like roads, water, electricity, essential conveniences and security… If you value these things then you should go for it. Of course, there is a risk. What if these promoters are not able to run these townships? Because builders are not service providers, they build and sell, but they do not have experience of managing even the small township projects."

Another NRI asked: "How are they going to supply water and electricity at Xxxx and Xxxx? What's the source? Is that sustainable over the long term? Example, if they are going to bore wells, would they not dry over a few years? I heard Xxxx is going to supply water from the river. How can they purify and certify that? I am thinking of returning to India in the near future. By that time I would have spent about 13 years in the US and I do value a cleaner environment, quieter neighborhoods, infrastructure and amenities… But as you know, being so far away and out of touch, it is hard to guess how much is going to be delivered."

These concerns have now become reality, for in Pune, information received through the Right to Information (RTI) Act reveals, that while there seem to be many developers claiming their projects to be townships, in actuality only seven are legally 'special townships'. However, thanks to the Pune Collector not monitoring whether these seven have fulfilled the stringent conditions required for a special township, the public does not know whether these fully abide by the required norms.

So, what is the mandatory requirement under the Special Townships scheme? It has to be an integrated township with space for residential, commercial, educational, amenity spaces, health facilities, parks, gardens, playgrounds, basic amenities and public utilities.

Infrastructure facilities specifically include: (a) Water supply. The developer shall be required to develop a source for drinking water (excluding ground water source) or get a firm commitment from any water supply authority to meet the daily requirement of 140 litre per person a day. This excludes water required for fire-fighting and gardening. The storage capacity provided should be 1.5 times more than the requirement. (b) Drainage and garbage disposal. Environment-friendly disposal of sewage and solid waste management as per the norms of the state pollution control boad. (c) The developer shall ensure continuous and good quality power supply through captive power generation, or draw from the existing supply system. (d) The developer must get an environment clearance certificate from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). (e) Twenty per cent of the area is to be reserved for park/gardens/playgrounds. (f) Eco-friendly amenities like solar water heating. (g) 60% of the area to be purely residential and out of the total floor area proposed to be utilized for residential development, 20% of the same to be used for residential tenements of 40 sq m. (h) Proper road area with the main road being 24 metres wide.

Are all the above conditions that are mentioned in the commencement certificate by the authority, fulfilled by the developer of such townships? In the case of Pune, queries under the RTI revealed that the Collector's office in Pune does not monitor whether the developer adheres to the norms for special townships or treats the project as just another mundane housing society, albeit more expansive.

RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar, who invoked the RTI on the issue, says, "Last year, I noticed that a hill was being cut at Ghotawde in Mulshi. On enquiry, I found that it was for the construction of a large township, on over 550 acres. However, I could not lay hands on the permission given to it by the collector's office, although the website declared it as a special township. Later on, wary of the information I was procuring, the developer changed it to IT cluster, with residential area thrown in."

Suspecting that potential buyers—particularly those staying abroad—are being cheated under the garb of `special townships' Kumbhar filed a RTI application under Section 6 asking for the number of sanctioned special townships in Pune. He demanded a list of special townships which have been given permission and proof of action taken against violation of stringent norms under special township rules. Also, this information should have been suo moto put up by the collector's office, under Section 4 which was not done.  He filed a complaint under section 18 of the RTI Act to the State Information Commissioner, Pune region, Vijay Kuvalekar, pleading that the Collector and the Public Information Officer (PIO) be penalised for not abiding by norms under section 4.

The Information Commissioner ordered the collector to put the information on the website, failing which the collector, the PIO as well as the tehsildar would face penalties.

Surprisingly, and quite suspiciously, it took the Collector six long months to put the information on the website, despite the fact that the matter was of great public interest. According to the information put up, there are seven sanctioned townships in Pune. They are: Amanora Park, Nanded City, Blue Ridge, Kumar Ekluch, Riverview, Gulbakshi, Pearl Eiffel City. Mr Kumbhar, who has procured copies of the commencement documents of these projects, says, "All these commencement documents given by the Collector clearly state that the developer can begin work only after procuring environmental clearances and showing proof of how they are going to put the infrastructural facilities in place. However, the Collector has ignored this duty and has not monitored the same. As a result, the commencement document (which has listed conditions to the builder before commencing work) is being used as a blanket sanction to start the project. (What's also shocking is that one developer, on the basis of a commencement certificate of one 'special township', replicated it in another area, without applying for a separate permission."

Mr Kumbhar further states, "Thanks to the negligence of the Collector in enforcing the norms for special townships stringently, developers are getting away by claiming they are building special townships, when in reality they would be mere housing societies on a bigger scale. One of the premier so-called special townships has shown a picturesquely landscaped setting on its website, when in reality it continues to be an abandoned quarry with no infrastructure in place even now."

"Indians living abroad tend to book properties based on what they see on these websites (and giving the power of attorney to a family member/friend) and this can be very risky. Hence, it is essential that they be able to see genuine information about these projects on the Pune Collector's website, so they are not cheated."


In April this year, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan stated in the legislative assembly that the special township scheme was tilted heavily in favour of the developer and that a review was required to bring in more affordable housing schemes. This is because the government has granted envious sops to the developer, like automatic non-agricultural permission, concession in stamp duty and development charges and a floating FSI. In lieu of this, the government has not got affordable housing in these townships that were supposed to be "inclusive".

HOW was the idea of Special Townships triggered off?

Wikipedia says: "Magarpatta is a self-contained residential-cum-industrial / corporate settlement spanning over 400 acres. It is situated along the Pune-Solapur Highway, in Hadapsar, Pune. Magarpatta City initiated processes towards private development of the 'Integrated Township' at such a scale in the country. The success of its development was instrumental in the state government of Maharashtra incorporating a key legislation, called the Special Township Notification of 2006, a part of the Maharashtra Regional & Town Planning Act of 1976, based on which many integrated township projects in Pune have sprung up.''

SPECIAL Township Policy - concessions given to the developer:

The Government of India has announced its policy to permit 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) for the development of integrated townships. In order to encourage private investment in the housing sector and to facilitate housing at affordable prices, the following incentives will be available for projects under the Special Township Area:
i) Non-agriculture permission will be automatic.
ii) Exemption from Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976.
iii) Government land falling under  township area shall be leased out to the developer at the current market rate.
iv) The condition that only agriculturist will be eligible to buy agriculture land shall not be applicable in Special Township Areas.
v) There shall be no ceiling limit for holding agriculture land to be purchased by the owner/developer for such project.
vi) There will be floating FSI in the township. Unused FSI of one plot can be used anywhere in the whole township.
vii) The stamp duty rates applicable in the Special Township area shall be 50% of prevailing rates.
viii) A Special Township Project shall be partially exempted from payment of scrutiny fee for processing the development proposal.
ix) 50% concession in payment of development charge.
x) Development of basic infrastructure and amenities.