"A Unique style of Suppression of vital Information and Documents pertaining to Project MIHAN and SEZ by MADCL"
Penal Action demanded against the MADCL official by RTI applicant
Nagpur, dated 12.08.2010.
Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd. (MADCL) has adopted a Unique style of Suppression of vital important relevant Information and Documents pertaining to Project MIHAN and SEZ and denied the said information & document by a order passed in a most casual manner by its Public Information Officer straightaway rejecting the application seeking said relevant vital and important information and document.
Interestingly, this all is done by Mr. C.S.Gupta, Public Information Officer and Chief Engineer of MADCL at Mumbai who having sit on an application under RTI submitted on 22.01.2009, surprisingly disposed off the same without providing a single information or documents vide his letter dated 06.08.2010 i.e. after keeping silence on it for more than 18 months.
Adv. Mr. Vinod Tiwari, General Secretary of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, who had applied to MADCL on 22.01.2009 under Right to Information Act has now filed an appeal to Appellate Authority - now with Mr. R.C.Sinha, VC & CMD of MADCL and also lodged his complaint with Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra for taking appropriate action against the PIO of MIHAN - MADCL u/s 24 of RTI Act which provides a penalty @ Rs. 250 per day upon deliberate and willful attempt not to provide information under RTI Act to the applicant, the amount of such penalty comes to Rs.1,35,000/-, if imposed by Chief Information Commissioner.
It all happened when the RTI applicant - Adv. Tiwari upon concrete information that MADCL has caused great irregularities and illegalities in its functioning in gross violation of the provisions of various Llaws, Statutes, Rules, Regulations and the Constitutional provisions governing Panchayat Raj & the fundamental rights of the citizens specially the farmers, in which acquisition of land has been done on misleading & false information and entire process of land acquisition was being wrong and illegal ab-initio and its onward allotment & disposal of the said land to various units was also done and highly illegal and in irregular manner.
The said application under RTI was came to be filed in order to verify the said allegations prior to filing a Litigation and/or other alternate remedies, applicant wanted this relevant & most vital information at this stage and hence submitted the application under RTI to MADCL for getting following important information and documents, as sought by Adv. Tiwari
1. Copy of Govt. of Maharashtra notification regarding permission / Authority for incorporation of Maharashtra Airport Development Co. Ltd. (MADCL) as a Special Purpose Company (SPC) with details of authorized & paid up share capital of shareholders of said SPC Company.
2. Copy of Govt. of Maharashtra notification issued under Maharashtra Regional & Town Planning Act declaring MADCL as Special Planning Authority for MIHAN Project.
3. Copy of Govt. of Maharashtra Draft Development Plan/map alongwith Draft development control rule framed by MADCL as Special Planning Authority for MIHAN Project.
4. Copy of Govt. of Maharashtra approved/sanction development plan/map alongwith approved / sanctioned development control rule framed by MADCL as Special Planning Authority for MIHAN Project.
5. Copy of Govt. of Maharashtra Draft & Approved/sanction (both) development map of land use planning alongwith approved / sanctioned development control rule framed by MADCL as Special Planning Authority for MIHAN Project.
6. Copies of No Objection Certificates & Resolution passed by Gram Panchayats – Local Bodies of the respective villages falling under the boundaries & jurisdiction of MIHAN PROJECT.
7. Copies of application made by MADCL for the purpose of Environmental Clearance submitted for MIHAN Project as a whole to Ministry of Environment & Forest, Govt. of India, New Delhi and also to Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB).
8. Copy of Environment Clearance issued by Ministry of Environment & Forest., Govt. of India, New Delhi for various projects under MIHAN.
9. Copies of Consent to Establish & Consent to Operate issued by MPCB for various projects under MIHAN.
10. Copies of Balance sheets & Statement of Accounts of MADCL for the financial year 2001-2002, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 as on the year ending date on respective date - 31st March of the respective closing year.
11. Copies of applications filed with Land Acquisition Officers for acquisition of land alongwith details the documents appended to the said applications.
12. Copies of Government Notification issued by Land Acquisition Officer for acquisition of land and award passed therein.
13. Details of funds made available to the Land Acquisition Officer against respective applications and notifications of Land Acquisition made by the MADCL from time to time.
14. Copies of applications of SEZ made by MADCL to Ministry of Commerce, New Delhi.
15. Copies of entire correspondence by and between MADCL and Government of India, Ministry of Commerce & Industires, New Delhi in respect of SEZ Project of MADCL alongwith copies of permission, approvals, rejections, withdrawals received in respect of said SEZ Project.
16. Copies of sanction of financial advance / assistance / Bank Loan, etc. received by MADCL from respective bankers.
17. Copies of application of funds out of the bank loan availed.
18. Copies of statement of accounts of the amount spent on the overseas & Inland Tour & Travels by the Vice-Chairman & MD of MADCL and other Directors of MADCL which has been spent from the accounts of MADCL for the period 01-04-2002 to 31stMarch, 2008 (7 Years).
19. Copies and Statement of Accounts of amount spent on publicity & propaganda of MIHAN Project by deploying different rented agencies / political leaders including funds made available to such rented political leaders for advocating the MIHAN Project through various Workshops, Seminars, Presentations and Conferences held at various places in India & Abroad during last 7 Years.
20. Details of land allotment by MADCL to different parties, Details of infrastructure being made available alongwith the amounts spent on such infrastructure till date, Details of land used by the respective companies / beneficiaries. Details of unutilized lands by such companies, Details of balance and surplus land with MADCL, Details of allotment orders in such allotment of lands and the conditions of such allotment.
21. Details of the selling rates, amount recovered from respective allottees till date.
22. Details of litigations with land owners, land allottees and other parties filed by MADCL or filed against MADCL by the different persons / parties and its present status.
23. Copies of correspondence by & between MADCL with Airport Authority of India & Ministry of Civil Aviation, Govt of India, New Delhi in connection with various issues pertaining to the Projects of MADCL at Nagpur, Nasik, Kolhapur, Jalgaon & other cities of Maharashtra & Andhra Pradesh.
24. Copies of letters and correspondence by & between MADCL and Nellore Andhra Pradesh Project of AP and other projects in Maharashtra and Karnataka being undertaken by MADCL.
But, when the applicant Adv. Tiwari started following up for the said information sought by himMr. C.S.Gupta, Public Information Officer and Chief Engineer of MADCL at Mumbai having sit on application under RTI submitted on 22.01.2009, surprisingly disposed off the same without providing a single information or documents vide his letter dated 06.08.2010 i.e. after keeping silence on it for more than 18 months. In his order passed in a very casual manner rejected entire application without disposing it on merit in brazen violation of the provisions of Right to Information Act and killing the process of transparency in the Government control bodies like MIHAN and MADCL. Now applicant Adv. Mr. Tiwari has prefered an appeal to Appellate Authority - now with Mr. R.C.Sinha, VC & CMD of MADCL and also lodging his complaint with Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra for taking appropriate action against the PIO of MIHAN u/s 24 of RTI Act which provides a penalty @ Rs. 250 per day upon deliberate and willful attempt not to provide information under RTI Act to the applicant.
