RTI activists demand removal of tainted SCIC
TNN 30 November 2009, 03:51am IST
LUCKNOW: The RTI activists have approached Governor B L Joshi
individually and in small groups requesting him to take action against
the state chief
information commissioner (SCIC) Ranjit Singh Pankaj. A group of
activists handed over a memorandum to the governor office on Friday.
The opposition against Pankaj started after All India Right to
Information Awareness forum submitted a memorandum to governor a
fortnight back. The RTI activists and activist organisations wrote to
the governor to stop Pankaj from attending the office of the state
chief information commissioner in compliance to the section 17 of the
Right to Information Act, 2005.
"We are alarmed and distressed to learn that the present Uttar Pradesh
chief information commissioner, Sri Ranjit Singh Pankaj has been
penalised by the Allahabad high court," read the memorandum. The court
had slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on him for "favouring a lessee
involved in illegal mining" during his previous stint as mining
secretary.
The memorandum further stated that "even earlier to his appointment as
SCIC, the charges of corruption were levelled against him while he was
the district magistrate of Gorakhpur in 2008. The charges were
corroborated by the divisional commissioner, P K Mohanty, who
conducted an inquiry into the selection process of 3,448 safai
karamcharis. The probe report, acting on which the government
cancelled all the appointments, held Pankaj responsible for violating
norms and handpicking men of his choice, who later committed
irregularities, including accepting bribes."
"We are compelled to come together, endorse the concerns as stated
above, recommend and demand immediate removal of SCIC from office,"
said the memorandum. "We have been assured of necessary action in the
matter within 15 days' time by the governor's office," said activist,
Urvashi Sharma. The RTI activists, including Neeraj Kumar, Dev Dutt
Sharma and Akhilesh Saxena, signed the memorandum.
--
urvashi sharma
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