Monday, October 31, 2016

SCS: JP suggests a compromise formula

Ongole: As the Centre grapples with conflicting demand for special category status (SCS) from many states, Lok Satta founder president Jayaprakash Narayan has suggested a compromise formula for according SCS to Andhra Pradesh without hurting the interests of other States.

Maintaining that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa was in a way right demanding any industrial incentives given to Andhra Pradesh should be extended to her State as well, Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan told reporters that the Centre could consider providing income tax and Excise duty concessions to about 60 to 70 backward districts in the country, including those in Rayalaseema and north coastal Andhra as a via media. In this manner, Andhra Pradesh with its vast coastline could leapfrog in growth when compared to other states without inviting objections from other states, he added.

He termed too minimal the concessions like the additional depreciation and 15 per cent investment allowance on the cost of plant and machinery during 2015-2020 period promised by the Centre to the State.

Polavaram project

Full funding of the Polavaram irrigation project was a blessing to the beleaguered State though its construction progressed at a snail's pace, he said.
He opined that the second major sea port in the public sector should be set up in Ramayapatnam as it was most suited for the project when compared to Dugarajapatnam, which was close to avian paradise of Pulicat lake andeconomically unviable because of its closeness to Krishnapatnam, Ennore and Chennai ports. Vast stretches of the government land was available in Prakasam district which had originally been preferred for setting up the project by the State Cabinet before Dugarajapatnam got the Centre’s nod but without any progress in grounding, he added.

Fund devolution

He also pressed for devolution of Rs. 5,000-crore funds from the State to gram panchayats and wards to allow the civic issues to be addressed by local bodies themselves.

He called for a thorough revamp of the education system as according to a survey India stood at 73rd position among 74 countries in terms of skills exhibited by children in the areas of mathematics, reading and science. 

Courtesy: The Hindu

Friday, October 28, 2016

Lok Satta Party Income and Expenditure 2015-16

ParticularsAs on 31-03-2016
RECEIPTS
Opening Balance
Cash in Hand 101,393
Cash at Bank 3,460,511
Membership Fee 267,153
Contributions 4,791,890
Other Income 1,216,397
Loans & Advances 322,008
Sale of Assets 60,000
Fixed Deposits 9,159,403
TOTAL 19,378,753
PAYMENTS
Administration & Establishment Expenses 3,523,518
Promotion & Propagation Expenses 7,678,311
Election Campaign Exp. 499,675
Flood Relief Fund Expenses 7,800
TDS Receivables 78,101
Advances 1,582,612
Fixed Assets -
Fixed Deposits 2,897,610
Investments 78,418
Closing Balance
Cash in Hand 75,113
Cash at Bank 2,957,596
TOTAL 19,378,753

Monday, October 24, 2016

Enact service delivery law to improve public services


పౌరసేవల చట్టం అమలు చేయాలి


విద్యావిధానంలో మార్పులు అవసరం


అందరికీ నాణ్యమైన విద్య అందించాలి


అవినీతి అంతంతోనే సామాన్యులకు విముక్తి



అవినీతి నిర్మూలన చట్టాన్ని పక్కాగా అమలు చేయాలి


యూత్ పార్లమెంట్ ను చూసి చట్టసభల సభ్యులు సిగ్గుపడాలి


Sunday, October 23, 2016

లోక్ సత్తా రద్దు కాలేదు


రాజకీయాలు, వ్యవస్థలో మార్పు కోసం కృషి


పార్టీ రద్దు కాలేదు.. ఎన్నికల్లో పోటీ చేస్తాం


కమ్యూనిస్టులు కలసి వస్తారని భావిస్తున్నాం - లోక్ సత్తా వ్యవస్థాపక అధ్యక్షుడు జేపీ


సమాజంలో మార్పు అవసరం


అధికారంలో ఉన్నవారికన్నా.. ఎక్కువ ప్రభావం చూపిన లోక్ సత్తా


Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Letter to KCR on Right to Public Services Bill

19th October 2016

To
Shri K.Chandrashekar Rao
Chief Minister of Telangana
Hyderabad.

Dear Sri Chandrashekar Rao garu,

I have read news reports of your resolve to improve the quality of delivery of services in Telangana state, and your government's intention to enact a law for this purpose. I congratulate you on this extremely important, people-centered initiative and I whole heartedly welcome it. Enactment of a well-designed service delivery law prescribing time limits for each service, and providing compensation for every day's delay will be milestone in the journey of Telangana State for good governance. Such a law will have far greater impact on governance than even the Right to Information Act and Lokpal Act.

Foundation for Democratic Reforms and Lok Satta movement have been working on Citizen's Charters and a service guarantee law for several years. We have also had detailed interaction with the Parliamentary Committee on the subject. At the instance of the Parliamentary Committee, we have prepared a draft Bill integrating normal service delivery with electronic services. In this age of increasing computerization, it is vital that we integrate all forms of services and ensure a single, effective, enforceable law to improve most services to ordinary people and ensure convergence of services to facilitate easy access.

I am herewith enclosing the draft Right to Public Services (RTPS) Bill for Telangana State. Following are the key features of the Draft Right to Public Services Bill:

1. Statutory Guaranteed Citizen's Charters for all Public Services

The Draft Bill mandates every 'public authority' as defined under clause (q) of section 2 of the Bill to publish Citizen's Charters, specifying the list of goods and services offered by the public authority, the names and the details of the official responsible, the time-limit for the delivery and in case of delay/denial of service, a robust complaint redressal mechanism. Additionally, the 'public authority' has an obligation to periodically review, update and verify the Citizens' Charters.

2. Effective and Instant Grievance Redressal Mechanism

Every public authority must establish information and facilitation centres and customer care helplines, as a part of the complaint redressal mechansim. Moreover, every public authority must designate as many officers, at the Department level, as Grievance Redressal Officers in order to receive, inquire into and redress any complaints from citizens. Such grievances must be disposed of in a time frame not exceeding thirty days from the date of receipt. This provision is in sharp contrast to a regular lawsuit that is generally time-consuming and cost ineffective.

3. Lean process of appeal

A citizen aggrieved by the decision of the concerned Grievance Redressal Officer in respect of a complaint filed by him, may within thirty days from the expiry, file an appeal to the Independent Designated Authority (IDA), who is the first appellate authority at the Corporation/District level. The IDA shall dispose such appeal within a time frame not exceeding thirty days. Thereafter, any citizen, who is aggrieved by the decision of the IDA, may file a second appeal to the office of the Lokayukta, who is the highest appellate authority under the said Bill.

4. Penalty and Compensation mechanism

The Draft Bill confers power upon the two appellate authorities, namely, the Independent Designated Authority and the office of the Lokayukta, to impose penalty on the erring public official, who is responsible for delivery of goods and services or the concerned Grievance Redressal Officer for failure to deliver goods and services to the aggrieved citizen within the specified time-limit. Also, the Independent Designated Authority or the office of the Lokayukta shall ensure that the aggrieved citizen is compensated by an amount which is equivalent to the penalty imposed against the designated official.

5. Burden of Proof

The draft Bill further provides that in any appeal proceedings, the burden of proof to establish a non-redressal of complaint by the Grievance Redressal Officer shall be on the Grievance Redressal Officer who denied the request to such aggrieved citizen.

We hope that this Draft RTPS Bill would effectively translate into reality your government's commitment to deliver goods and services in a transparent, accountable and responsive manner. It will also lessen the burden on the public exchequer, as the existing Lokayukta will be the apex authority supervising and ensuring the overall implementation of the RTPS regime. Consequently, the existing judicial mechanism vested with the Lokayukta will be further strengthened.

We will be happy to interact with you and your officials to help enact a sound law to make the governance and bureaucracy accessible, transparent and accountable.

With Warm Personal Regards,
Yours Sincerely,

Jayaprakash Narayan,
General Secretary

Copy to:
Sri Etela Rajendar, Minister for Finance & Planning, Small Savings, State Lotteries, Consumer Affairs, Legal Metrology, Civil Supplies

Sri K.T.Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, Public Enterprises, Sugar, Mines & Geology, NRI Affairs

Sri A. Indra Karan Reddy, Ministry for Law

Dr.Rajiv Sharma, Chief Secretary, Telangana State

Sri Santosh Reddy, Law Secretary, Telangana State












పౌరసేవల చట్టం తెస్తున్న తెలంగాణ ప్రభుత్వానికి అభినందనలు - నమూనా చట్టాన్ని కేసీఆర్ కి పంపిన జేపీ




Sunday, October 16, 2016

Govts faulted for not focusing on forensics



Blaming successive governments for failing to establish quality forensic labs across the country, former MLA and founder of Lok Satta People’s Movement Jayaprakash Narayan pointed that this was resulting in lower conviction rates. He said that though the government spends an average of Rs 10,000 crore daily, it never believed in setting up forensic labs in every district of the country. He estimated that it would cost a one-time investment of Rs 1500 crore for establishment and upkeep of good forensics labs in every district which is vital for the justice system.

He was speaking at the Ninth Foundation Day celebrations of Truth Labs on Saturday on the theme ‘Society, Truth and Justice’.

Citing the example of Sunanda Pushkar case, he said that he was disgusted to know that the DNA analysis of the wife of a former Union minister took almost an year.

Improve convictions

“The conviction rate in the 1960’s was around 65 per cent. Today it is just one/third or around 30 per cent. If there is no confession from the accused, then the conviction rate is less than 10 per cent. This is not how a system should function. Beating up the accused is not the only way to solve a case,” he said while laying emphasis on forensics.

Delivering the keynote address former Governor of Tamil Nadu PS Ramamohan Rao said that the importance of private labs has grown because of the step-motherly treatment meted out to state labs which are also undermanned by the government. He said that it was also a business opportunity for those who want to start private forensic labs as forensics play a major role in the dispensation of justice.

Former Director General, Vigilance and Enforcement, AP C. Anjaneya Reddy and Chairman AP Electricity Regulatory Board Justice G. Bhavani Prasad spoke about the need for radical reforms in the existing justice delivery mechanisms in the country.

Founder and chairman Truth Labs Gandhi PC Kaza said that he had been able to serve the nation through his forensics laboratory as they work closely not just with the top government investigating agencies but also with the courts. He said that they have clients in every sector thanks to the credibility earned over the years.

సమాజహితం కోసమే 'ట్రూత్ ఫౌండేషన్'


ఫోరెన్సిక్ ప్రయోగశాలలు లేక కేసుల విచారణ జాప్యం: జేపీ



గ్రేటర్ సమస్యలపై లోక్ సత్తా పోరాటం


భీశెట్టికి అభినందనలు


Lok Satta Times Oct 16th-31st, 2016

Lok Satta Times Oct 16th-31st, 2016 can be downloaded from the following link.

http://ap.loksatta.org/documents/lstimes/lstimes-2016-10-16-31.pdf

Saturday, October 1, 2016