Thursday, March 22, 2012

Full Text of Public Interest Litigation, PIL by Advocates, Vilakshan Singh and Dewaker Sharma before the Hon'ble Jammu and Kashmir High Court on the Mining Issue at Famous Trikuta Hill, Vaishno Devi, Katra, Jammu.

Note: In the case, the Hon'ble High Court has ordered Status Quo till next date of hearing 





BEFORE THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF J&K AT JAMMU
                                   

     PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION  PETITION No:…………/2012

  1. VILAKSHANA SINGH,         Age ..32 Years
S/O Late Sh. Jagdish Singh Dogra,
R/O Sidhra, By Pass, Jammu. 

2.  DEWAKAR SHARMA            Age 35 Years
S/O Sh. Dharam Parkash Sharma
R/O 29, Vinayak Bazar, Jammu  
                                                                           ……..PETITIONERS 

                     V/S 

1.  UNION OF INDIA
THROUGH SECRETARY
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS,
PARYAVARAN BHAWAN,
C G O COMPLEX,                                     
LODI ROAD, NEW DELHI – 110003. 

2.  STATE OF J&K
THROUGH CHIEF SECRETARY,
CIVIL SECRETARIAT, JAMMU.

3.  COMMISSIONER/SECRETARY
TO J&K GOVT. INCHARGE,
DEPARTMENT OF FOREST AND WILD LIFE
CIVIL SECRETARIAT, JAMMU.

4.  NATIONAL BOARD FOR WILD LIFE
THROUGH CHAIRPERSON
PARYAVARAN BHAWAN,
C G O COMPLEX,
LODI ROAD, NEW DELHI – 110003.

5.  STATE BOARD FOR WILD LIFE
THROUGH CHAIR PERSON
CIVIL SECRETARIAT, JAMMU. 

6.  J&K MINERAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION,
THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN
33-B/B, IIND EXTENSION, GANDHINAGAR, JAMMU - 180 004. 
7.  NATIONAL MINERAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN
KHANIJ BHAVAN, MASAB TANK, HYDERABAD – 500028.

8.  J&K CHIEF WILD LIFE WARDEN
CIVIL SECRETARIAT, JAMMU. 

9.  SHRI MATA VAISHNO DEVI SHRINE BOARD,
THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN
KATRA VAISHNO DEVI,
REASI.

10.   .  STATE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
   THROUGH ITS CHAIRMAN,
    NARWAL JAMMU.
             RESPONDENTS
IN THE MATTER OF: 
Public Interest Litigation Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 103 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir for issuance of an appropriate writ, order or direction in the nature of writ of:
CERTIORARI thereby quashing and setting aside the order in pursuance of letter dated 3rd May 2011 issued by Respondent No.1 granting environmental clearance to Project No. F.No.J-11011/348/2009-IA II(I) in favour of Respondent No.6; 
CERTIORARI thereby quashing and setting aside orders passed by Respondent No. 4 and 2  in pursuance of recommendations made by Standing Committee of Respondent No. 4 in its 22nd meeting held on 25th April 2011 wherein recommendations for denotification of Trikuta Wild Life sanctuary was made;  
CERTIORARI thereby quashing and setting aside orders passed by Respondent No. 4 and 2  in pursuance of recommendations made by Standing Committee of Respondent No. 4 in its 23nd meeting held on 14 Oct 2011 wherein permission to extract 1240000 TPA High Grade Magnasite Diposit at Chipprian Hills and setting up of 30000 TPA of dead burnt Magnesia Plant at Village Panthal, Katra Reasi was granted in favour of Respondent No. 6 ;  
CERTIORARI thereby quashing and setting aside orders passed by Respondent No. 5 & 8 wherein recommendations were made for denotification of Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary and recommendations to extract 1240000 TPA High Grade Magnasite Diposit at Chipprian Hills and setting up of 30000 TPA of dead Burnt Magnesia Plant at Village Panthal, Katra Reasi were made; 
MANDAMUS directing Respondent No.9 to not to alienate the land held and owned by it in violation of the provisions of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act,1988. 
Such other additional or alternative relief, which this Hon’ble Court may in the facts and circumstances of the case deem fit and proper, be also passed in favour of the petitioners. 
May It Please Your Lordships,
The Petitioners most respectfully submits as under;
      The Petitioners most respectfully submit as under:-
1.  That the petitioners are the citizens of India and are permanent residents of State of J&K. Apart from this the petitioners are advocates by profession and are social activists. The petitioners on various occasions have acted and participated actively in safeguarding the legal rights of citizen of India, particularly the persons belonging to the economically weaker sections of society. The petitioners profess Sanatan Dharm and are devotees of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine. The petitioners have been associated with various social, environmental and Human Rights organizations and also took active participations in the events and workshops organized by these organizations which include AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. The petitioners are also associated and actively participated in the workshops organized by SANGARSH RIGHT TO INFORMATION MOVEMENT and WISCOMP INDIA (Women in Security, Conflict, Management and Peace).
2.  The instant petition is being filed by the petitioners representing the weaker sections of the community residing within the municipal area of Katra in district Reasi and General Public at large seeking a writ or order or direction in the nature of mandamus upon the respondents commanding them to forbear from changing or disturbing the environment and ecological pattern of land in respect of Trikuta Wildlife Sanctuary situated in Katra for the ostensible purpose of extracting Magnasite and setting up of plant of Dead Burnt Magnasite at Chipprian Hills, Chandwan and Panthal Village in district Reasi of Jammu at the instance of respondents or for any other purpose which might cause any such disturbance of ecology and environment.
3.  The petitioners submit that such extraction through mining, if effected would not only cause disaster to the ecology and environment of municipal area but it would be in violation of J & K Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act, 1988, Constitution of India as applicable to State of J & K and various guidelines of Apex Court issued time and again in catena of judgments.
4.  That the land on which extraction of Magnasite is to be carried out and on which the plant for Dead Burnt Magnasite is to established (herein after to be referred as Project Site) is on the private land exclusively owned and possessed by Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. As per letter issued by Government of India dated 3rd May 2011, the Project Site is located at 4 to 5 Kms distance radius of Trikuta Wildlife Sanctuary, at a distance of 2.9 Kms from altaf.hussain180 ----Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and around 3 Kms from Panthal town.
5.  That on 14/1/2011, a news item appeared in the leading National Newspaper “THE INDIAN EXPRESS”. It was reported in the said news that the Ministry of Environment and Forests had given environmental clearance to the project to be undertaken by Respondent no. 7 and 6 for mining of Magnesite and setting up of a plant for production Dead Burnt Magnesia at Panthal near Holy and famous Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. After reading the said news the petitioners downloaded a copy of the letter issued by Respondent no. 1 from the official website of respondent no.1. A copy of the said letter has been attached herewith as ANNEXURE-A
6.  That the above said sanction letter reveals that the respondent no.1  has given sanction to the proposal of respondent no. 6 (M/S J&K Mineral Development Corporation Ltd) for setting up of 0.03MTPA Dead Burnt Magnesite (DBM) plant with Magnesite mine (0.124 MTPA) at Chipprian hills and Panthal villages, District Reasi, Jammu and Kashmir. The said letter further reveals that the land requirement for the proposed plant is 19 ha. And the total land area for the mine and plant is 45.52ha. The total mining lease area is 485.3 ha. And the entire mine lease area belongs to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board as per the said sanction letter.
7.  That the environmental clearance was given subject to various specific and general conditions. One of the specific conditions imposed was that environmental condition is subject to obtaining clearance under the Wild life Protection Act, 1972 from the National Board for Wild Life.
8.  That obtaining clearance under the Wild Life Protection Act was necessary as the “Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary” is situated adjacent to mining area and is at a distance of 3 km from the mining pit.  It is pertinent to mention here that the Indian Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 is not applicable to the State of J&K. State of J&K has its own Act which is J&K State Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1978. 
9.  That from the web site of respondent no. 1, the petitioners came to know that the Standing Committee of respondent no. 4 (NBWL) has in its 22nd meeting held on 25-4-2011 recommended the denotification of the entire area of the Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary.   The said denotification was recommended subject to the certain conditions specified therein. A copy extracts of the minutes of 22nd meeting Standing Committee of Respondent no. 4 (National Board for Wild Life) is attached herewith as ANNEXURE-B.
10.   That Ms. Prerna Bindra , a member of the standing committee of NBWL had raised serious concern on the denotification of the Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary. She had e-mailed her dissent to be recorded officially. The text of her e-mail as recorded in the minutes of 22nd meeting of Standing Committee of NBWL are reproduced as under:-
This notification sets up a very precedent of denotifying entire sanctuaries. It has been decided this in lieu of the denotification another PA should be declared. As pointed out by Dr. MK Ranjitsinh, such a site- double the area of the current notification should be identified with a proper biodiversity survey, and put before the Board and first notified as a PA before any denotification of Trikuta Wildlife Sanctuary.”
11.   That after the denotification of the Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary was recommended in the 22nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Respondent no.4, the proposal for mining 1240000 TPA high grade Magnesite deposit at Chipprian Hills and setting up of 30,000 TPA Dead Burnt Magnesia Plant at Panthal near Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary was considered and recommended by Standing Committee of National Board for Wild Life subject to certain conditions mentioned therein in its 23rd meeting held on 14.10.2011. The said proposal categorically mentioned that it did not involve any felling of trees. A copy of the said proposal and the extracts of minutes of the 23rd meeting of Standing Committee of NBWL are, respectively, attached herewith as ANNEXURE-C and ANNEXURE-D.
12.   That when the petitioner no. 1 came to know that the Dead Burnt Magnesite (DBM) plant is to be constructed and Magnesite mining is to be carried out on the land owned by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, he filed an application dated 16.12.2011 under section 6 of J&K RTI , 2009. By virtue of the said application the petitioner no.1 sought information regarding the resolutions passed by the respondent no. 9 in respect the above said DBM plant and the Magnesite mine.  The Public Information Officer for respondent no. 9 provided the information to the petitioner no.1 vide his letter no. SMVDSB/CEO/ST/903 DATED 27/012012.  A copy each of the said application under RTI and said letter is attached herewith as ANNEXURE-E and  ANNEXURE-F.
13.   That the information provided by the Public Information Officer for the respondent no. 9 clearly reveals that Lease in respect of the land in possession of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board was given by the State Government without any resolution of the Shrine Board. The information further revealed that even the permission of the Shrine Board for granting mining lease, setting up of DBM plant and carrying out Magnesite mining was not sought by the respondents. The said information further revealed that NMDC has sought information about the cost of the compensatory afforestation and felling of trees in an area of 26.42 hectares under the possession of the Shrine Board for carrying out mining operation as per the Mining Lease. It is pertinent to mention here that as per the provisions of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act, 1988, “No land or immoveable property held by the Board shall be alienated except by a resolution of the Board.
14.That the petitioners seek indulgence  of this Hon’ble Court inter alia on the grounds which are based on various aspects as described herein after :-
                       ON ASPECT OF LEGALITY:
a. That the impugned orders are void and illegal as the same   has been made without adopting due process of law.
b. That the recommendation passed by the Standing Committee of NBWL in its 22nd meeting dated 25.04.2011 for denotification of Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary is without jurisdiction. It is pertinent to mention here that the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is not applicable to the State of J&K. State of J&K has its own Act which is J&K Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1978. National Board for Wild Life has been constituted under the Indian Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. But the said Act is not applicable to the state of J&K. The sub-section (2) of Section 25-A of J&K Wild Life Protection Act, 1978 provides that “No alteration of the boundaries of a sanctuary shall be made except on the recommendation of the Board and a resolution to this effect passed by both Houses of the State Legislature.” 
Denotification of a sanctuary involves alteration of boundaries and hence the denotification of a Wild Life Sanctuary in the State of J&K can be done only on the recommendations of State Wild Life Board and after the resolution to this effect is passed by both the houses of State Legislature. The recommendation made by Standing committee by NBWL is based only on the recommendation of SBWL and Chief wild Life warden wherein no where it is Stated that any resolution was ever been passed by Both the Houses of J&K State Legislature. Therefore, all the orders and recommendations which were passed in pursuance to the representation/recommendations made by Respondent Nos. 2,5, 6 and 8 are null and void as the same has been made by misrepresentation of facts and in contraventions of the Laws of land.
c.  That the recommendation passed by the Standing Committee of NBWL in its 23rd meeting dated 14.10.2011 for mining 1240000 TPA high grade Magnesite deposit at Chipprian Hills and setting up of 30,000 TPA Dead Burnt Magnesia Plant at Panthal near Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary is also without jurisdiction for the above stated reasons. Moreover the recommendation for setting up of DBM plant and for carrying out Magnesite extraction by mining and blasting was passed on the basis of the fact that the Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary was already allowed to be denotified by the Standing Committee of NBWL in its 22nd meeting. Since the basic recommendation for denotification of Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary is illegal, the recommendation given by the Standing Committee of NBWL for setting up of DBM plant and for carrying out Magnesite mining is bad in law.
d. That the land over which the mining has to be carried out and the DBM plant has to be set up is the private land of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. Under the provisions of Section 17 of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act, 1988, “No land or immoveable property held by the Board can be alienated except by a resolution of the Board.” That the information provided by the Public Information Officer of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board clearly states that there is no such resolution passed by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. It is further stated in the said information that even the permission of the Board has not been sought for in order to carry out said mining and setting up said plant.  Thus the mining lease granted by the Govt. of J&K is in violation of the Section 17 of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act, 1988. But surprisingly the Respondent No. 9 instead of safeguarding its rights is bent upon to alienate the property of the Board in contravention of the provisions of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act, 1988 in connivance with rest of respondents.
e. That the environmental clearance given by the Respondent no. 1 is subject to obtaining clearance from Respondent no. 4 NBWL, it is submitted herein that since the recommendations given by Respondent no. 4 are illegal and through misrepresentation therefore any clearance given by Respondent no. 1 is illegal and void abintio. The submissions made herein above can established from the fact that the proposal submitted by Respondent no. 6 stated that above said project did not involve any felling of trees. However the information furnished by Respondent no. 9 states that respondent no. 4 has sought information about the cost of compensatory afforestation and felling of tress in an area of 26.42 Ha. under the possession of Respondent no. 9 for carrying out mining operation as per mining lease. However Respondent no. 6 in its Directors’ report for the year 2009-10 in their Website states that demand note of Rs. 2.36 Crore has been raised by Respondent no. 9 towards the cost of felled trees, compensatory afforestation and net present value of land of 26.42 Ha. Based on this report as published by Respondent no. 6 it clearly reveals that not even a single inch of land has ever been legally alienated by Respondent no. 9, SMVDSB. Further nowhere in any report or recommendation by any respondent has ever mentioned the ownership of land by respondent no. 9 and impact of mining on the Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi. The copy of Director’s Report published by Respondent No. 6 on the web site of Respondent No. 4 for the year 2009-2010 is attached herewith as ANNEXURE G.
f.   That as per the information provided by Respondent No. 9, no expert opinion was ever sought by it regarding the impact of mining on Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and its Flora and Fauna which is again a failure on the part of Respondent No. 9 in safeguarding the welfare of property vested to it under Shrine Board Act.
g. That as per the list of clearances published by Respondent No.1 in its website indicated that no Public Hearing was ever done which was essential pre requisite for granting environment clearance to the said Project.
ON ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT :
h.   That Honourable Supreme Court of India has taken serious notes in catena of Judgments and  has expressed its dissent views on the denotification of National Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries which includes all protected areas for mining and other commercial projects and activities. The respondents in order to give  legal framework to the project has first recommended the denotification of  the entire Trikuta Wildlife Sanctuary and then the proposal for mining was passed on the assurance by Respondent(s) no. 2,5,6 and 8 that an alternative site shall be identified in order to maintain the statistics only and this action of the above said respondents is unfeasible, impracticable and beyond the scope of reasonableness so far as the existence of flora and fauna of Trikuta Wildlife Sanctuary and Trikuta Forests are concerned.
i.   That the Trikuta Wildlife Sanctuary is inhabited by rare and endangered species like Leopard, Goral, Peafowl, Wolf, Langoor, Macaw and various other species of animals and birds. Apart from these the Trikuta Forest and Trikuta Wildlife Range is also famous for various botanical and zoological  species and serves as living laboratories for testing out and demonstrating integrated management of land, water and biodiversity. Variety of trees like Silk Cotton Tree , Chinese Tallow Tree , Indian Odina Tree , Indian Smoke Bush , Maples, green leafy Pines ,Laurels , Monkey Face Trees and leafless Maples , Spindle Trees and Horse Chestnut Trees, Indian Jonquil , Narcissus tazetta locally called Heer minjar in Dogri and Yamberjal in Kashmiri, Indian Collyrium , Colchicum luteum locally called Surunjaa in Dogri and Virkimposh in Kashmiri, Silk Cotton Trees ,Bombax ceiba (Simbal ) and Indian Coral Tree ,Erythrina indica (Thubb )get laden with deep red flowers to provide feast to the alluring birds like Mynas ,Crows ,Treepies and Drongos, brilliant blooms of Indian Rose Tree , Rhododendron arboretum ( Chew , Madhaal ,Buraans ) .Now , floral basket of nature gets widely opened up and every inch of surroundings gets all possible hues and tints of flowers, decorative blooms like pink coloured Tulips(Maghoone , Magge ) , pink Geraniums ,yellow Winter Flax ( Basant , Phiyuli ) , golden Carrot Sage ,Eremostachys superba (Gaajarmoola), white Butterfly Buddlejas , Langoor Pear ,Pyrus pashia (Kainth ) ,brilliant blue Eranthemum pulchellum , Wild Musk Rose , Rosa brunonii ( Kareer ) and golden yellow Caesalpinia bonduc ( Dudhrehda ) among plethora like variety of plants which marked various significance in medicinal as well as in maintaining ecology and biodiversity at these forests. . Decorative Indian Orchid Tree, Bauhinia variegata locally called Katraid is followed by the attractive blooms of Flame Of The Forest in the backdrop of Trikuta hills to add colour and charm to the surroundings. Palash ,Butea monosperma but also beautiful blooms of Indian Laburnum ,Cassia fistula ( Karangal , Amaltaas ) , Scarlet Flame Bush ( Dhaai ,Dhaataki ) , Gulmohar ,Delonix regia , Jacaranda mimosaefolia , Wendlandia heyneii (Pansar ) , Melia azederach ( Dhraink ) ,Sterculia pallens (Udaal ) and Ehretia serrata ( Pauna )monsoon herbs shrubs , trees and climbers . Leucas capitata ( ,Phumman , Dronpushpi ), Gloriosa superba ( Kalihaari , K ukkadsira ) , Strobilanthes alatus ( Pardaah ) , Mimosa rubicaulis ( Raal ) , Ipomea purpurea ( Kharpowa , Ishaqpecha) , Martynia annua ( Bhiddu ,Kaun ) , Impatiens balsamina ( Teera ,Gulmehndi ) , Rabdosia rugosa ( Salaiee , Peeunmaar ) , Mirabilis jalapa ( Gulbaasi ) , Cestrum nocturnum (Raat ki Raani ) , Lagerstroemia indica ( Panjtaara ) ,Oroxylum indicum ( Taatra , Marinjan ), these trees, shurbs of Trikuta Hills and Vaishno Devi Shrine are vital links in the forest ecology and are a source of food for numerous bees , butterflies, birds and other wildlife of the area . These vegetation are basis of future greenery and important for providing multiple and indispensable ecological , cultural , economic services to the local communities of the area, Spoiling nature and its manifestations in one or the other way is sure to attract wrath of our sacred shrines and we need to look at nature with same reverence as we have for our places of worship.
j.   That the proposed project is also going to cause various health hazards to the residents of Katra, Panthal  as well as to around 10 million people from all over the world who visit the historical and famous Shakti Peeth Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.
k. That the Respondent No. 1 on the one hand declared in its 6th National meet on State Bio Diversity Board at Chandigarh that Shivalik Hills would be notified as the country's first Inter-State Biosphere Reserve with the setting up of a bio-diversity corridor there to protect its natural habitat, flora and fauna and the States includes Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand and on the other side the Respondents without any application of mind and without keeping due regards to the sanctity of their own decisions are bent upon to destroy the areas which are already declared as Protected Areas. 
l.      As per the research made by SKAWAHLOOK FIRST NATION (as reported in http://www.skawahlook.com/cogburn-magnesium-project.php) a Canada Based Organization on Cogburn Magnesium Project has find out that Magnesium has been identified as a major source of Hazardous Air Pollutants including chlorine, hydrochloric acid, Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) such as dioxins and furans and trace amounts of Hazardous Air Polluting Metals including phosphorous and manganese.
Prolonged human contacts with these substances have been demonstrated to cause the following health problems:
·        Damage to the liver, kidney, thyroid, endocrine Glands,
·        immune and nervous systems.
·        Birth Defects
·        Cancer
·        Child Growth Retardation
·        Stunted intellectual function
·        Decreased survival rates in children
·        Reduced levels of male reproductive hormones
·        Diabetes
It is submitted that, in addition to the potential harm the magnesite refining plant would have on our community, the proposed plant would also alter the flow of natural water sources and also the problem of water contamination, as the report said, is beyond control both by disposal of contaminated water and by percolation. Both the contamination and alteration in water flow would have a negative impact on the quality and quantity of water, fish habitat, fish, fishery, wetland, wildlife habitat, wildlife It is submitted that the respondents without going through the impact of denotification as well as mining over the endangered species, has acted in a very arbitrary and unreasonable manner. Even the disposal of solid waste material amounting to about 14.23 Lac Ton per year, as suggested by Respondent No. 6, is directly affecting the ecology of surrounding areas. 


ON HISTORICAL ASPECT: 
m.  That Shri Mata Vaishno Devi temple is nearly assumed to be million year old that was studied by geologists. It is not possible to predict the exact age of the temple. Vaishno Devi temple is not mentioned in the Rig Vedas, but mountain Trikoot is mentioned in the Vedas. The worshiping of Shakti started in Puranic period. The first mention of Maa Shakti (Mahamaya Shakti – Supreme Mother Power) is in Mahabharata. This was mentioned by Arjun when he prayed to Mother Goddess on advise of Krishna he said “Jambookatak Chityaishu Nityam Sannihitalaye”. This means prayer to Shakti who resides in the mountains of Jamboo. Generally it is assumed that this is the reference to Vaishno Devi temple, which is located in Jammu. May be, Jammu in old times was called as Jamboo.
It is also believed that Pandavas were the first to construct temple of Goddess adjacent to the Trikoot Mountain and the five stones inside Vaishno Devi temple is said to be symbols of Five Pandavas. Oldest reference for Vaishno Devi temple is when Guru Govind Singh goes there from Purmandal. Purmandal is a pilgrimage center which has an old foot track for Vaishno Devi temple. Vaishno Devi temple is believed to be the place where skull of Sati fell. Some do believe that right arm of Sati fell there and Vaishno Devi temple also have the stone shaped human hand called as Varad Hast which means “the hand that gives blessings”.
   According to Hindu philosophy, the goal of human life is the realization of the state of peace. Dharma, loosely translated as religion, is the source by which peace can be fully realized. This peace is not the stillness of death; it is a dynamic harmony among all the diverse facets of life. Humanity, as part of the natural world, can contribute through dharma to this natural harmony                                    .
 The natural harmony that should exist in the play of energies between humanity and the natural world is now disrupted by the weakest player in the game: humanity. Although it is the totality of this game that provides our nourishment, through ignorance of our own natural limits we destroy this source of nourishment.

This awareness of ecological play or playful ecology is inseparable from awareness of the need for friendship and play as the real basis for human relationship. The family within which these relationships are nourished is not limited to its human members. Just as the human child has to be nourished by Mother Nature, and the human spirit has to be embraced and loved by beautiful nature, so the human being who has grown old or sick has to be supported by caring nature. If humans distress the mother, rape the beauty, and beat the caring nurse, what happens? The relationship collapses, and the family is broken.
The Sanskrit for family is parivara, and environment is paryavarana. If we think of the environment as our home and all of its members as our family it is clear that the key to conserving nature is devotion, love—giving and serving. Nature, prakriti, as the feminine can give and serve. But the role of humanity, purusha, is then to protect. Nowadays purusha, humanity, is interested not in protecting but in exploiting, so prakriti, nature, has to defend herself. This is why we see nature in her furious manifestation—in drought, floods, or hurricanes. On this ground also the permission and all other clearances by respondents for operation of said project is required to be quashed. 
      ON ASPECT OF VIABILITY:
n. The proposed project is not viable as far as necessity is concerned. The Annual Director’s Report for the year 2009-10 as published by Respondent No. 6 in website of Respondent no. 7 (www.nmdc.co.in) reflects that there was negligible demand in the market for magnesite and due to inadequate demand in the market, the Respondent no. 6 was on the verge of closure. However in the Annual report for the year 2010-11, it was stated that the demand for Magnesite has increased. The demand as such expressed by Respondent no. 6 is unwarranted and uncalled for taking into consideration the percentage of deposit in J&K Viz a Viz Rest of India. It is submitted that the report published by Indian Bureau of Mines in its website (www.ibm.nic.in) has clearly stated that out of total expected reserves of magnesite in all over India, J&K has only 0.2% of magnesite deposit. It is submitted that the rise in demand which has been projected by Respondent n. 6 in its Annual Report for the years 2010-11can be supplied from the reserves which are already available in abundance in Various other states of India. Copy of relevant extracts of Annual Directors Report for the year 2010-2011 are enclosed herewith as ANNEXURE-H collectively and the copy of Report of Indian Bureau of Mines regarding percentage share of deposits of Magnesite throughout India is enclosed herewith as ANNEXURE-J. 
           It is submitted that the state of J&K in order to meet out the demand of Dead Burnt Magnesium can enter into various MoUs with States having abundance of Magnesite and thereby can protect flora and fauna as well as the sanctity of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine.
          The initiation of the project which is although not viable can surely cause damage to Pilgrimage Tourism and thereby also cause damage to major source of economy of State of J&K to a large extent.
      It is further submitted that in the Year 2011 more than 10 million pilgrims visited Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and these pilgrims were not only attracted to the Holy Shrine but also to the flora and fauna of the surroundings which are still in its bloom due to existence of ecological balance maintained by Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary and any disturbance and interference caused by any act in furtherance to the mining will certainly collapse the balance and ultimately shall affect the pilgrimage and then the economy of State.  
15.That the petitioners state that the petitioners have not moved any other application on the same cause of action before the Hon’ble Court or any other court of law.
16.That the petitioners state that it is apparent that gross illegality has been  committed by respondents and they failed to look after the legal, environmental, religious, sentimental, social and economical aspects before forwarding nod to the project of mining and setting up of DBM Plant in the vicinity of  Trikuta wild Life sanctuary as well as Trikuta hills.  
17.That the petitioners have no other efficacious and alternative remedy.
18.That as indicated hereinabove, the petitioners are moving this petition in public good to protect the public interest and not intended to serve any interest of any individual and in case the orders, as prayed for hereunder, are not granted against the respondents, ultimately the public at large would suffer irreparable loss and injury. The petitioners are filing the present petition on their own and not at the instance of someone else. And the litigation costs have been borne out by the petitioner themselves.         
19.That this petition is being moved bona fide and in the interest of justice.
20.That the petitioners have not filed any other PIL petition.
   Affidavit in support of Public Interest Litigation petition is enclosed.
IN THE PREMISES
It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed before this Hon’ble Court that in view of the submissions made herein above, and those to be urged at the time of hearing your Lordship may be pleased to allow the present writ petition and issue the appropriate writ order or direction in the nature of :
      CERTIORARI thereby quashing and setting aside the order in pursuance of letter dated 3rd May 2011 issued by Respondent No.1 granting environmental clearance to Project No. F.No.J-11011/348/2009-IA II(I) in favour of Respondent No.6; 
      CERTIORARI thereby quashing and setting aside orders passed by Respondent No. 4 and 2  in pursuance of recommendations made by Standing Committee of Respondent No. 4 in its 22nd meeting held on 25th April 2011 wherein recommendations for denotification of Trikuta Wild Life sanctuary was made;  
      CERTIORARI thereby quashing and setting aside orders passed by Respondent No. 4 and 2  in pursuance of recommendations made by Standing Committee of Respondent No. 4 in its 23nd meeting held on 14 Oct 2011 wherein permission to extract 1240000 TPA High Grade Magnasite Deposit at Chipprian Hills and setting up of 30000 TPA of dead burnt Magnesia Plant at Village Panthal, Katra Reasi was granted in favour of Respondent No. 6 ;  
      CERTIORARI thereby quashing and setting aside orders passed by Respondent No. 5 & 8 wherein recommendations were made denotification of Trikuta Wild Life sanctuary and recommendations to extract 1240000 TPA High Grade Magnasite Diposit at Chipprian Hills and setting up of 30000 TPA of dead burnt Magnesia Plant at Village Panthal, Katra Reasi were made; 
      MANDAMUS directing Respondent No.9 to not to alienate the land held and owned by it in violation to the provisions of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act,1988. 
      Such other additional or alternative relief, which this Hon’ble Court may in the facts and circumstances of the case deem fit and proper, be also passed in favour of the petitioner. 
PETITIONERS
                                                    Vilakshana Singh
Dewakar Sharma
                    
IN THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU

Vilakshana Singh  & another  V/S  Union of India  & ors
IN THE MATTER OF: -
            AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF WRIT PETITION
 I, Vilakshana Singh , Age 32 years,  S/o Late Sh. Jagdish Singh Dogra R/o Sidhra By Pass, Jammu, Advocate J&K High Court, Jammu do hereby solemnly affirm and declare that I have read the petition and the contents of paras 1 to 2 and from para 15 to 20 are true to my personal knowledge which I believe to be true and those paras 3 to 14 are true from information received from records which I believe to be true.
I solemnly swear and affirm that this affidavit is true, no part of this is false and nothing has been concealed.
DEPONENT










 IN THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU

Vilakshana Singh  & another  V/S  Union of India  & ors
IN THE MATTER OF: -
            AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF CMP
 I, Vilakshana Singh , Age 32 years,  S/o Late Sh. Jagdish Singh Dogra R/o Sidhra By Pass, Jammu, Advocate J&K High Court, Jammu do hereby solemnly affirm and declare that I have read the petition and the contents of paras made in the CMP are true to my personal knowledge which I believe to be true and  are true from information received from records which I believe to be true.
I solemnly swear and affirm that this affidavit is true, no part of this is false and nothing has been concealed.
DEPONENT










IN THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU

Vilakshana Singh  & another  V/S  Union of India  & ors
IN THE MATTER OF: -
            AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF WRIT PETITION
 I, Dewakar Sharma , Age 35 years,  S/o  Sh. Dharam Parkash Sharma R/o 29, Vinayak Bazar, Jammu, Advocate J&K High Court, Jammu do hereby solemnly affirm and declare that I have read the petition and the contents of paras 1 to 2 and from para 15 to 20 are true to my personal knowledge which I believe to be true and those paras 3 to 14 are true from information received from records which I believe to be true.
I solemnly swear and affirm that this affidavit is true, no part of this is false and nothing has been concealed.
DEPONENT










IN THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU

Vilakshana Singh  & another  V/S  Union of India  & ors
IN THE MATTER OF: -
            AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF CMP
 I, Dewakar Sharma , Age 35 years,  S/o  Sh. Dharam Parkash Sharma R/o 29, Vinayak Bazar, Jammu, Advocate J&K High Court, Jammu do hereby solemnly affirm and declare that I have read the petition and the contents of paras made in the CMP are true to my personal knowledge which I believe to be true and  are true from information received from records which I believe to be true.
I solemnly swear and affirm that this affidavit is true, no part of this is false and nothing has been concealed.
DEPONENT










IN THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU
CMP NO:…………/2012   
Vilakshana Singh & another     V/S        Union of India & ors
IN THE MATTER OF:-  
                                          CMP for interim relief. 
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIPS:
      The humble petitioners most respectfully submit as under:-   
1.  That the petitioners have filed the above titled writ petition before this Hon’ble Court which is sure to succeed on merits.
2.  That the petitioners have made out a strong prima-facie case in their favour.
3.   That the balance of convenience is also in favour of the petitioner and against the Respondents.
4.  That in order to avoid repetition, the petitioners humbly submit that the grounds of the writ petition be also treated as part of this petition to meet the ends of justice.
5.  That in case the relief prayed in the CMP is not granted to the petitioners, the petitioners and the public at large including the devotees of Sh. Mata Vaishno Devi, maintenance in ecological balance of the area, the flora and fauna, the endangered species of plants, animals, herbs etc. shall suffer an irreparable loss and harm which will not be compensated later on by any mode.
   An affidavit in support of this CMP is annexed herewith.
It is, therefore, most humbly prayed that pending disposal of the accompanying writ petition, your Lordship may be pleased to call the whole of the records pertaining to:-
(i)          Environmental Clearance given by respondent no.1 to Panthal Magnesite Project No. F.No.J-11011/348/2009-IA II(I) in favour of respondent no.6
(ii)        Denotification as well as recommendations of denotification of Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary.
(iii)       Clearance by respondent no.4 to Panthal Magnesite Project No. F.No.J-11011/348/2009-IA II(I)    
(iv)       Record of Public Hearing, if any, held for the purposes   of granting Environmental Clearance to the     Panthal Magnesite Project No. F.No.J-11011/348/2009-IA II(I)    
It is further prayed that during the pendency of the main writ petition, Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to:-
(i)             direct the respondent no.2 to keep the order of denotification of Trikuta Wild Sanctuary in abeyance.
(ii)        direct the Respondent nos. 2, 4 and 6 not to carry any mining or other activity in the mine lease area in the vicinity of Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.  
(iii)      direct the respondent no.9 not to alienate land held by it in violation of provisions of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act.  ( relief as equally sought in main writ petition will bind the court to not to issue any directions..)
                     Any other relief which your Lordship may deem just and proper in the circumstances of the case may also be granted in favour of the petitioner.
PETITIONERS
                                                    Vilakshan Singh
Dewakar Sharma



 


IN THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU
Vilakshana Singh  & another  V/S  Union of India  & ors
IN THE MATTER OF:-
BRIEF FACTS
That the petitioners are Advocates and are practicing in High Court of J&K. Apart from providing legal services to needy and poor persons, the petitioners have also contributed themselves in various social and environmental causes. As active members of the various organizations the petitioners have contributed a lot into anti-corruption activities, Human Right activities through Amenesty International etc. The present writ petition has been filed against denotification of protected wildlife sanctuary named Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary in order to justify legality of proposed Mining without adhering to the Provisions of J&K Wild Life Protection Act and also without adhering to the various Supreme Court Guidelines. Further, the said proposed mining is being carried out illegally in the land exclusively owned by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and the said board has expressed in the reply to RTI filed by Petitioner that they have not alienated any land belongs to SMVDSB for the purpose of mining or ever permitted to carry out mining against any provisions of SMVDSB Act. Apart from these, the petitioners are also challenging the proposed mining on the grounds of Environmental, Public Heath, Historical and Necessity/Viabilty of the said project. The petitioners have placed on the record various reports submitted by Respondents time to time, researches, expert opinions etc so as to strengthen their arguments. The petitioner has filed this writ petition also in the nature of mandamus  upon the respondents commanding them to forbear from changing or disturbing the environment and ecological pattern of land in respect of Trikuta Wildlife Sanctuary and Trikuta Hills situated in Katra for the ostensible purpose of extracting Magnasite and setting up of plant of Dead Burnt Magnasite at Chipprian Hills, Chandwan and Panthal Village in district Reasi of Jammu Region at the instance of respondents or for any other purpose which shall cause  disturbance of ecology and environment.  Hence the Present Writ Petition.
PETITIONERS
                                                    Vilakshan Singh
Dewakar Sharma







   










IN THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU
Vilakshana Singh  & another  V/S  Union of India  & ors
IN THE MATTER OF:-                  INDEX
S. No.
PARTCULARS

PAGE NO.
1.
Public Interest Litigation(Petition) 


2.
Affidavits in  support of  PIL(P).


3.
Annexure A  
Copy of letter of Respondent no. 1 Granting environmental Clearance to the Project

4.
Annexure B
Copy extracts of the minutes of 22nd meeting standing committee of respondent no. 4

5.
Annexure C  
Copy of the said proposal of Panthal Magnesite Project.

. 6
Annexure D  
Copy the extracts of minutes of the 23rd meeting of Standing Committee of NBWL

7.
Annexure
Copy of application under RTI Act

8.
Annexure F
Copy of information supplied under RTI Act.

9.
Annexure G
Copy of Director’s Report published by Respondent No. 6 on the web site of Respondent No. 7 for the year 2009-2010

10.
Annexure H
Copy of relevant extracts of Annual Directors Report for the year 2010-2011

11.
Annexure J
Copy of Report of Indian Bureau of Mines regarding percentage share of deposits of Magnesite

12.
CMP.


13.
Affidavits in Support of CMP



Filed by PETITIONERS
                                                    Vilakshana Singh
Dewakar Sharma

IN THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU
Vilakshana Singh  & another  V/S  Union of India  & ors
IN THE MATTER OF:-
                                                                      Memo of urgency.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR LORDSHIPS,
The petitioners/applicants above named respectfully submit as under:-
1.  That the petitioners have filed the above titled PILpetition in this Hon’ble Court which has sure chances of success on its merits. The petitioners have also filed an application for grant of interim relief.
2.  That  the matter involved  in the PIL  petition as also  in the application for  grant of interim  relief  is of emergent  nature and in case the Public Interest Petition petition alongwith  application for interim relief  is not taken up  for  consideration  at an earliest, the very purpose of filing the petition shall become in-fructuous  and the public in General as well as the environment, ecological balance of Katra and Trikuta Forests shall  suffer an irreparable loss and injury.
                 In view of the submissions made hereinabove, it is, therefore, prayed that the writ petition along with application  for interim relief  may kindly be taken up for  consideration  at an earliest in the interest of the justice.     
PETITIONERS
                                                    Vilakshana Singh
Dewakar Sharma



IN THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT JAMMU
Vilakshana Singh  & another  V/S  Union of India  & ors
IN THE MATTER OF:-
                                                             Affidavit in support of PIL Petition
We, Vilakshana Singh, Age 32 years, S/o Late Sh. Jagdish Singh Dogra R/o Sidhra By Pass, Jammu, AND Dewakar Sharma , Age 35 years,  S/o  Sh. Dharam Parkash Sharma R/o 29, Vinayak Bazar, Jammu Advocates J&K High Court, Jammu do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath
1.    That the present writ petition has been filed against denotification of protected wildlife sanctuary named Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary. The respondents in order to justify legality of proposed Mining without adhering to the Provisions of J&K Wild Life Protection Act and also without adhering to the various Supreme Court Guidelines have first entirely denotified the said Wild Life Sanctuary. Further, the said proposed mining is being carried out illegally in the land exclusively owned by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and the said board has expressed in the reply to RTI filed by Petitioner that they have not alienated any land that belongs to SMVDSB for the purpose of mining or ever permitted to carry out mining against any provisions of SMVDSB Act. Apart from these, the petitioners are also challenging the proposed mining on the grounds of Environmental, Public Heath, Historical and Necessity/Viabilty of the said project. The petitioners have placed on the record various reports submitted by Respondents time to time, researches, expert opinions etc so as to strengthen their arguments. The petitioners have filed this writ petition also in the nature of mandamus  upon the respondents commanding them to forbear from changing or disturbing the environment and ecological pattern of land in respect of Trikuta Wildlife Sanctuary and Trikuta Hills situated in Katra for the ostensible purpose of extracting Magnasite and setting up of plant of Dead Burnt Magnesite at Chipprian Hills, Chandwan and Panthal Village in district Reasi of Jammu Region at the instance of respondents or for any other purpose which shall cause  disturbance of ecology and environment.  
2.    That the petitioners submit that all possible efforts have been made to gather the material required for proper and comprehensive adjudication of the issues raised. The information gathered by the petitioners in support to the cause of action raised in the petition is by virtue of various modes i.e RTI application, expert opinion published on internet and various reports and orders published by respondents time to time on their official websites. 

3.    That the   petitioners herein have no personal interest in the subject matter of this petition. The petitioners hereby undertake to pay exemplary costs and/or compensatory damages as directed by this Court in the event of a contrary finding upon adjudication by the Court that the writ petition is filed for extraneous/personal considerations or with oblique motive.
 
DEPONENT/PETITIONERS





COPIES OF COURT ORDER ON RTI FEES......





RTI Anonymous comes to the rescue of those afraid of being targeted for filing RTI applications


March 21, 2012 02:14 PM Bookmark and Share
Vinita Deshmukh

If one is afraid of being targeted after filing a RTI application, the online RTI Anonymous team is there to help you out. Nineteen year old Rajeshwar Boke from Maharashtra procured details of his educational scholarship amount with help from RTI Anonymous 

Rajeshwar Boke is a 19 year old boy belonging to OBC (Other Backward Classes). He is presently studying in the second year in the Government Polytechnic College in Brahmapuri, a town in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. Being an OBC, he is entitled to a central government scholarship for all the three years of the course. However, he has been receiving a partial amount of scholarship money since the last one year.

In January 2012, Rajeshwar decided to use the Right to Information (RTI) Act to find out the status of his scholarship but did not know how to go about it. He began surfing the Internet for help and stumbled upon RTI Anonymous—a free online service through which any Indian citizen can file RTI applications anonymously. He called up Ritesh Singh, one of the three founders of RTI Anonymous to know how to use the service. Mr Singh obliged. So, Rajeshnwar filed his RTI application to the college as well as to the social welfare department which disburses the scholarship money. Says Rajeshwar, “My suspicion about whether I was getting the right amount or not, came when the college for the first time started the online form system for admission. While I was filling up the form I saw that the annual scholarship amount mentioned therein were Rs3,880 for the first year; Rs4,200 for the second year; and Rs6,700 for the third year. However, I had received only Rs1,500 for the first year.”

After filing the RTI application, Rajeshwar received a fake reply from his college and was rebuked for having invoked the RTI Act. Instead of addressing his question of how much is the scholarship amount for students and how much is he entitled to, the college gave him a document of some general rules of the college. He though did not relent.

Ritesh Singh advised him to file a first appeal with the department of social welfare. Recently, the department ordered the college to make the scholarship amount public. Accordingly, the college provided him the information free of charge, as directed by the appellate authority. Says Mr Singh, “Rajeshwar got all the desired information and found serious irregularities in the scholarship disbursal in his college because of which he wasn’t getting the full amount of his scholarship. He forced the authorities to correct the irregularities benefiting hundreds of poor students in his college.” Mr Singh says Rajeshwar was in an emotional turmoil while filing his RTI as he was afraid that the college might take revenge on him by giving him less marks in some subjects but nonetheless he decided to pursue and that has been his secret of success.

As per a news report in the New Indian Express wherein the newspaper invoked RTI, there are 2.1 lakh beneficiaries of central government scholarship to poor students in Karnataka and the amount involved is Rs10.58 crore. However, only 44% of the money has been disbursed.

There are complaints from hundreds of students in Uttar Pradesh (UP) who have not received scholarships or have received only partial amounts. The educational institutions, in which they study, do not bother to address these complaints. Hence, it is advisable that students in large numbers should file a RTI application. This will form a pressure group and steadily every educational institution will be compelled to give the appropriate money and the social welfare department will be forced to release the money which it sometimes does not.
What is RTI Anonymous?
RTI Anonymous is an online service, through which any Indian citizen can file Right to Information (RTI) applications anonymously. They DO NOT HAVE TO REVEAL THEIR IDENTITY. The RTI Anonymous community will file those RTI applications in their name and upload the documentsobtained as a reply on this website. The original requester will get an email when this happens. The original requester just has to draft the RTI application as best as he/she can and the RTI Anonymous community will take care of the rest.

How Does RTI Anonymous Work

Step 1: So person A, who is based in say, Kanpur has a problem with a particular road in his locality and needs to file a RTI Request. He submits a request to RTI Anonymous, with the details of the Public Information officer and his set of questions.

Step 2: An expert in drafting RTI (in our case, for example, an ex-PIO and retired registrar from Bangalore or a RTI Activist in Pune) will draft the RTI. Few other experts in drafting RTIs based either in different parts of India or concerned NRIs from different parts of the world, review and draft the RTI.The RTI request is then moved to the Drafted RTI Request category. If the experts decide that the request is frivolous or does not need anonymity or just too vague and needs more information, then its moved to its appropriate category (Non RTI, Non-Anonymous RTI or unclear RTI category).

Step 3:  Once drafted, a concerned citizen from say, Chennai takes a printout of this drafted RTI and puts in the IPO for the required amount and speed posts it.He then updates the website with the speed post number.

The RTI Request is now moved to the Filed RTIs category.

Step 4: Once the Chennai guy receives the reply, he just takes a picture of the documents received with his cell phone or digital camera, uploads its to his PC and then to the website. At times, he just does a normal post to one of the RTI Anonymous’s core team member and they would then upload these documents to the website.

Step 5:  Once uploaded, the original requestor (from Kanpur or wherever) gets an automated email and he can then download the documents that he had recieved.

Also any public interest litigation (PIL) lawyers or journalists/reporters can also download these documents from this website.

Remember:
  • The RTI is filed by a guy from say, Chennai
  •  Drafted in say,  Pune  or London
  •  Reviewed in USA/Sweden/Hisar-Haryana, etc.
  •  And the original request is to some government office in say Kanpur
  •  And the government documents are uploaded to a website by either the guy who filed or RTI-A  team member
All done by REAL PEOPLE with REAL ADDRESSES

(Vinita Deshmukh is consulting editor of Moneylife. She is also an RTI activist and convener of the Pune Metro Jagruti Abhiyaan. She is the recipient of prestigious awards like the Statesman Award for Rural Reporting which she won twice in 1998 and 2005 and the Chameli Devi Jain award for outstanding media person for her investigation series on Dow Chemicals. She co-authored the book “To The Last Bullet - The Inspiring Story of A Braveheart - Ashok Kamte” with Vinita Kamte. She can be reached at vinitapune@gmail.com)

http://www.moneylife.in/article/rti-anonymous-comes-to-the-rescue-of-those-afraid-of-being-targeted-for-filing-rti-applications/24402.html


Monday, March 19, 2012



JK High Court stays Mining Project at Vaishno Devi Hills

Jammu: A Division Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Monday ordered an interim Stay on mining activities in Trikuta Hills on account of environmental and legal concerns.
Chief Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla and Justice Hasnain Massodi were responding to a Public Interest Litigation  filed by Dewaker Sharma and Vilakshan Singh (advocates) seeking orders  from the court to direct the respondents  not to carry any mining or other activity in the mine lease area belonging to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board in the vicinity of Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary and extracting Magnasite and setting up of plant of Dead Burnt Magnasite at Chipprian Hills, Chandwan and Panthal Village, Katra in district Reasi of Jammu.
 The petitioners in the Writ Petition has contended that extraction through mining, would not only cause disaster to the ecology and environment of municipal area but it would be in violation of J & K Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Act, 1988, Constitution of India as applicable to State of J & K and various guidelines of Apex Court issued time and again in catena of judgments.

The petitioners have further prayed before the HC that denotification of Trikuta Wild Life Sanctuary by NBWL  is without jurisdiction  as Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 is not applicable to the State of J&K as J & K  has its own Act which is J&K Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1978. National Board for Wild Life has been constituted under the Indian Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. But the said Act is not applicable to the state of J&K. The sub-section (2) of Section 25-A of J&K Wild Life Protection Act, 1978 provides that “No alteration of the boundaries of a sanctuary shall be made except on the recommendation of the Board and a resolution to this effect passed by both Houses of the State Legislature.”
The petitioners have also argued that no expert opinion was ever sought by SMVDSB regarding the impact of mining on Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and its Flora and Fauna which is again a failure on the part of a failure on the part of Shrine Board in safeguarding the welfare of property vested to it under Shrine Board Act. The recommendation for denotification and sanction of the NBWL, NATIONAL BOARD FOR WILD LIFE  for setting up plant for setting up of TPA Dead Burnt Magnesia Plant was sought by misrepresentations of  the facts, it was intimated  that it did not involve any felling of trees whereas Shrine Board has itself raised a demand of Rs. 2.36 Crore from NMDC and JKMDC for felled tree and compensatory afforestation.  

JK: Year 2011 witnessed lot of RTI activities

RAMAN   SHARMA
Turning the pages of calendar year 2011 and the RTI developments in the state, It would be injustice if I do not appreciate the state government which though slowly but somehow made many of its promises regarding the implementation of Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act 2009. Of course, yet many promises remained unattended for the reasons best known to the people at the helm of affairs but being a citizen (and a frequent RTI user) of the state I am privileged to feel the essence of participatory democracy in my state, where earlier it was just experienced twice in 6 years. One by voting in the Lok Sabha elections and other while electing our representatives for the state legislative assembly. This switch over from 'Bullet' to 'Ballot Democracy' and then to 'Participatory Democracy' appears to be a dream, but this is realism. It gives lot of encouragement to a common citizen when he goes with an RTI application to the highest offices of the state be it Rajbhavan or the Chief Minister's secretariat, where officers, now, by and large give timely response to the RTI queries. It is only with the help of this transparency law that one BPL category person namely Bashir seeks information from the Chief Minister's office and the officers provided him the full information free of cost. Obviously those officers deserve all the appreciations who honoured the law passed by the state legislature. Such a shift is more significant in our state. The Right to Information Act marked a new beginning in our state which has witnessed a long era of violence and hostility where perhaps no one ever even thought of even ballot forget 'good governance.' On 28th Feb this year, the first chief information commissioner GR Sufi took over his chair and it is only after his appointment that the Public Information officers started adhering the rules and provisions of the act. At the conclusion I must say 2011, was full of RTI activities in the state and all the stake holders deserve many appreciations for their crusade.
Raman Sharma
RTI activist and can be reached [@] JKRTIACT@GMAIL.COM

By Raman Sharma
The Jammu and Kashmir Government led by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has obviously taken lot of public welfare measures including the most talked and powerful laws, Right to Information and Public Service Guarantee Act. Both these laws have already and of course will further be strengthening the democracy at grass root level. For bringing these laws the state government did not only receive appreciations and applauses form the people of the state, Government of India but even the international civil society groups across the globe acknowledged and greeted these pro citizenry measures by the J & K government. With the Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act 2009, the State Government lawfully bound the (Public Information officers) state bureaucracy to provide information to the citizens within specified period of 30 days failing which they shall be liable for penalty. Similarly the Jammu and Kashmir Public Services Guarantee Act, 2011 makes it obligatory for the (Designated Officers) officers to provide certain services to the eligible person within the time limit as specified in the act ranging from 7 to 45 days depending upon the service requirement. It is worth appreciating that would also congratulate the Government and the officers have disposed over 7000 RTI applications and more than 3 lac applications under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Service Guarantee Act since enactment of these laws.
No mindful person, of course including the author can and will criticize the State Government for enacting these powerful laws that makes the bureaucracy accountable, system transparent, promote democracy and enables an ordinary citizen to seek information and timely delivery of services from the officers but who will ensure that the officers who are assigned the task of ensuing these rights to the people will be provided with the sufficient staff and the required infrastructure for this purpose. The citizens are already availing the services from different offices even without the PSGA 2011 and the Government must tell the people that what additional facilities it has provided to the different departments so that these departments can facilitate the applications under PSGA in time bound manner. Who will ensure requisite infrastructure to different departments whose services are included in the PSGA. Recently the state chief minister directed for inclusion of some more services under the act but as on date perhaps not even a single rupee has been allocated by the State Government for the purpose of providing timely delivery of services.
Most of the offices in our state Government departments remain under staff and there is no record management system in place. Everyone in the government though orchestrated so loudly about the computerization of data and keeping records in the electronic format but nothing has happened so far. Unless and until our state government moves forward in the direction of computerization of records and taking immediate measures to bridge the shortfall of staff in the offices the above referred laws cannot survive long. We cannot ensure the timely delivery of services just with the whip of penalty [as proviso in
The RTI Act 2009 and PSGA 2011] on the officers and officials therefore for this purpose the State Government must also invest towards infrastructural development. The Government must activate its Information and technology department to come forward and help the state institutions by enabling them to move towards record management. It is expected from the government that it will adopt constructive approach and will not allow these powerful and citizen friendly laws to get buried just in want of physical requirements.
About Raman Sharma, he is an an RTI activist and can be reached [@] JKRTIACT@GMAIL.COM.

By Raman Sharma

The Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information came into being in the state in its present form in the year 2009 and there is no dearth of success stories of the Right to information users/activists where they have been able to get the information for self use and for the public interest but even then when we compare the number of female RTI applicants with males in J & K it is almost nil. Recently the state government released the data of total number of RTI applications received by Public Information Officers of different departments of the state government. Official version of the government says Just 7000 Right to Information applications have been filed by the citizens in all since March 2010, whereas we are the population of more than 12 million people. Most of these RTI applications are submitted by male-citizens and unfortunately female folk remained very lethargic in tendering RTI applications. Most of the Public information officers during their interaction admitted that the number of RTI applications received from female applicants are almost negligible. At least in the departments like revenue, forest, Urban/ Rural Local bodies, ,General administration departments, Police, Public Health Engineering, Power Development Department, Health, Medical Department and Public Works department. Contrary to this there are good numbers of RTI applications made by the female applicants in departments like social welfare department for seeking information related to Anganwadi centers , Education department, Public Distribution Department, Women Development Corporation and in some cases even in different universities of the state. The stakeholders give different reasons for low number of women participants in RTI movement.
According to Balvinder Singh of Sangrash RTI movemnt J&K unless and until we involve female individuals women groups in the RTI movement we cannot yield the desired results because they are half of the total population and we cannot afford to keep them off from this movement. The reason for their negligible participation is also because of the unawareness, illiteracy, male dominance in the family, high fees , attitude of the PIO’s, no protection for whistleblower, bitter experiences of other RTI users and above all the threat perception that always follow any RTI applicant at least in our state. Out of total 600, complaints and 2nd appeals received by the State Information Commission there are not more than 25 to 30 cases of women appellants. There are some other interesting submissions of the RTI activists of the state to advance women participation in RTI implementation and mass awareness . Shafiq Mir who is Sarpanch of remote village Poshana, Bufflaiz block in Poonch and an RTI activist demands absolute fees waiver for female RTI applicants, he argues; Women empowerment means involving them in participatory democracy and in our state where the per capita income of the state is so low, the high fees of Rs. 50/- is a pretext to debar them. History witnesses that no movement in world has become successful without direct involvement of the females of the society, be it war or any other civil right movement. And in our state if the state government and other stakeholders are really interested in implementing this Act in letter and spirit they should make arrangement so that Women can come forward and take the lead in exercising their own right and to educate others. The state information should also hear the complaints appeal cases of the female-appellants on a priority basis. The Jammu and Kashmir Women Commission, Ministry of Social Welfare and Women Development Corporation should also aware the women about this empowering law so that they can use it in their day to day life. The Non-Government Organizations of Jammu and Kashmir that are giving cold shoulder to the RTI Act should also educate women and citizens about this humane law . However elsewhere in the country the women are spearheading the Right to Information campaigns and have been able to help themselves and other weaker section of the society with this powerful tool . When we have talented and educated women in every field of the society then why in our state we do not have any female RTI-Activist yet.
Recently the state government released the data of total number of RTI applications received by Public Information Officers of different departments of the state government. Official version of the government says Just 7000 Right to Information applications have been filed by the citizens in all since March 2010, whereas we are the population of more than 12 million people. Most of these RTI applications are submitted by male-citizens and unfortunately female folk remained very lethargic in tendering RTI applications. Most of the Public information officers during their interaction admitted that number of RTI applications received from female applicants are almost negligible

Sunday, March 18, 2012

   An  Interview  with  Tribune



TEA WITH THE TRIBUNE  ‘RTI is a magic wand for commoners’ Raman Sharma, RTI activist


In a tete-e-tete with The Tribune team, Raman Sharma, RTI activist, talks about RTI as a tool to eradicate corruption

For Raman Sharma, who has put up over 300 RTI applications, the RTI is not just a tool to seek information, it is a magic wand that can be used to eradicate corruption as well as a means of lodging a democratic protest.
“If we want the government to take action in the larger interest of the public, we can flood them with RTI applications on one issue. The pressure will make the government act,” he says while talking to The Tribune team during an interaction.
A research scholar Mahesh Kaul from the Faculty of Management Studies, Jammu University and Arvind Sharma, a sociologist, also joined the interaction.


Following are the excerpts:
Jupinderjit Singh (JS): What inspired you to utilise RTI for seeking information?


Raman Sharma (RS): It all began from Jammu railway station. While seeing off a relative, I saw domestic cylinders being used by vendors at the platform. I asked station superintendent about the misuse as Jammuites were facing a shortage of LPG cylinders. He rendered me speechless by asking what authority I had to question him.
A year later, RTI came into being and I put up an application to the Indian Railways. It had an immediate impact as vendors had to use commercial cylinders within few days. That officer too would have known that a common citizen had the authority to ask questions.
Sunaina Kaul (SK): What is the process for filing a RTI application?


RS: There are two acts, one is Central RTI Act, 2005, and another is the J&K RTI Act, 2009.
For Central RTI Act, an applicant can file an application on a plain paper with a nominal fee of Rs 10 only which can be paid via postal order or in cash to the department or other permissible mode. Even if an applicant is not aware of the address of the public information officer (PIO) concerned, application may also be filed with any PIO, who becomes liable to forward it to the competent authorities. The best is to give the application at a local post office where the PIO post office would forward the application on its own. Then, all departments have websites on which they have given addresses of PIOs.
Under the JK RTI Act, an application is to be submitted with a fee of Rs 50 either in the shape of IPO or stamp papers. The rest of the procedure is the same, but here the PIOs usually do not accept the application if it does not pertain to their department.
Arvind Sharma (sociologist): How can illiterate and blind persons make use of the RTI?


RS: They are equally empowered. The PIOs in every government department are duty bound to make arrangements for applications on behalf of illiterate, blind or other physically challenged persons. There is a provision to give them verbal reply also, if the applicant opts for that.


DM: What has been your area of focus in filing RTI applications. From which departments have you sought more information?


RS: I have never filed any application for personal reason. My only aim is to file applications in the interest of the general public. There is no question of targeting any particular department. I have filed applications only to serve interest of the common masses. For example, the Income Tax Department takes 24 or even 36 months to refund excess tax deducted at source. We are generally unaware that they have to return it within 60 days. When I put an application on behalf of a person, the refund came in 17 days.
Mahesh Kaul (research scholar): What has been your joyous moment with the RTI?


RS: I applied for the copy of the FIR of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. When I got it, I was elated. You would be surprised to know that by that time even the National Archives of India did not have the copy of the same.


JJS: From your experience, tell us how powerful the Right to Information is and how best can we use it?


RS: I often say that the RTI is a magic wand in the hand of common citizens of the country, who were earlier deprived of any authority to ask questions from the government. Today, you can not only ask a government official, minister or department to answer your query but also force them to take action. Wherever I go to spread awareness, I tell people to file applications in a group. Like, just few days ago, I have decided to build a pressure for the restoration work of Mubarak Mandi. The work is going on too slow. I have put up an application seeking details of the delay and the cost escalation. I have also arranged that 50 persons would file similar queries. This will surely force the government to act so that they don’t have to keep answering people daily.
But one must take care on how to use the information. We have to remember that RTI is a mean but not an end to the problem. The information received is the real power and how best we use it would help us in solving problems concerning the public.


Sunaina Kaul (SK): How was your experience in filing RTI with the Centre government departments and applications with the state?
Raman: Pretty bad with the state government. You would be surprised to know that out of over 300, I have filed around 20 RTI applications in various departments like the Jammu Municipal Corporation, Jammu Development Authority and the Regional Transport Office, but there is no response. This is more painful for me as the state was probably the only one in the country where citizens had the right to ask questions during the princely era. There was a system of “sawaal lagana” (making a query) in which common citizens asked the then officials. Usually, they asked questions from the revenue department. The most shocking experience was that when I went to the RTO office, the officer concerned was unaware about the RTI Act and about his duties and responsibilities as PIO. Also, JK residents have so far put just 534 applications, the state that enjoys the status of being at no. 2 in corruption, 534 applications are negligible. The Centre government departments are well oiled in this regard and I am totally satisfied with their speedy response and replies in nearly all the applications.


JJS: What do you do with the information?


RS: I preserve some with me for future use or for asking more information or I share with the media if it deserves an exposure. But I don’t share information that can lead to law and order problem. Generally, my information is regarding an unfinished work and the moment the work is done, it is a closed chapter for me.


Ashutosh Sharma (AS): There is no chairperson for the State Information Commission. Is it affecting the movement?


Raman: It is true that the SIC is headless and has therefore disappointed people over a period of time. Unless a person is appointed, action against officials not furnishing information cannot be taken.
Dinesh Manhotra (DM): What is the provision if any department provides wrong information?


RS: In the RTI Act, there is a provision of penalty if any officer provides wrong information. One can approach even the information commissioner concerned in such case.


Mahesh Kaul: As you are aware, ours is a sensitive state with regional aspirations proving stronger than general public cause. Have you seen some change in the RTI applications between Jammu region and Kashmir region?


RS: It is up to the applicant that what he wants to ask. Unless the national interest is not harmed, he is free to seek any information and details.


JSS: If you are allowed to amend both RTI Acts, what would be your attributions and depletions?


RS: As far as the Central RTI Act is concerned, I do not find any lacuna. But there is a lot to do with the J&K RTI Act. The state government should allow the use the Act even to non-state subjects. Application fee od Rs 50 is excess amount for a common citizen, especially students. There should also be a provision for punitive actions against officers who deliberately ignore the provisions of the Act. Lastly, RTI applicants should be ensured security, if required.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100515/jkplus.htm







After RTI…..?

Transparency is okay, but what about accountability!

                                  Greater Kashmir, 13-Feb-2012

BY: RAMAN SHARMA


With each passing day, the most talked and obviously powerful civil right, i.e. Right to Information Act is gaining momentum in Jammu and Kashmir State and helping the citizens to get the information from the government and administration. In this process of obtaining information many RTI users have been able to unearth major scams in the state. Now, the officers, the Public Information Officers are providing information to the general public and there is a tangible change one can see where officers respecting the provisions of the transparency law. This fact is even authenticated by many RTI activists that now by and large their RTI pleas are being responded by the officers. But on the other side, the  activists feel helpless when after hectic exercise and paying hefty RTI fees, the information they collect remain just piece of papers and  the purpose for what the information is sought remains absent. RTI is just a preliminary means to highlight the corruption related issues, otherwise  the scope of RTI (the PIO, 1st appellate authority or the state information commission) is limited.
This is the reason that now the citizenry and  activists demanding accountability in the system. ‘‘Openness is Okay but what about accountability? The information that citizens receive under   RTI after hectic efforts remain useless in absence of any strong institutions that can make the corrupt officers and institutions accountable and initiate proceedings against them. For follow up, we have no strong institutions, we urge the government to strengthen its other organizations also for ensuing accountability ’’ demands  Dr. RR Khajuria a known social activists and founder chairman of Vichar Kranti Manch International.  The real journey starts after receiving the information and the data from the public authorities, most of the citizens do not know what to do after getting the information. However in personal RTI pleas the appellants after getting the requisite information approach the court of law for getting the justice but in case of mass corruption, huge land scams, irregularities and deviation of stipulated rules by the officers and the departments, the information seekers remain helpless.  As of now, the citizens  remain confused as there is no such institution in the state where they can go with the information in their hands for seeking action against the defaulters and remedial measures. There are strong voices demanding straight  action from the Accountability Commission.  Shafiq Mir, Sarpanch of remote village Poshana, Bufflaiz block in Poonch and an  RTI activists says “I think after RTI exposures, it is the duty of the accountability commission to take the cognizance of at least serious cases  and obviously the accountability commission has a bigger role to play, the  Commission  must prove  its credibility by nailing the big fishes, otherwise  this all seems an eye wash ”.  In few cases it has also been noticed that many applicants even after getting the information under the RTI act eyes the State Information Commission for remedy but being ignorant of the fact that the SIC cannot move beyond a point, it has a limited jurisdiction.
Therefore despite getting the valuable information with them the citizens feel powerless and helpless. Though textually, the state government has appointed the members of the state accountability commission where an ordinary citizen can file a complaint related to corruption cases against the politicians. But we all know that this institution of SAC is almost defunct since last more than 3 years. And who knows the fate of those cases against the bureaucrats that are registered with the state vigilance organization; the corruption cases against the bureaucrats are never given sanction by the state general administration department. Therefore it is expected that the state government would soon be taking necessary measures in this regard so that both openness and accountability go together.

(Raman Sharma, is an RTI activist and can be reached at jkrtiact@gmail.com)
RTI helps to get Historic Document !
Best use of RTI for Local issues ..