Caution..!! Irregularities Ahead.

The irregularities in refund of caution money deposits worth lakhs of rupees to students of MNIT have been revealed in a Right to Information (RTI) reply. The RTI was filed by an alumnus, Vipul Bihari who passed out in 2009. He was forced to run from pillar to post to get his caution money back. The institute rule says this money is refundable and is treated as current liabilities in books of accounts. It is refunded after completion of his/her degree if the student produces a “No Dues” certificate.

 MNIT collected Rs 4,000 each from students admitted in academic session starting 2008-09. The amount collected from foreign students are even higher then their Indian counterparts. According to the RTI report, the amount deposited by students as caution money in five academic years, between 2005-06 and 2009-10, was Rs 1,24,17,000. In 2005-06, total caution money collected from students was Rs 15,96,000. Considering the fact that they passed out in the next four years in 2008-09 (B.Tech. course is completed in four years), the balance sheet says that in 2008-09 they disbursed only Rs 18,000. In a similar manner, in 2006-07 they collected Rs 25,68,000 from students against the disbursement of Rs 2 lakh caution amount in 2009-10 (after four years).

The report also says that caution money is not utilized for any other purpose and kept in a single joint current account of the institute. It is not clear whether the institute was generating interest on this amount or was it kept in current account. Surprisingly, the audit of annual accounts of the institute is done by AG, Rajasthan every year. Sources reveal that the interest on the money is being utilized on sponsoring foreign trips of teachers.

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The Third Triumph

Taking note of the delay in responding Right-To-Information Act applications within the mandated period, the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) recently imposed two penalties of Rs 25,000 each on the Registrar of MNIT.

The applicant, Asso. Professor Dr. S.D.Bharti sought information on composition, power, functions and action taken report on grievance committee faculty on January 11, 2010. After he was denied information within the mandated time, Dr. Bharti filed a complained before the commission seeking their intervention in acquiring information after 30 days.

On January 5 this year, the CIC issued a notice to the respondents seeking explanation as to why the maximum penalty should not be imposed. A written submission was also demanded for the cause of delay. The CIC asked the respondent to appear before it on April 7 2011 for hearing. Fearing strict action, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) gave some information to Dr. Bharti on January 28. During the hearing, Dr. Bharti challenged the information as incorrect and incomplete.

The CIC, after examining application and reply, observed that information provided is "incorrect and incomplete". "The delay and inaction on the part on CPIO in providing information amounts to willful disobedience of the commissions' directions and also raises doubt that denial of information may be malafide" the CIC said.

The worst doesn't end here for the Registrar. In another hearing on same day, the CIC imposed penalty of Rs 25,000 for delay and denial of information on false grounds. The applicant Dr. Bharti, who is fighting a legal battle against MNIT, for his promotion due for past four years, sought information on complete process on pay fixation and promotions on March 8, 2010.

He was denied information by stating it was a "sub judice matter''. He again filed a complaint with CIC which issued notice to the respondent calling it an "illegal excuse to deny information" and asked to the registrar to appear before CIC on April 7 2011. After the hearing, CIC passed an order directing Director of MNIT to recover Rs 25,000 from the salary of Registrar. The total amount of Rs 25,000 will be remitted by September 2011.

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Talk by a Legend (@ Mini Audi,MNIT, 5:00 PM, today)

Literary Society, MNIT, Jaipur presents a talk by leading social activist Mr. Amitabh Thakur. Mr. Thakur would enlighten us all about Right To Information (or RTI as we better know it). Your graceful presence at this event is benignly solicited. ;)

Hope to see you here !!
And Please be on time.

About Mr. Amitabh Thakur

Exuding confidence while at the same time maintaining a child like curiosity, he leaves his mark through his inquisitiveness & witty remarks. Meet Mr. Amitabh Thakur, a very well known Social-Activist.

An officer of the 1992 batch of UP Cadre in the Indian Police Service, he is a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur  after which he joined the IPS. He has been SP of nearly 10 districts in UP and has also served at other important places like Vigilance, Intelligence, Special Enquiry, CB-CID and Police Academy, Moradabad. Presently he has taken study leave to undertake Fellow Program in Management (FPM) in Human Resource Management since 2009. This followed a controversy in which his request for a leave was denied by the government in Uttar Pradesh. Recently even the Allahabad High Court ordered in his favor but the matter is still being kept pending.

Other than this, Mr. Thakur is also actively involved with social work. He is the Founder and President of the National RTI Forum, a grassroots anti-corruption organization in India that advocates for government openness under the terms of the 2005 Right to Information Act. The organization is based in Lucknow. He is the President of another social organizations IRDS and is also the Patron of Indian Public Academy, a school providing free education to needy children.

Till now his three books, Jaisa Maine Jaana Hai (Hindi poems), Dhal Gayi Raat (Hindi short stories) and Fresh Brew- Chronicles of Business and Freedom (co-authored with Amit Haralalka, an IIM Lucknow student) have been published. The Fresh Brew contains inspiring life stories of twenty five IIM Lucknow Alumni who followed their hearts, their dreams and their passions. Recently he has taken up the project of writing one book each in Hindi and English based on his inputs from the social networking site Facebook, which is underway.

His filing of FIR against Facebook Inc. and others for use of abusive language against Mahatma Gandhi has been widely appreciated in India, following which the Facebook group was banned.