Appointment of first appellate auth
Guest
(Querist) 06 May 2012
This query is : Resolved
Canteen Stores Department head quartered at Mumbai is a solely owned govt of India enterprise. It is headed by a serving major general of the Army. His designation is General Manager Canteen Stores Department.He is supported by several Joint General Mangers.
Nitin R Rai is the Asst General Manager (Legal) who is the designated Public Information Officer.
My question is whether can any one else be appointed as the First Appellate Authority other than the Head of that department , in the instant case the General Manager of CSD?
If yes under what clause? Can the General Manager evade his responsibility when the case is argued in presence of a IC in CIC hearing the second Appeal against denial of information?
Guest
(Querist) 06 May 2012
Addendum to my query above:
Mr BR Daschaudhary , JGM is the First Appellate auth of the CSD , Mumbai.
Shonee Kapoor
(Expert) 07 May 2012
Good, so the query is resolved.
Regards,
Shonee Kapoor
harassed.by.498a@gmail.com
Guest
(Querist) 07 May 2012
How? Mr BR DasChaudhury is one of the Joint General Managers and is not the head of the department.
umapathi.s
(Expert) 07 May 2012
Dear sir , designation of the PIO and First Appellate Authority is the responsibility of the public Authority and therefore, the head of the department has power under RTI Act itself to appoint his subordinates as PIO and FAA. so, you can't find any fault with them. the appointment is provided under RTI Act itself.
Regarding your second question, please clarify in what manner the FAA evaded his duty during the proceedings before CIC.
Guest
(Querist) 08 May 2012
My case is in gist:
Though not mandated armed forces personnel are provided CSD facility in which goods including liquors are sold to troops at a rate cheaper than the prevailing market rates.
To achieve this a department called Canteen Stores Department under the ministry of defence in in force. This department is a solely owned and wholly funded govt of India enterprise. Goods are procured by this CSD department in bulk directly from the manufacturers, stocked in its 34 depot across the country and sold at the wholesale rate exclusively to the respective Unit Run Canteens (URCs) which then sale it to the troops only.
As the name suggest only regular military units are authorised to run URCs. Not all Units are allowed to run URCs for strategic reasons.
To ensure that those units which are approved by the military authority are allowed to draw CSD goods from the respective CSD depot unit which intends to run its own URC is to obtain sanction of the higher military authority and then to obtain a registration number from the CSD authority. General Manager is the sole authority which is responsible to issue or reject request for registration of a URC.
Of late there are umpteen numbers of Defence Departments namely audit authrities ( 38 of them), DRDO, DGQA, NCC dte, CSD staff/Est are seen running their own URCs though neither the civilian govt employees are eligible for the CSD facility nor they are authorised to run their own URCs.
Unless a URC is registered no URC can draw CSD stores from the respective depot. My query was therefore to the General Manager CSD to provide me the list of URCs being run by CDA staff/est, CSD staff/est, DRDO staff/est. DGQA staff/ est etc along with their registration numbers.
The info was denied invoking section 8(1)(a) "Information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security, strategic scientific or economic interest of the state, relation with foreign state or lead to incitement of an offence".
My first appeal has also been rejected by the JGM (Then Mr Mohar Singh) stating "....the information cannot be provided due to reason that as per the clarification issued by JAG Branch of Army HQ vide their letter No 80377/RTI/JAG dated 25.06.2009 as intimated by DDGCS (Deputy Director General of Canteen Services)vide their letter No 96649/Q/DDGCS/110/09 dated 16.11.2009 URCs are not covered under the provisions of RTI Act 2005.
I have submitted my second appeal to CIC on 3.11.2011 which stand admitted.Can at the argument stage GM CSD evade his responsibility stating he was not aware of the reply sent by his JGM?
