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Editorial Board - The National Cooperative Housing ... Board : Shri S.N. Sharma, MLA ... (la'kks/u) vf/fu;e 2012 ij foospu ... flood and coastal defence systems, power and telecommunication

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Editorial Board :

Shri S.N. Sharma, MLA

CA R.K. PIkale

Shri Matadeen Meena

Shri C.M. Singal

Dr. Patanjali Tripathy

Dr. M.L. Khurana

Shri N.S. Mehara

No part of this bulletin shouldbe reproduced without priorpermission of the Editor.

Vol. XXVIII No. 7 January, 2016

NCHF BULLETIN6A/6, SIRI FORT INSTITUTIONAL AREA, AUGUST KRANTI MARG,

NEW DELHI - 110 049 PHONE : 2649 0535

Board of Directors NCHF

ChairmanShri S.N. Sharma, MLA

Vice-ChairmenShri S.T. Somashekar, MLA

Shri Ravindra V. Gaigole

DirectorsShri Kuljeet Singh Chahal

Adv. Balbir Singh

Shri Anjan Dutta, MLA

Shri Y. Gopal Reddy

Shri Davinder Kumar

Shri Sukhbir Singh Panwar

Shri R.K. Pikale

Shri C.M. Singal

Shri Beer Singh Thakur, IAS

Adv. M. Ebrahimkutty

Shri Gopal Bhargav

Dr. Patanjali Tripathy

Shri E. Sarangapani

Shri H.S. Sidhu

Shri Matadeen Meena

Shri Mudit Verma

Shri Pramod Kumar Singh

Shri Tapendra Mohan Biswas

Shri K.K. Singhal

Shri Lalit Kumar

Managing Director

The facts stated, conclusionsreached and views expressed inindividual contributions are of thecontributors concerned and arenot necessarily endorsed byNCHF.

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Technical Support :S.P. Kumar

Joint Editor :N.S. Mehara

Editor :Dr. M.L. Khurana

Cover Page:Shri Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya,Hon'ble Union Minister of State forAgriculture and Farmers Welfarereleasing the Special Issue of NCHFBulletin brought out to commemorate theCooperative Week Celebrations-2015.(Report at Page 11)

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CONTENTS

1. From Editor's Desk ............... 2

2. Penalty on the PublicInformation Officer under theRight to Information Act –When is it Justified?—R. Muralidharan ................. 3

3. Protecting Environment inCooperative Ways—G.L. Verma ........................ 7

4. Legal Column ........................ 9

5. Snippets ............................... 11

6. e-ç- lgdkjh lkslkbVh(la'kks/u) vf/fu;e 2012ij foospu&gfjukjk;.k nqcsa .................. 18

2 NCHF BULLETIN

FROM EDITOR’S DESK

CLIMATE CHANGE AND HOUSING

Projections for the 21st century indicate that the earth's average temperature will rise by anything between 1.4 and5.8 degree Celsius. Consequently the sea level will eventually rise; a 1-metre rise in sea level would displace about 7million people in India. According to Aggarwal and Lal, it is projected that the sea-level rise along the Indian coast willbe between 30 and 80 cm over the next century. In the absence of any preventive measures, the people living in coastalareas are potentially going to be affected. Three major cities Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai are on the coast and are onan average elevation of 2-10 meters in the LECZ. They are likely to suffer from flooding of lands particularly during hightide, salinization of water sources, destruction of ecosystems and natural resources that supply them. Cities in deltaiclocations like Kolkata are more likely to be affected by coastal floods as they are at lower elevation, experience more orless natural subsidence and, in some cases, receive more water from the rivers feeding melting glaciers.

It is widely acknowledged that climate change will have an impact on the future house building sector, but lessconsideration has been given to how it might affect elements such as the construction sector's organization, or the skillrequirements of the house building process. India is home to a third of the world’s poor, and climate change will hit thissection of society the hardest. Set to be the most populous nation in the world by 2045, the economic, social andecological price of climate change will be massive.

Storms, floods, cyclones, coastal flooding are expected to be more frequent put infrastructure at great risk. Thisincludes transportation (roads, railways, bridges, ports and airports) and communication networks, water supply, sewage,gas pipelines, drainage, flood and coastal defence systems, power and telecommunication infrastructures, industrial units,plants. As far as buildings are concerned, informal and traditional housing are the most vulnerable to storms and floods.

Climate change related drought and floods are expected to foster rural to urban migration, increase overpopulationof cities and the proportion of poor and vulnerable people living in urban areas. It is estimated that 500 million people aregoing to be affected by water problems in India because of global warming (major risk of desertification in North-Westernand Central India, alternate bouts of droughts and floods in the Indo-Gangetic and Brahmaputra plains, and coastalflogging due to sea-level rise).

The migrants are the most vulnerable groups in any city. With no access to the city’s livelihood network and a lackof skill sets to help them survive, these groups live in the slums which are illegal and that have no access to basicamenities. These groups are thus highly vulnerable to a variety of risks living on hazardous sites, environmental healthrisks via poor sanitation, water supply, little or no drainage and solid waste services, air and water pollution and therecurrent threat of being evicted.

Meeting the needs of India’s soaring urban populations is and will therefore continue to be a strategic policy matter.Critical issues that need to be addressed are: Poor local governance; Weak finances; Inappropriate planning that leadsto high costs of housing and office space; in some Indian cities these costs are among the highest in the world; Criticalinfrastructure shortages and major service deficiencies that include erratic water and power supply, and woefully inadequatetransportation systems; and Rapidly deteriorating environment.

Of many ready challenges, few of the most evident ones related to housing and infrastructure are: Building regulationsthat limit urban density - such as floor space indexes – reduce the number of houses available, thereby pushing upproperty prices; Outdated rent control regulations reduce the number of houses available on rent – a critical option forthe poor; Poor access to micro finance and mortgage finance limit the ability of low income groups to buy or improve theirhomes; Policy, planning, and regulation deficiencies lead to a proliferation of slums; Weak finances of urban local bodiesand service providers leave them unable to expand the trunk infrastructure that housing developers need to develop newsites; Most urban bodies do not generate the revenues needed to renew infrastructure, nor do they have the creditworthinessto access capital markets for funds; and Urban transport planning needs to be more holistic – there is a focus on movingvehicles rather than meeting the needs of the large numbers of people who walk or ride bicycles in India’s towns and cities.

Successful adaptation to climate change risks in the megacities needs identification of differential vulnerabilities ofpeople in the cities developing their resilience to climate shocks through a mix of economic, infrastructural, disastermanagement policies.

JANUARY, 2016 3

PENALTY ON THE PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER UNDER THERIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT – WHEN IS IT JUSTIFIED?

—R. Muralidharan*

The nation has just celebrated the completion of 10thyear of the Right to Information Act, 2005. For an ardentfollower of the Act it is a mixed bag of feeling, as he is notas enthused as it was at the advent of the Act. When theAct came into existence it was celebrated as the secondindependence to India, but when came to practice thecelebration was short-lived, thanks to the official apathy inimplementing the Act and the narrow interpretation providedby various rulings of the Courts virtually shutting down theso called transparency and containing corruption. Theactivists have a genuine complaint that the InformationCommission, be it Central Information Commission or StateInformation Commission, is extremely in favour of the officialmachinery when it comes to imposing penalty. Even in mostdeserving cases, at best, the Public Information Officer (PIO)is warned and not imposed penalty. Even in cases penaltyis imposed, it is alleged that it is not collected from the PIOin reality.

This article postulates the circumstances under whichthe penalty can be imposed on the PIO or on the deemedPIO and the parameters set in by the Hon’ble SupremeCourt and various High Courts.

WHEN AND ON WHOM PENALTY CAN BE IMPOSED?

Section 20(1) of the Act provides that the InformationCommission at the time of deciding any complaint orappeal shall impose a penalty of Rs.250 for each day ofdelay in receiving application for information or in providingthe information, subject to a maximum penalty ofRs.25,000, if it is of the opinion that the PIO has, withoutreasonable cause,(i) Refused to receive an application for information,(ii) has not furnished information within the time limit

specified under Section 7(1),(iii) mala fidely denied the request for information,(iv) knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading

information,(v) obstructed in any manner in furnishing the

information.

All the above are prefaced by the infraction, ‘withoutreasonable cause’.

Section 19(5) of the Act has also stated that ‘In anyappeal proceedings, the onus to prove that a denial of arequest was justified shall be on the PIO who denied therequest’. Once the Commission decides that there wasno reasonable cause for delay, it has to impose the penaltyat the rate specified in Section 20(1) and the law gives nodiscretion in the matter. The burden of proving that denialof information by the PIO was justified and reasonable isclearly on the PIO as per Section 19(5).

Section 20(2) further provides that where theCommission is of the opinion that the PIO has without anyreasonable cause and persistently committed the abovemisconduct, it may recommend for disciplinary actionagainst the PIO under the service rules applicable to him.

The penalty is imposed personally on the PIO. If theinformation is available with some other officer of thepublic authority and the PIO has sought his assistance inproviding the information under Section 5(4), such otherofficer is treated as the PIO and would be liable to penaltyfor any fault attributable to him. Penalty may also beimposed on other employees of the public authority whoare responsible for assisting the PIO in proper dischargeof his duties.

WHAT IS REASONABLE CAUSE?

Section 20 which empowers the InformationCommission to impose penalty has to be more stringentlyobserved. For imposing penalty an opinion has to beformed that the PIO without any reasonable cause hasnot furnished the information within the time specified.The formation of the opinion has to be on the basis ofobjective consideration. The PIO may have committedlapse bonafidely or malafidely, there may or may not bea reasonable cause but the authority has to advert to thecause shown by the officer before imposing penalty.Without adverting to the relevant cause shown by thePIO, the penalty cannot be imposed, as held by AllahabadHigh Court in Dr. Kalpnath Chaubey vs. InformationCommissioner and another, 2010 (1) ID 608.

The statutory authority, which has passed the orderof penalty of this nature, must bear in mind that the ordershould contain apposite, cogent and germane reasonsand should clearly exposit application of mind [ArbindPrasang Singh vs. State of Bihar and others, AIR 2010

* Deputy Registrar (Planning & Legal), Cooperative Department,Puducherry

4 NCHF BULLETIN

Patna 75 : 2010 (1) ID 535]. The penal provisions underSection 20 are only to sensitize the public authorities thatthey should act with all due alacrity and not hold upinformation which a person seeks to obtain. It is not everydelay that should be visited with penalty. If there is adelay and it is explained, the question will only revolve onwhether the explanation is acceptable or not, vide Stateof Punjab vs. State Information Commission, Punjab andothers, 2010 (1) ID 489.

Penalty can be imposed under Section 20(2) of theAct only when the information was supplied with unduedelay without there being any sufficient reason orinformation was declined to be supplied without anysufficient reason. However, in the present case, file wasnot made available for inspection by the secondrespondent as the same was missing. In view of the factthat file went missing in the Department and for loss offile, FIR had already been lodged, therefore, non furnishingof the file for perusal of the second respondent seems tobe justified and consequently penalty ought not to havebeen imposed, vide Nagar Nigam, Dehradun vs. ChiefInformation Commissioner and another, AIR 2015Uttarakhand 118.

INFORMATION IN PUBLIC DOMAIN, NO PENALTY FORNON-FURNISHING

The question arises before the Division Bench ofDelhi High Court Prem Lata, CPIO, Trade Marks Registry,Delhi vs. Central Information Commission and others, RTIRI (2015) 288 is, whether information which has suo motubeen made available by a public authority through variousmeans of information including internet in fulfillment of itsobligation under Section 4 of the RTI Act, can be requestedfor under Section 6 of the Act. If the answer to the saidquestion is in negative then the axiomatic question whicharises is, whether the CPIO to whom such a request hasnevertheless been made, is obliged under Section 7 ofthe Act to reject the said request by stating that theinformation sought has suo motu been made available bythe public authority on internet and can be so accessed.

The Court was of the view that neither caninformation already suo motu made available by the publicauthority in discharge of obligations under Section 4 berequested for under Section 6 of the Act nor is the CPIOrequired to reject the said request giving the reason ofthe information having suo motu been made available onthe internet.

The purport of the Act is to make the informationavailable to the public at large free of cost. The same canbe deciphered also from Section 4(4) of the Act providingfor dissemination of information in a cost effective andeasy mode and to the extent possible in electronic format,

available free. Provision of information requested for underSection 6 of the Act is subject to payment of cost thereof.It belies logic as to why the provisions of the Act shouldbe interpreted as conferring a right to seek information,subject to payment of cost, that information which isalready available for free. This will also lead to undueenrichment to the public authority.

Also, Section 7 provides for disposal of a request forinformation either by providing information or by rejectingthe request for the reasons specified in Sections 8 and 9.The Legislature has been clear in specifying the groundson which the request for information can be rejected.Sections 8 and 9 provide for information which is exemptfor disclosure or information disclosure of which wouldinfringe a subsisting copyright. The same do not includethe ground of, the information having suo motu beenalready made available for free by the public authority.The only interpretation can be, that the public authority isneither required to provide such information nor requiredto reject the request on the ground of the informationhaving already suo motu been made available.

The Division Bench was unable to agree with thereasoning given in the order of the CIC and affirmed bythe learned Single Judge, that the said defense of theappellant for not dealing with the request for informationwas extraneous to the facts and circumstances or that itwas open to the appellant to reject the request forinformation citing any of the provisions under Section 8 orSection 9 of the Act. As aforesaid, the reason for whichthe appellant claimed to have not dealt with the requesti.e. of the information having already been made availablesuo motu and being in public domain, does not findmention in Section 8 or Section 9 of the Act and therequest for information was thus not required to be rejectedalso, under Section 7 of the Act.

Before imposing any penalty under Section 20(1) or20(2) of the Act, it is incumbent on the CIC to hold whetherthe information requested for, was required to be furnishedor not and without deciding so, penalty could not havebeen imposed. Thus, the orders of the CIC as affirmed bythe learned Single Judge are liable to be set aside on thisground alone.

PENALTY IS WELL JUSTIFIED

The Court cannot be unmindful of the circumstanceunder which the Act was framed, and brought into force. Itseeks to foster an ‘openness culture’ among State agencies,and wider section of ‘public authorities’ whose actions havea significant or lasting impact on the people and their lives.Information seekers are to be furnished what they ask for,unless the Act prohibits disclosure. They are not to be drivenaway through sheer inaction or filibustering tactics of the

JANUARY, 2016 5

public authorities or their officers. It is to ensure these endsthat time limits have been prescribed, in absolute terms, aswell as penalty provisions. These are meant to ensure aculture robust and functioning democracy, vide MujiburRehman vs. Central Information Commission and others,2010 (1) ID 502.

The Division Bench of Punjab and Haryana HighCourt in Ramesh Sharma and another vs. StateInformation Commission, Haryana and others, 2008 (2)ID 133 observed that the argument that the penalty underSection 20 (1) of the Act could be imposed, only in caseswhere there is repeated failure to furnish the informationand that too without any reasonable cause, is liable to berejected. The petitioners cannot avoid the mandatoryprovisions of Section 20 (1) on the excuse that any trainingprogramme as envisaged by of Section 26(1)(a) has notbeen organized by the Government.

In D. Nagaraj vs. State Public Information Officer,Bangalore and another, W.P. No.2015/2010 dated 9thNovember, 2010, the Karnataka High Court found thatprior to passing the impugned order imposing penalty, ashow cause notice was issued to the petitioner. Admittedly,no information was furnished by the petitioner. He did noteven care to furnish/file the statement of objections to theshow cause notice. He remained absent during the courseof hearing. Consequently, he did not substantiate his case.Under such circumstances, the impugned order came tobe passed. The requisite information is furnished by thepetitioner only after passing of the impugned order. Sincethe impugned order is legal and justified under the factsand circumstances of the case the same cannot beinterfered with.

The Karnataka High Court in B.K. Srinivasa Murthyvs. Chief Information Commissioner and others, 2011 (2)ID 256, did not find any ground to interfere with theimpugned order and it was just and proper under thefacts and circumstances of the case. The petitioner wasnotified and was heard in the matter. In spite of thepetitioner receiving the application seeking information,he has kept quiet for seven long months. Absolutely noreasons are forthcoming as to why the petitioner did notfurnish the information to the application within the saidspan of seven months. In view of the same, the firstrespondent has rightly passed the impugned order andhence no interference was called for.

The judgment of Punjab and Haryana in KhushalSingh vs. Central Information Commission and another,W.P. No.588/2010 dated 14th January 2010 justifyingpenalty when the delay was deliberate is thoughtprovoking. It held that the Right to Information Act ushersin a new era of transparency in the functioning of publicoffices and the duties of public authorities, heading for a

situation that many of the information regarding publicoffices ought not to be required to be demanded to besecured. On the other hand, the information must be forthcoming on their own. Every public institution ought to berunning its affairs with a degree of transparency that wouldinstantly evoke public confidence. Inertia must give placeto quick response; defiance shall be tellingly punished.The penalty enforced is justified and within the confinesof what is permissible under Section 20. There is no causefor intervention in the writ petition.

PENALTY IS NOT IN EVERY CASE

The Supreme Court in Central Board of SecondaryEducation and another vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay andothers, 2011 (2) ID 101 : 2011-4-LW-289 : 2011 (7) MLJ1237 : (2011) 8 SCC 497 : 2011 AIR SCW 4888 :2011(3) KLT SN 117 (C. No.120), observed that the threat ofpenalties under the RTI Act and the pressure of theauthorities under the RTI Act should not lead to employeesof a public authorities prioritizing ‘information furnishing’,at the cost of their normal and regular duties. Echoing theabove proponent, the Delhi High Court in the Registrar ofCompanies and others. vs. Dharmendra Kumar Garg andanother, RTIR III (2012) 185, while quashing the showcause notice issued by the Commission under Section20(1) of the Act has held as under :

“61. ………………….It can happen that the PIO maygenuinely and bonafidely entertain the belief andhold the view that the information sought by thequerist cannot be for one or the other reasons. Merelybecause the CIC eventually finds that the view takenby the PIO was not correct, it cannot automaticallylead to issuance of a show cause notice underSection 20 of the RTI Act and the imposition ofpenalty. The legislature has cautiously provided thatonly in cases of malafides or unreasonable conduct,i.e., where the PIO, without reasonable cause refusesto receive the application, or provide the information,or knowingly gives incorrect, incomplete or misleadinginformation or destroys the information, that thepersonal penalty on the PIO can be imposed. Thiswas certainly not one such case. If the CIC startsimposing penalty on the CPIO in every other case,without any justification, it would instill a sense ofconstant apprehension on those functioning as PIOsin the public authorities and would put unduepressure on them. They would not be able to fulfilltheir statutory duties under the RTI Act with anindependent mind and with objectivity. Suchconsequence would not auger well for the futuredevelopment and growth of the regime that the RTIAct seeks to bring in, and may lead to skewed andimbalanced decisions by the PIOs AppellateAuthorities and the CIC………...”

[underlined to add emphasis]

6 NCHF BULLETIN

In the order imposing penalty, SIC had not observedthat information was supplied with delay without anyreasonable cause. Appellant himself was making a requestto withdraw appeal in view of fact that information soughthad already been supplied to him. The appellate authorityin said event cannot proceed with appeal imposing costagainst Information Officer. Resultantly the order imposingpenalty was quashed in Charanjeet Kaur vs. StateInformation Commission and others, AIR 2015 (NOC) 661(UTR).

INITIATING DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST PIO

The question before the Bombay High Court inKashiram vs. State Information Commission, Amravati andothers, RTIR II (2014) 217 was whether SIC can directthe disciplinary action against the PIO if he has malafidelydenied the request for information or has not supplied theinformation within time specified. The Court held that theSIC was not justified in directing the second respondentto initiate an enquiry against the petitioner and reportcompliance of the order within a period of three months.Since the SIC had asked the petitioner to show cause asto why penalty should not be imposed on the petitioner,it was necessary for the Commission to have consideredthe explanation tendered by the petitioner. It appears fromthe impugned order, Commission has not given anythought to the explanation. The provision of Section 20(2)give jurisdiction to the SIC to only recommend disciplinaryaction against the PIO if he has malafidely denied therequest for information or has not supplied the informationwithin time specified in Section 7(1). The Commissioncould not have directed the holding of the enquiry againstthe petitioner and could not have sought the complianceunder Section 20(2) to only make a recommendation andnot issue direction to the authorities. The petition wasthus allowed.

SUPREME COURT SETS THE GUIDELINES

The legality and correctness of the order of the StateInformation Commission directing the Commissioner forState Excise to initiate action against the appellant as perthe Service Rules and that the action should be takenwithin two months and the same would be reported withinone month thereafter to the State Information Commissionwas assailed by the appellant before the High Court ofBombay at Aurangabad. The appellant had taken variousgrounds challenging the correctness of this order.However, the High Court dismissed the writ petitionobserving that the appellant ought to have passed theappropriate orders in the matter rather than keeping thesecond respondent waiting. It also noticed the contentionthat the application was so general and vague in naturethat the information sought for could not be provided.However, it did not accept the same.

The sustainability of the order of the State InformationCommission as affirmed by the High Court was challengedby the appellant before the Supreme Court in Manoharvs. State of Maharashtra and another, (2012) 13 SCC 14: [2012] INSC 789 : indiankanoon.org.doc./136770833.Allowing the appeal and setting aside the order of theState Information Commission, as confirmed by the HighCourt, the Supreme Court set the guidelines on impositionof disciplinary action against the PIO. The sum andsubstance of the findings may be delineated thus:(i) The State Information Commission has been vested

with wide powers including imposition of penalty ortaking of disciplinary action against the employees.Exercise of such power is bound to adversely affector bring civil consequences to the delinquent. Thus,the provisions relating to penalty or to penalconsequences have to be construed strictly.

(ii) It will not be open to the Court to give theCommission liberal construction that it would bebeyond the specific language of the statute or wouldbe in violation to the principles of natural justice.

(iii) Section 20(1) specifically contemplates that beforeimposing the penalty contemplated under Section20(1), the Commission shall give a reasonableopportunity of being heard to the concerned officer.However, there is no such specific provision inrelation to the matters covered under Section 20(2).Section 20(2) empowers the Information Commissionat the time of deciding a complaint or appeal for thereasons stated in that section, to recommend fordisciplinary action to be taken against the PIO underthe relevant service rules.

(iv) Power to recommend disciplinary action is a powerexercise of which may impose penal consequences.When such a recommendation is received, thedisciplinary authority would conduct the disciplinaryproceedings in accordance with law and subject tosatisfaction of the requirements of law. It is a reco-mmendation and not a mandate to conduct an enquiry.

(v) First of all an opinion has to be formed by theCommission. This opinion is to be formed at thetime of deciding any complaint or appeal after hearingthe person concerned. The opinion formed has tohave basis or reasons and must be relatable to anyof the defaults of the provision.

(vi) The Information Commission has no jurisdiction toadd to the exhaustive grounds of default mentionedin the provisions of Section 20(2). Its ambit cannotbe permitted to be enlarged at the whims of theCommission.

(vii) The Commission is expected to formulate an opinionthat must specifically record the finding as to whichpart of Section 20(2) the case falls in. For instance,

(Contd. on page 17)

JANUARY, 2016 7

PROTECTING ENVIRONMENT IN COOPERATIVE WAYS

—G.L. Verma*

Protecting environment has come as one of thebiggest challenge for the mankind to face. The scramblefor space for varied developmental projects and additionalconstructions due to increase in Floor Area Ratio, spacefor car-parking, holding ceremonies, un-authorisedencroachments etc. have led to the shrinking of greenareas putting pressure on ambience in air, ground waterlevel and general tranquility. Never before humanity hasto encounter a disastrous like situation where breathingair is rendered akin to the gasping for air. All talks ofsustainable development to reconcile environment withdevelopment have fallen on deaf ears. While the groundwater level is lowering down, drastic changes in weatherand climate followed by loss of flora and fauna are causingconcern. If this sort of syndrome continues for about twodecades, global warming would result in ecologicalimbalance causing disappearance of several pristine riversand extinction of wetlands and rare wildlife species. Infact, some of them have already fallen prey in the process.

In the wake of such a scenario, the role of our co-operative segment particularly group housing societies hasemerged as glimmer of hope to show some light at theend of tunnel. By and large, our cooperative sector haswithstood the threat to a great extent though scope forfurther reforms with stringent measures is persisting. Avisit to any cooperative housing society complex wouldtell the difference in terms of greenery, compliance ofenvironmental checks and maintenance of green areas.However, recent trends due to increase in Floor AreaRatio and growing urge for re-development of societies tohave more flats, more space for car parking etc. hasstarted taking toll of this sector also. Instances of Societiescutting trees and squeezing green areas to pave the wayfor various uses including for parking and marriageceremonies etc. are on the increase. This new trend hasstarted casting shadows on the last flicker and dentedour hope to see cooperative sector to come to the rescueof dwindling environment. Absence of any effectiveprovision in Societies Bye-laws and Cooperative SocietiesActs to introduce stringent measures for protection of treeshas led the societies to draw a perception that within theboundaries of the society complex, they are exemptedfrom all environmental laws. Several societies have beenseen cutting trees in the name of pruning without seekingprior permission from the Forests Department. It is

unfortunate that Cooperative Societies Acts have notintroduced any tough provision to make it binding for theManaging Committees to seek prior permission for pruningthe trees. In one such case, residents of a group housingsocieties raised hue and cry for allowing their children toplay football and cricket in the park which is maintainedas green areas. They insisted that Delhi CooperativeSocieties Act, 2003 makes no provision to deprive themfrom doing so. Delhi Cooperative Societies Rules, 2007provides for mandatory green area but makes noprovisions against such depredation of trees and shrubs.Registrar of Cooperative Societies does not intervene andleave the matter for the General Body to decide. Thusthere is no effective provision or mechanism to come asrescue to the trees. It makes no provision for installationof Rain Water Harvesting to re-charge ground water levelas a mandatory measure. It makes no provision for censusof trees within the society nor any provision for plantingtrees in ratio of the open space allotted to the societies.Thus the laws are deficient and enforcement mechanismis misplaced. A new trend in which builders themselvesare forming societies and entering into cooperative sectorhas relegated the subject of environment to take backseat.Now a perception is fast building up that even thiscooperative segment, which was hitherto considered aspanacea in the uphill task of protection of environmentwould given in to the pressures of times.

Now coming to Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994and experience of its working, it has proved to be a teeth-less law. Societies argue that they are governed by DelhiCooperative Societies Act, 2003 and Rules framedthereunder. General Body being the highest decisionmaking body can not be restricted or saddled with lawsother than the Societies Act. Neither Delhi Preservationof Trees Act nor the Cooperative Societies Act makes itapplicable to societies. This is misconstrued becauseEnvironment Protection Act, 1986 makes provisions inthis regard. For instance in year 2009, Central GroundWater Authority, issued directive to all Group HousingSocieties under Section 5 of the Act 1986 to adopt RoofTop Rain Water Harvesting Systems in their premises.Though issued in year 2009, directives have hardly beenimplemented any state. No punitive action has so far beentaken for violating this directive. Delhi which should havepresented as an ideal precursor in this regard, laggedbehind and the directive never translated into reality. Theambiguities are prevailing due to absence of provisions in* Advocate, Delhi High Court

8 NCHF BULLETIN

societies Acts and lack of will on the part of authorities.In some cases of violations, penalties have been imposedon societies by Conservator of Forests but these havebeen resisted on these grounds due to anomalies. As nopublicity is given to Preservation of Trees Act 1994, mostof the people have not even heard of this law. Samesituation mutatis mutandis is found in the working ofcooperative societies in other States also. It is in thebackdrop of this unseemly situation that changes in thelaws relating to cooperative societies have become needof the hour. Therefore adequate provisions should be madein the Environment Protection Act 1986 and Preservationof Trees Act to extend their application with specificmention of the cooperative sector. Provisions should alsobe incorporated in the Societies Acts all over the Statesthat they shall remain subservient to the environmentalprotection measures equally binding upon them. Thesystem of granting permission for cutting or pruning oftrees must also be reviewed and no permission should beaccorded without taking of photographs before and afterpruning to check the misuse of permission.

Another factor which has set in motion the dangerousportend on the environment in cooperative sector is thepermission granted by the Government to re-develop the

societies to enhance the dwelling units as per increasedFAR as part of programme of vertical growth. This hasled thousand of societies in the country to toy with theidea and re-develop after demolishing their old structure.Now with the coming up of this new trend, lakhs of treesare bound to be cut to pave the space for constructionactivity. No provision is made in the notification how todeal with such a situation. Time has come when it ismade mandatory for all the cooperative societies to ensureprotection of existing greenery, install rain water harvesting,compliance to norms of Green Building with sewagetreatment, greens on roof-tops with solar power systemand census of all the trees and shrubs within the societycomplex. Every society must be mandated to plant treeson the basis of norm like – One Tree per Two units.Holding ceremonies on land earmarked for greens orconducting sports events etc. should be banned strictly.Societies who are found observing the check-list ofenvironment conservation should be rewarded. Afederation of at least 10 to 15 societies must be formedto ensure the protection of greenery in and aroundresidential complexes. Stringent measures be introducedin the Tree Protection Act to desist any reckless falling oftrees.

ODISHA COOPERATIVE HOUSING CORPORATION LTD.Janpath, Unit-III, Bhubaneswar – 751 001

Phone : 0674-2392387 Fax: 0674-2392393 E-mail : [email protected]/www.housingcorporation.in

ESTABLISHED IN – 1955 UNDER THE ODISHA COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES ACT, 1951

Our Endeavour : “Housing For All”• Paid up Share Capital - Rs. 525.09 lakhs• Loan Investment - Rs. 10253.87 lakhs• Venture to waive interest and compound interest on HUDCO loan

Our Upcoming : Housing Projects:• Duplex Housing Project in Joint Venture mode over 754 decimal of land at near Lingaraj Temple,

Old Town, Bhubaneswar.• Plotted Development Scheme at Paradeep.• Affordable Housing Projects in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack & Puri.

Ongoing Project : • “DHOULI HEIGHTS” Tamando, BhubaneswarA multi-storeyed residential Housing Project in PPP mode over a piece land measuring 34000sq.ft. at Tamando, Bhubaneswar under PPP Mode.

• Long Term Housing Loans have been provided to its members through Primary HBCS and24359 Nos. of houses has been constructed in the State.

Completed Plotted : Name of the Project No. of PlotsDevelopment Projects • Indira Gandhi Co-Housing Colony, Lingipur Bhubaneswar-Puri Main Road side 560

• Dhaulinagar Project, Badaraghunathpur, Tamando Bhubaneswar-Khordha, N.H.Side 405• Kalinga Vihar, Sipasarubali, Puri 1195

Plotted Scheme Projects under Joint Venture Mode withTirumala Infrastructure & Development Pvt. Ltd.

• Lavanya-I, Kuanarpur Niali (Phulnakhara) Cuttack 200• Lavanya-II, Oltapur (Phulnakhara), Cuttack 800• Lavanya-III, Pattnaikia Chhak, Sakhigopal, Puri 160

Brahmananda Bhue Saroj Kumar KarnaManaging Director Chairman

JANUARY, 2016 9

LEGAL COLUMN*SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

(BEFORE THE HON’BLE JUSTICE VIKRAMJIT SEN & SHIVA KIRTI SINGH, JJ)

Delhi Development Authority ……AppellantVs.P.R. Samanta ……Respondent

(CIVIL APPEAL NO. 3 OF 2003)

DECIDED ON 21ST JULY, 2015

* Compiled by Shri Tuhin, Advocate, Supreme Court.

GENERAL

This statutory appeal under Section 55 of theMonopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969(hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) is directed againstjudgment and order dated 20.08.2002 passed by theMonopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission,New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commission’) inCompensation Application No.367/97 preferred by the solerespondent.

ISSUE

What should be the rate of interest payable on refundof registration amount?

FACTS

The appellant invited applications from eligiblemembers of the general public during the period May1985 to August 1985 in a scheme described as Sixth SelfFinancing Housing Registration Scheme, 1985. Therespondent deposited the requisite sum of Rs.15000/- andby filing application became a member of that scheme. Indue course the appellant released a scheme for allocationof self financing society flats. Pursuant to advertisementspublished by the appellant the respondent vide hisapplication dated 27.02.1991 opted for a flat at either ofthree locations, namely, (1) Sarita Vihar, (2) Kondli Gharoliand (3) Narela. He was allotted a flat at Narela but theoffer was declined by the respondent on 27.10.1991.

In the year 1995 under a similar fresh scheme thepersons who had registered with the appellant wererequired to indicate their preferences for upto 14 localitiesmentioned in the Brochure Annexure ‘A’ and ‘B’. Theadvertised terms and conditions clarified that the

registrants not indicating their preferences for 14 localitieswill be allocated/allotted flats which would be availableafter accommodating the preferences and choices of theregistrants applying in terms of advertisement and theallotment would be through draw of lots. The respondentgave his preference only for 6 localities. He could not beaccommodated against any of his 6 preferred localitiesbut as per draw of lots he was allotted a flat in Dwarka.On receipt of the allotment letter dated 14/22.03.1995 therespondent through his letter dated 17.5.1995 declinedthe offer on the ground that the allotment was not as perhis preferences. He demanded the registration deposit ofRs.15000/- made in 1985 along with an interest @ 15%p.a. in place of 7% p.a. indicated in the scheme and theBrochure on the ground that the deposit would haveearned a minimum of 15% interest if it was deposited ina Class I company.

The appellant chose to accept the proposal forcancellation of allotment made by the respondent but itrefunded the registration amount along with only 7%interest in terms of the offer document which had beenaccepted by the respondent and was thus the rate finalizedby agreement between the parties.

The respondent in his complaint before theCommission filed on 29.6.1997 raised two-fold grievanceswhich have been noted by the Commission in paragraph3 of the impugned judgment. The first grievance wasagainst the levy of cancellation charges and penalty whenthe flat allotted to him was not in the 6 localities for whichhe had indicated his preference. The second grievance ofthe respondent was that the interest paid on theregistration amount is at a rate lower than the rate atwhich the applicants are to be charged in case of delay/default. After noticing the relevant provisions in theBrochure for 1985 scheme the Commission found no meritin the first grievance of the respondent since clause 5.5of the Brochure made it clear that allotment of flat as per

10 NCHF BULLETIN

preference would depend on its availability and it was notthe case of the respondent that inspite of availability offlats in the localities preferred, the same was not allocatedto the applicant.

HELD

The Hon’ble Supreme Court, after examining theprovisions of The Monopolies and Restrictive TradePractices Act, 1969, the Competition Act, 2002, therelevant clauses of the Scheme and the entire facts andcircumstances of the case, came to the followingconclusion:

a. The Commission has clearly erred in interfering withthe contractual rate of interest in absence of anyfinding against the actions and orders of theappellant. Without returning a finding that there wasany unfair trade practice or any restrictive/monopolistic trade practice pursuant to inquiry underthe provisions of the Act, the Commission clearlyerred in compensating the respondent with a higherrate of interest;

b. Even the basis for grant of higher interest is without

discussion of any material. The judgment and orderunder appeal indicates no material for coming to theimpugned finding that payment of interest on theregistration amount should not be less than onecharged from the applicants when they commit adefault. A default clause is introduced to deter anydelay or default and hence such penalty is by itsvery nature a deterrent one. That by itself offers areasonable justification for the appellant to charge ahigher rate of interest in the case of delay/default.So far as interest on the registration amount isconcerned it stands on a different footing. In absenceof relevant pleadings and evidence it cannot bepresumed that the appellant has resorted to anyunfair trade practice as defined under Section 36Aor has increased its price unreasonably or madeunreasonable earnings by investing the registrationamount in accounts bearing higher interest;

c. Appeal allowed.

Note : Please write to NCHF Secretariat for copy of abovejudgment, if required.

E-mail : [email protected] Office : 0484-2402913Fax : 0484-2402937 President : 0484-2401084

M.D. : 0484-2402734Dy. G.M. : 0484-2402335

KERALA STATE COOPERATIVE HOUSINGFEDERATION LTD., NO. 4330

P.B. NO. 1896, KALOOR,ERNAKULAM, KOCHI – 682017

The Central Financing Institutionof Housing Cooperatives in the State

Providing Long Term Loans upto Rs.10 Lakhs

For Further Details, Contact Primary Housing Co-op. Societies

ADV. M. EBRAHIMKUTTY P.T. JACOBPresident Managing Director

JANUARY, 2016 11

SNIPPETSCOOPERATIVE WEEK CELEBRATIONS-2015

The 62nd All India Cooperative Week was celebratedfrom 14-20th November, 2015 on the theme of ‘Make inIndia through Cooperatives’. Shri MohanbhaiKalyanjibhai Kundariya, Hon’ble Minister of State forAgriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of Indiainaugurated the Cooperative Week Celebrations at afunction organised by the National Cooperative Union ofIndia (NCUI) on 14th November, 2015 at New Delhi.

The week long celebrations comprised of variousfunctions organized by cooperative institutions from primarysocieties to national level federations thereby focusing onvarious sub-themes like Skill Development andEmployment; Enabling legislation for Cooperatives; Roleof Cooperatives in ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’; StrengtheningCooperation among Cooperatives; Cooperative Marketing,Processing & Value Addition; Mitigating Calamity throughCooperatives; and Financial Inclusion and Cooperatives.

In his inaugural address the Hon’ble Minister saidthat 25 crore people are associated with the cooperativemovement, and he as a cooperator for many years counthimself one of them. Shri Kundariya said cooperativesare in every sector. Most of the farmers of the country arelinked through cooperatives in one way or other andcooperative institutions like Amul, IFFCO, KRIBHCO andmany other such organizations are playing an importantrole in changing the life of farmers. “Sufficient allocationwould be made in the budget for strengthening cooperativeeducation and training. And the Government is committedto ensuring transparency in the working of cooperativesso that there are no irregularities in their functioning”, heunderlined.

The Hon’ble Minister touched upon many issues suchas autonomy for cooperatives, revival of NAFED, cropinsurance, soil health card and farmers’ suicide. He feltcooperative has bigger role to play in all aspects of lifeincluding Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

While addressing the participants, Dr. Chandra PalSingh, MP, President, NCUI blamed the neglect of thecooperative sector on the Government. There is not asingle line for cooperatives in the budget, he lamented.He said cooperatives are the only organizations whichcan compete with MNCs. There are 6 lakh cooperativesand the various Government policies should beimplemented through cooperatives, he demanded.

Dr. Chandra Pal added the RBI High PoweredCommittee recommendations on privatization of Urban

Cooperative Banks will destroy the legal entity ofcooperatives and therefore the autonomy of cooperativesshould not be diluted at all. “Give us freedom and wewould give you little chance of complain. We are awarethat even a solitary case of corruption derails the wholemovement”, NCUI President said amid thunderousapplause.

Earlier Dr. Dinesh read out the messages from VIPson the occasion of Cooperative Week. The Vice Presidentof India Shri Hamid Ansari to Union Agriculture MinisterShri Radha Mohan Singh to several Chief Ministers-allhave greeted NCUI on this occasion. The NCUIpublications namely special issue of ‘The Cooperator’ and‘Deepshikha’ were also released on the occasion.

To commemorate the Cooperative WeekCelebrations-2015, NCHF brought out a special issue of‘NCHF Bulletin’ which was released by Shri MohanbhaiKalyanjibhai Kundariya, Hon’ble Minister of State forAgriculture and Farmers Welfare at the inaugural functionof the Cooperative Week Celebrations.

The inaugural function of the 62nd All IndiaCooperative Week was attended by about 6 hundredrepresentatives from youth and cooperative organizations.

Shri G.H.Amin, Vice President, NCUI proposed avote of thanks.

GOVERNMENT PLANS TAX BENEFITS FOR HOUSEOWNERS, TENANTS

The Ministry of Housing and Urban PovertyAlleviation has proposed that urban house owners andtenants be given direct and indirect tax relief – by theCentre, State Governments as well as the Local

Shri Mohanbhai Kalyanjibhai Kundariya, Hon'ble Union Minister of Statefor Agriculture and Farmers Welfare inaugurating the 62nd All IndiaCooperative Week Celebrations by lighting the lamp.

12 NCHF BULLETIN

The new provision allowing use of C&D Waste isexpected to significantly help in reuse of such waste sincemore than 100 lakh metric tones of C&D Waste is beinggenerated per year in urban areas, making its disposal ina safe and sanitary manner, a major challenge.

With growing urbanization, a shortage of 14,000 croretones of construction aggregates in housing and roadconstruction sector is estimated in coming years. Reuseof C&D Waste under new provisions can to certain extentaddress this shortage. (PIB 17th December, 2015)

HOUSING SOCIETIES CAN SOON PURCHASE FARMLAND DIRECTLY

House Building Cooperative Societies (HBCS) inBengaluru will soon be able to purchase agricultural landdirectly from farmers without waiting ad infinitum tocomplete a long process as the Karnataka Government isset to bring an amendment to the Karnataka CooperativeSocieties Act, 1959.

Hon’ble Cooperation Minister of Karnataka Shri H.S.Mahadev Prasad told media on 28th December, 2015that his Department would introduce amendments andincorporations to the Act in the next session of theLegislature. The proposal will dispel scepticism amongHBCS members that the Government may indirectly beallowing real estate developers a backdoor entry topurchase agricultural land and bypass all regulations.

However, justifying the need to allow HBCS topurchase agricultural land directly, he said HBCS havebeen suffering due to non-allocation of sites for decades.The Hon’ble Minister also said the Department would askHBCS to pay interest on the money paid by members ofthe societies, if they are unable to allocate the sites evenafter two years of receiving the money. “Apart frompurchase of agricultural land directly, the Department alsointends to bring reforms by having a single windowclearance for all HBCS and cut the time duration for thedevelopment sites and layouts,” he said.

(TNN 29TH DECEMBER, 2015)

A REGULATOR TO PUT HOUSING SECTOR IN ORDER

The Real Estate Regulatory Bill, which has beencleared by the Cabinet, will bring in transparency to thesector and help improve the confidence of buyers andinvestors. Experts say it will give a big boost to the sector.

Salient Features– Insurance of land title to avoid risk of losing

investment.– Grading of projects and promoters to help buyers

take right decision.

Administration – to encourage rental accommodation tomeet the needs of migrants.

The draft ‘Rental Housing Policy’ notes that sincerenting of homes is treated as a commercial activity, theyield for owners stands reduced owing to the ensuingincreased property tax for individuals and service taxesfor institutional rental housing operators such as hostels/PG accommodations. “Higher outflow due to commercialtreatment deters the growth of rental housing,“ says theReport, which has been circulated to States for theirfeedback.

Arguing for putting in place a robust ‘Rental HousingPolicy’, the Ministry has suggested different “need basedrental housing” models to address the diverse housingneeds of various segments of the population. Consideringthe fact that the poor and those with a small income maynot be able to pay rent, the policy recommends that Statesor Urban Local Bodies can incentivise poor owners andtenants through subsidies and tax incentives or rentalvouchers. The vouchers provided to urban poor can beused to top up the rent they are paying to move into ahabitable space. (THE TIMES OF INDIA, 10TH NOVEMBER, 2015))

NHB OFFERS VARIOUS FACILITIES FORDIFFERENTLY ABLED

On the occasion of the ‘International Day of DisabledPersons’, National Housing Bank (NHB) has issuedcirculars on loan facilities to visually impaired andphysically challenged persons which are, also availableon NHB’s website (www.nhb.org.in). In terms of thecirculars, the HFCs have been advised that there shall beno discrimination in extending product services, facilitiesetc. including loan facilities to the visually impaired andphysically challenged persons.

(THE TIMES OF INDIA, 8TH DECEMBER, 2015)

INITIATIVE TO PROMOTE USE OF CONSTRUCTION &DEMOLITION WASTE

As part of ongoing efforts under Swachh BharatMission, the Union Government has now permittedsubstantially enhanced use of Construction and Demolition(C&D) waste in construction.

In consultation with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs,the Ministry of Urban Development has decided to allowuse of C&D Waste to the extent of 20% of coarse andfine aggregates, known as ‘bajri’ in construction of loadbearing items and up to 100% for non-load bearingpurposes. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) hasaccordingly modified the existing specifications in thisregard which only allowed use of natural aggregates suchas those from river beds in construction.

JANUARY, 2016 13

– States to comply with norms and make rules withinsix months of notification of the Act.

– States to establish Real Estate Regulator and anAppellate Tribunal.

– Buyers have the option to approach consumer forumsat the district level.

– Regulatory authorities to dispose of complaints within60 days.

– Appellate Tribunals must adjudicate cases within 60days.

– Penalty or imprisonment up to 3 years, or both, incase of builders; 1 year for real estate agents orbuyers for violating orders of Appellate Tribunal.

– Commercial projects brought under the ambit of theBill. (THE TIMES OF INDIA, 12TH DECEMBER, 2015)

MAGISTRATE’S POWERS FOR TAKING POSSESSIONOF MORTGAGED PROPERTY UPHELD

The Delhi High Court has upheld the validity of alegal provision giving powers to the Chief MetropolitanMagistrate and District Magistrate to take possession ofmortgaged property and documents, and forward them tothe secured creditor when an application for getting suchpossession is filed before him.

A writ petition in the High Court had challenged thelegality of Section 14 of the Securitisation andReconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement ofSecurity Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002, while contendingthat it violated the rights enshrined in the Constitution.The section specifies the Magistrate’s powers to deal withthe mortgaged assets and documents.

Petitioner Onil Sadh claimed to be a bonafide purchaser of a three-floor property in South Delhi’s Eastof Kailash without knowledge of the prior alleged mortgageby the previous owner and borrower in favour of FederalBank Limited. He challenged the bank’s notice as well asthe proceedings initiated by the Chief MetropolitanMagistrate under the SARFAESI Act. A Division Bench,comprising Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath,reiterated the Supreme Court’s observations that theimpugned provisions of the Act could not be said to beunconstitutional. “The object of the Act is to achieve speedierrecovery of the dues declared as non-performing assets(NPA) and better availability of capital liquidity and resourcesto help in growth of economy of the country.”

Dealing with the question whether the ChiefMetropolitan Magistrate was obliged to issue notice to thepetitioner before disposing of the application under Section14 of the SARFAESI Act, the Court said a secured creditor

may, in order to enforce his rights, may take recourse tothis procedure.

The Bench directed that if any person has a grievanceagainst an action taken under the SARFAESI Act, theremedy is to file an application under Section 17(1) of theAct before the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), Delhi.

The Court also explained that since the NPA Actprovides for recovery of possession by non-adjudicatoryprocess, therefore, to say that the rights of the borrowerwould be defeated without adjudication would be erroneous.

The Court finally held the writ petition as notmaintainable because the petitioner had an alternateremedy to approach the DRT, which he had alreadyavailed. The parties were directed to maintain status quoon the property till adjudication of the application pendingbefore the DRT. (THE HINDU, 15TH NOVEMBER, 2015)

BPSMV STUDENTS VISITS NCHF SECRETARIAT

A group of 30 students of Bhagat Phool Singh MahilaVishwavidyalaya (BPSMV), Sonepat as a part of theircourse curriculum on Cooperative Management made anobservation study visit to NCHF Secretariat at New Delhion 6th November, 2015. The BPSMV is the First WomenUniversity in North India. The above group wasaccompanied by Shri Gian Mehra, Assistant Professorand Shri Narendra Malik, Field Supervisor, BPSMV andShri Anand Dubey, Assistant Director, National Centre forCooperative Education (NCCE), New Delhi. Shri N.S.Mehara, Managing Director I/c, NCHF briefed them aboutthe objectives, functioning and achievements of NCHF,Apex Cooperative Housing Federations and housingcooperatives. A video film on ‘Housing for All - CooperativeHousing in India’ was screened before the group andsuitable literature was also provided to the students ofBPSMV.

A Group Photograph of the Students of Bhagat Phool Singh MahilaVishwavidyalaya (BPSMV), at NCHF Secretariat on 6.11.2015.

14 NCHF BULLETIN

BUILDINGS WITH POOLS WILL NEED LIFEGUARDSIN MAHARASHTRA

Realtors in Maharashtra will now have to appointlifeguards for residential projects with swimming pools.The State Government has made it mandatory. “Thecondition to appoint lifeguards should be added whileallotting building permission,“ said a directive issued tothe Civic Administrations through a State Governmentcircular.

The order will be applicable to all the MunicipalCorporations and Councils. The need to safeguard poolspropped up because of rapid urbanisation and an increasein the number of big projects which house swimming pools.The order has been issued based on the discussions ofa debate in the Legislative Council.

(THE TIMES OF INDIA, 7TH NOVEMBER, 2015)

UN RECOGNIZES HUMAN RIGHT TO SANITATION

In a bid to combat open defecation, the UnitedNations (UN) has adopted a landmark resolutionrecognizing the human right to “sanitation” as a distincthuman right along with the right to safe drinking water, amove hailed by experts. “The right to sanitation is anessential component of the right to an adequate standardof living, inextricably linked to the highest attainablestandard of health, and integrally related to the humanright to water” said Waleed Sadi, Chairman of the UNCommittee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. InIndia, the country with the highest number of peoplepracticing open defecation, the problem is acute over200,000 Indian children dieing of diseases such as diarrheaevery year. (THE TIMES OF INDIA, 19TH DECEMBER, 2015)

MONIQUE F. LEROUX ELECTED NEW PRESIDENT OFICA

Ms Monique F. Leroux has been elected as Presidentof the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) at theGeneral Assembly of ICA held in November, 2015 inAntalya, Turkey for the 2015-2017 term.

Ms. Leroux is the Chair of the Board, President andChief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group, the leadingCooperative financial group in Canada and the fifthstrongest financial institution in the world. During her term,Desjardins Group has shown sustained growth reachingassets of $250 billion while remaining strongly committedto its Cooperative values.

Ms. Leroux also Chairs the Boards of Directors ofCaisse Centrale Desjardins, Desjardins FinancialCorporation and the Desjardins Foundation, in addition toher role as the Chief Executive Officer of Desjardins Group

and its subsidiaries. She also sits on the Board of Créditindustriel et commercial (CIC), a subsidiary of CréditMutuel.

As Chair of the CQCM (Quebec Association ofCooperatives), Ms. Leroux launched an ambitious plan togrow the Cooperative movement by 20,000 jobs by 2020.She also contributed to the creation of CMC (Canada), alarge national Cooperative association.

Very active as a Board member of the ICA, MsLeroux Chairs the IARAC committee. She is also amember of the Executive Committee of EACB and CIBPas well as founder and chair of the Board of the QuebecInternational Summit of Cooperatives.

Ms. Leroux has received numerous honours,including the Order of Canada, the Chevalier of the Légiond’Honneur (France), the Woodrow Wilson Award (UnitedStates), personality of Francophonie économique, andholds Honorary Doctorates from eight CanadianUniversities. She was recently inducted as a Fellow of theInstitute of Corporate Directors for her outstandingleadership in business and governance. Also committedto public policy, Ms. Leroux is a member of the CanadianPrime Minister’s Advisory Committee and participates inthe B20 and B7/G7.

Ms. Leroux supports a host of not-for-profitorganisations and chairs the Desjardins Foundationcommitted to young people education.

Ms. Leroux, on her election: “I am profoundlyhonoured and moved to have been elected President ofthe International Cooperative Alliance. My thanks go outto our members across the world. I thank them for theirsupport and the trust they invest in me.”

The ICA is an independent, non-governmentalorganisation established in 1895 to unite, represent andserve cooperatives worldwide. It provides a global voiceand forum for knowledge, expertise and co-ordinatedaction for and about cooperatives. The members of ICAare international and national Cooperative organisationsfrom all sectors of the economy. It has members from100 countries, representing close to one billion individualsworldwide.

The ICA publishes each year the World CooperativeMonitor. According to the 2015 edition of the Monitor (http://www.monitor.coop) the world’s top 300 cooperatives have2.4 trillion USD in turnover. Cooperatives generate partialor full-time employment for at least 250 million individualsworldwide, either in or within the scope of cooperatives,making up almost 12% of the entire employed populationof the G20 countries.

JANUARY, 2016 15

WORLD HABITAT AWARDS 2015-16 FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The Building and Social Housing Foundation (BSHF) has announced the ten finalists for the 2015-16 WorldHabitat Awards. From environmentally-focused communal living in Colombia and the UK to capacity building inMalawi, this year’s 10 World Habitat Awards finalists include a wide range of innovative and inspiring practices.

The World Habitat Awards 2015-16 finalists are:• Comprehensive Community Development for Poverty Alleviation - Bhutan : Originally a nomadic hunter

gatherer community living in remote rural areas of Bhutan, the Olep were encouraged by the Government inthe 1980s to settle in villages. With no experience of settled living and little support, the community fell intoextreme poverty. This project, run by the Tarayana Foundation, has developed skills and encouraged a self-helpethos that has successfully helped the community recover and prosper.

• Back to Rio- Brazil : This huge scale public arts project has radically transformed the image of one of the mostnotorious favelas in Rio de Janeiro. It mobilised a community to paint the façades of their houses creatingmassive works of art. The effect has been to redefine their surroundings and turned a no-go area into a dynamiccommunity.

• TECHO – Development of Habitat - Chile : TECHO’s ‘Development of Habitat’ projects represent their corework of upgrading precarious settlements in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia. Design workshops composedof local families, community leaders and young volunteers from different disciplines identify the needs of thecommunity, devise practical solutions and plan improvements.

• Improvement without Barriers - Colombia : This project helps with simple adaptions and improvements tobathrooms for disabled people living in low income neighbourhoods in Medellín. The effects are remarkablegiving independence to disabled people and freeing their carers from constant responsibility.

• Nashira, A Song of Love, A Women-led Project – Colombia : Nashira Un Canto de Amor (a song of love)is an eco-village in rural Colombia built for and by women who have suffered domestic violence and/or displacementas a result of Colombia’s fifty year civil war. The project is a model of how different ways of living together canmake a community more resilient, both ecologically and socially.

• Empowering the Poor: Building the Capacity of Urban and Rural Communities – Malawi : Following theSlum Dwellers International approach and challenging Malawi’s ‘hand out culture’, this project is very muchcommunity-driven. It focuses on poor communities across the country, particularly in urban areas, and takes acomprehensive approach to development by empowering communities to organise, improve their living conditionsand infrastructure, and increase their incomes by setting up viable enterprises.

• Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust – Puerto Rico : The Martín Peña Channel was once a waterwaythat ran through the middle of the Puerto Rican capital San Juan. A community land trust is helping transforman informal settlement around this polluted and flood prone river channel into a sustainable community. Itprovides a new model for improving informal settlements in cities without them then becoming unaffordable forthe original residents.

• LILAC (Low Impact Living Affordable Community) – UK : Lilac is a self-planned and managed communityin Leeds, England. It embraces the concept of living sustainably and communally. Members of Lilac have theirown individual houses but share financial responsibility, the land, the development and day to day management.This supports greater resilience and provides permanently affordable housing.

• Rent to Buy Scheme - UK : The Highlands Small Communities Housing Trust ‘Rent to Buy Scheme’ helpspeople on low income living in the remote highlands of Scotland to find an affordable home. At the heart of thescheme is a financial mechanism which enables low income families to save up to buy a home whilst they arerenting it.

• Self-help Housing in the North of England – UK : Canopy and Giroscope are pioneers in a movement of UKhousing providers called “Self Help Housing” working in cities in the North of England. These housing charitiestrain homeless and vulnerable people to renovate abandoned properties and bring them back into use. Thecompleted houses provide low cost homes for homeless local people who are homeless or in housing need.

The winners of the 2015-16 World Habitat Awards will be announced in February, 2016 and presented withtheir awards at Habitat lll in October 2016.

16 NCHF BULLETIN

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vkyksP; vof/ dherksa esa lcls T;knk 21-9 iQhlnh dhc<+ksrjh fnYyh esa ntZ dh xbZ tgka lwpdkad 251 ls c<+dj306 ij igqap x;kA vkjchvkbZ ds vkadM+ksa ds vuqlkj dsjydk dksPph ,dek=k ,slk 'kgj jgk tgka vkokl ewY; lwpdkadesa deh vkbZ gSA ;g 7-17 izfr'kr ?kVdj 171 ij vk x;kAfnYyh ds ckn csaxyq: esa edkuksa dh egaxkbZ lcls T;knk19-13 izfr'kr] pSUubZ esa 12-38 izfr'kr] y[kumQ esa 10-89izfr'kr rFkk eqacbZ esa 10-27 izfr'kr c<+hA dkuiqj esa edkuksads nke 8-45 iQhlnh] dksydkrk esa 7-07 iQhlnh rFkk t;iqjesa 3-26 iQhlnh c<+sA ogha] frekgh nj frekgh vk/kj ij pkywfoRr o"kZ dh igyh frekgh ds eqdkcys nwljh frekgh esaedkuksa dh dher esa lokZf/d 5-51 izfr'kr dh c<+ksrjhdkuiqj esa ntZ dh xbZA (jk"Vªh; lgkjk] 19 fnlEcj] 2015)

gMdks us fn;k 120 djksM+ :i;s dk ykHkka'k

gMdks ds ps;jeSu vkSj eSusftax Mk;jsDVj MkW- ,e-jfodkar us foRr o"kZ 2014&15 ds ykHkka'k dk psd dsUnzh;'kgjh fodkl rFkk vkokl ,oa 'kgjh xjhch mi'keu ea=khJh ,e- osadS;k uk;Mw dks lkSaikA bl ekSds ij ,p;wih, dhlsØsVjh MkW- uafnrk pVthZ] ;wMh ds lsØsVjh Jh e/qlwnu izlknvkSj gMdks ds ljdkjh Mk;jsDVj Jh vkj-vkj- feJk vkSjJh >ka>k f=kikBh Hkh ekStwn FksA gMdks us lky 2014&15 dsfy, dqy 120-50 djksM+ :i;s dk ykHkka'k fn;k gSA blesa20-49 djksM+ dk ykHkka'k dj Hkh 'kkfey gSA dqy ykHkka'k esals 69-20 djksM+ :i;s vkokl ,oa 'kgjh xjhch mi'keuea=kky; (,p;wih,)] 10-08 djksM+ :i;s 'kgjh fodkl ea=kky;]20-73 djksM+ :i;s xzkeh.k fodkl ea=kky; dks fn;s gSA foÙko"kZ 2014&15 esa gMdks us vc rd dk lcls T;knk777-63 djksM+ :i;s dk ykHk dek;k gSA

(uoHkkjr VkbEl 3 fnlEcj] 2015)

ve`r fe'ku esa 89 'kgjksa ds fy, 2786 djksM+ :i;s

dsUnzh; 'kgjh fodkl ea=kky; us ljdkj dh egRokdka{khifj;kstuk ^ve`r* fe'ku ds rgr vkU/z izns'k] xqtjkr vkSjjktLFkku ds 89 'kgjksa ds fy, 2786 djksM+ :i;s dh;kstukvksa dks eatwjh nh gSA

dsUnzh; 'kgjh fodkl lfpo Jh e/qlwnu izlkn us ve`rfe'ku ds fy, fofHkUu ea=kky;ksa dh mPp Lrjh; cSBd esabu ;kstukvksa dks eatwjh nhA ;s ;kstuk,a 'kgjh ?kjksa esa eq[;:i ls is;ty vkiwfrZ vkSj lhoj lqfo/kvksa ls tqM+h gSaA ;gigyk ekSdk gS tc 'kgjh fodkl ea=kky; us jkT; ds Lrjij ;kstukvksa dks eatwjh nh gSA blls igys izR;sd ;kstuk dkewY;kadu dj mudks eatwjh nh tkrh FkhA

dsUnz us rhuksa jkT;ksa dh 143 ;kstukvksaa dks eatwjh nh gSftuesa ls 47 is;ty vkSj 31 lhoj lqfo/kvksa rFkk tyfudklh] 'kgjh ifjogu vkSj gfjr LFkkuksa rFkk ikdksZa ds fodklls lacaf/r gSaA dqy jkf'k esa ls 1471 djksM+ :i;s lhojlqfo/kvksa rFkk 1225 djksM+ :i;s is;ty vkiwfrZ ds fy;s eatwjfd, x, gSaA

ve`r fe'ku ds rgr xqtjkr 916 djksM+ :i;s dh ykxrls 25 'kgjksa esa lhoj lqfo/k miyC/ djk,xk tcfd jkT;ds 11 'kgjksa esa 233 djksM+ :i;s dh ykxr ls is;ty vkiwfrZdh ;kstuk ij dke gksxkA jktLFkku ds 6 'kgjksa esa lhojlqfo/k ij 555 djksM+ :i;s rFkk 10 'kgjksa esa is;ty vkiwfrZds fy, 344 djksM+ :i;s dh jkf'k O;; gksxhA vkU/z izns'kesa 26 'kgjksa ds fy;s is;ty vkiwfrZ ij 646 djksM+ :i;svkSj 30 'kgjksa esa gfjr LFkkuksa vkSj ikdksZa ds fodkl ij16 djksM+ :i;s ls vf/d dh jkf'k [kpZ dh tk,xhAJh izlkn us cSBd esa lHkh jkT;ksa ls 'kgjh {ks=kksa esa ty vkiwfrZds csgrj izca/u rFkk fu'kqYd ty forj.k O;oLFkk dks lekIrdjus ds fy, lHkh ?kjksa esa ikuh ds ehVj yxkus dk vuqjks/fd;kA jkT;ksa ls bl ij fo'ks"k è;ku nsus ds fy, dgk x;kgSA

cSBd esa fy, x, fu.kZ; ds vuqlkj xqtjkr ds fy,118 djksM+] jktLFkku ds fy, 91 djksM+ vkSj vkU/z izns'k dsfy, 66 djksM+ :i;s dh jkf'k dh igyh fdLr tYn ghtkjh dh tk,xhA

(uoHkkjr VkbEl 23 vDVwcj] 2015)

JANUARY, 2016 17

(Contd. from page 6)in relation to failure to receive an application forinformation or failure to furnish the information withinthe period specified in Section 7(1), it should alsorecord the opinion if such default was persistent andwithout reasonable cause.

(viii) Every default on the part of the concerned officermay not result in issuance of a recommendation fordisciplinary action. The case must fall in any of thespecified defaults and reasoned finding has to berecorded by the Commission while making suchrecommendations.

(ix) Negligence per se is not a ground on whichproceedings under Section 20(2) of the Act can beinvoked. The Commission must return a finding thatsuch negligence, delay or default is persistent andwithout reasonable cause.

(x) Apart from recording the finding that any of the stateddefaults have been committed by such officer, theCommission has to further record its opinion thatsuch default in relation to receiving of an applicationor not furnishing the information within the specifiedtime was committed persistently and without areasonable cause.

(xi) It is not the legislative mandate that irrespective ofthe facts and circumstances of a given case, whether

reasonable cause is shown or not, the Commissionmust recommend disciplinary action merely becausethe application was not responded to within 30 days.Every case has to be examined on its own facts.wherever reasonable cause is not shown to thesatisfaction of the Commission and the Commissionis of the opinion that there is default in terms of theSection it must send the recommendation fordisciplinary action in accordance with law to theconcerned authority. In such circumstances, it willhave no choice but to send recommendatory report.

(xii) The burden of forming an opinion in accordancewith the provisions of Section 20(2) and principles ofnatural justice lies upon the Commission [Emphasisadded].

The cumulative effect of the above discussion isthat the Apex Court was unable to sustain the order passedby the State Information Commission and the judgment ofthe High Court under appeal.

UPSHOT

An in depth study of the case laws will enlighten theauthorities under the Act that the imposition of penaltyhas been carefully carved in by the Legislatures and if thePIO falls within the parameters he cannot escape penalty.

Grams : “HOUSEFED” Phones : 040-27660181, 27668606Mail : [email protected] Fax : 040-27666342

B. Gopal NaikAR/Managing Director

Y. Gopal ReddyChairman

The A.P. Cooperative Housing SocietiesFederation Limited, Hyderabad

(A.P. Housefed)Head Office : H. No.1-8-1/B/26, Housefed Bhavan,

Baghlingampally, Hyderabad – 500 044.Regional Offices : Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Kadapa

THE ONLY APEX COOP INSTITUTION IN COOPERATIVE SECTOR SERVING THE ESSENTIAL NEED OF “HOUSING” BYSANCTIONING LONG TERM HOUSE BUILDING LOANS ON LIBERAL TERMS AT REASONABLE RATE OF INTEREST TODIFFERENT INCOME GROUPS THROUGH PRIMARY COOP HOUSING SOCIETIES.

WE ARE IN ACTION FOR YOUR SATISFACTION

A.P. HOUSEFED OFFERS LOAN FACILITY FOR :• Construction of new Houses/Flat/Group Housing Schemes. • Extension of existing House.• Purchase of ready built House/Flat. • Repairs.

SCHEMESS.No. Scheme Loan Amount Rs. Plinth Area Income limit in Rs.

1. L.I.G.H. 75,000/- 250 sq.fts. 3501/- to 5000/-2. L.I.G.H-II 1,50,000/- 450 sq.fts. 5001/- to 6000/-3. M.I.G.H. 2,00,000/- 560 sq.fts. 6001/- to 8000/-4. H.I.G.H-I 3,00,000/- 840 sq.fts. 8001/- to 10000/-5. H.I.G.H-II 4,00,000/- 1125 sq.fts. 10001/- to 15000/-6. H.I.G.H-III 5,00,000/- 1400 sq.fts. 15001/- and above

18 NCHF BULLETIN

e-iz- lgdkjh lkslkbVh (la'kks/u) vf/fu;e 2012 ij foospu

—gfjukjk;.k nqcs*

iathd`r ,oa lapkfyr gksrh gSaA dsUnzh; ljdkj }kjk lHkhjkT;ksa dks viuh LFkkuh; vko';drk o ifjfLFkfr ds ekuls lgdkjh vf/fu;e cukus dh Lora=krk iznku dh xbZ gSA

uohu izo`fRr;ka

le; ds lkFk yksxkasa dh lksp ,oa O;ogkj esa HkhifjorZu vk x;k gSA bl dkj.k lgdkjh vf/fu;e Hkh bldsifj.kkeksa ls vNqrs ugha jgs gSA eè; izns'k esa lgdkjhvf/fu;e esa brus la'kks/u gks pqds gSa] fd 'kk;n gh fdlhvU; fo/ku esa gq, gksaA blesa lgdkfjrkvksa dh igpku]lgdkjh ewY;ksa vkSj lgdkjh fl¼kUrksa o lgdkjh n'kZu dkiwjk izko/ku ugha gqvkA lgdkjh laLFkk,a jktuSfrd nyksa dhmBkiVd ds v[kkM+s cu x;sA lgdkjh foHkkx viuh eq[;Hkwfedk ^izQsaM] fiQykliQj] xkbZM* dks Hkwy x;k gSA dqNlgdkjh laLFkk,a Hkz"Vkpkj dk lk/u cuk nh xbZaA blesa gj,d&nwljs dks nks"kh fl¼ djus ij rqyk gSA

ifjorZu dh igy

ns'k esa lgdkfjrk dk Jhx.ks'k] izksRlkgu] lja{k.k]funsZ'ku o fu;a=k.k dk dk;Z iwjh rjg ljdkjksa vkSj ljdkjhvfHkdj.kksa }kjk fd;k x;kA lgdkjh laLFkk,a ijk/hu jgha]os vius iSjksa ij [kM+k ugha gks ikbZA o"kZ 1960 ds n'kdds izkjaHk ls gh lgdkfjrk ij vk;ksftr o xfBr lEesyu]lsehukj] desVh] vk;ksxksa] la?kh; lgdkjh laxBuksa dh cSBdksaesa izeq[k :i ls ,d gh ppkZ o fu.kZ; gksus yxs] fdlgdkjh laLFkkvksa dks lgh vFkksZa esa lnL;ksa }kjk] lnL;ksa dsfy;s vkSj lnL;ksa dh laLFkk,a cukus dk LoLFk ekgkSy rS;kjgksuk pkfg;sA bUgsa iwjh rjg vkRefuHkZj cuk;k tk;sA lgdkjhfo/kuksa] fu;eksa dks vf/d mnkj cuk;k tk,A ifj.kke Lo:io"kZ 1987 esa Hkkjrh; jk"Vªh; lgdkjh la?k ds iz;kl lspkS/jh czãizdk'k dh vè;{krk esa ,d desVh xfBr dh xbZAblus ^vkn'kZ lgdkjh fo/ku* (ekWMy dksvkijsfVo ,DV)dk izk:i izLrqr fd;kA o"kZ 1990 ds n'kd esa lgdkfjrkds fo'o izfl¼ uk;d o 'osr Økafr ds tud] in~eHkw"k.kLoa MkW oxzhZl dqfj;u dh vè;{krk o lgdkfjrk ds vxz.kh

izLrkouk

Hkkjr o"kZ esa lHkh lgdkjh laLFkkvksa dh la[;k 6 yk[krFkk budh lnL; la[;k 1-5 djksM+ gSA budk nk;jk] cSafdaxlk[k] foi.ku] izfØ;k] moZjd] 'kDdj] nqX/] iQy ,oa lCthmRiknu] iksYVªh] fiQ'kjht] gLrf'kYi] HkaMkj.k] lsok {ks=kksavkfn esa iQSyk gSA budh lajpuk xzke] eaMh] ftyk] jkT;]jk"Vªh; o vUrjkZ"Vªh; Lrj rd] izHkkoh usVodZ cu pqdh gSAfu;ksftr vkfFkZd iz;klksa ls futh {ks=k] lkoZtfud {ks=k dslkFk] lgdkfjrk dks Hkh ,d l{ke {ks=k dh ekU;rk izkIrgks pqdh gSA ijUrq buesa vkRefo'okl vkSj izcU/dh; oO;kolkf;d {kerk lqfuf'pr djuk vko';d gS] blds fy,bUgsa Lo'kklh] LomRrjnk;h vkSj iw.kZ ikjn'khZ dk;Ziz.kkyh]okrkoj.k nsuk ykteh gSA

laHkkouk

Lora=k vkfFkZd O;oLFkk ,oa HkweaMyhdj.k ds blizfrLi/hZ okrkoj.k esa fo'o ds lcls cM+s iztkra=k o O;kidlgdkjh laxBuksa okys] bl ns'k esa vkfFkZd] lkekftd]'kS{kf.kd vkfn lHkh {ks=k esa lgdkjh laxBuksa dk egRoiw.kZ;ksxnku gks ldrk gSA xjhch] Hkq[kejh] csjkstxkjh feVkus vkSjmRiknu] forj.k] lsok ds {ks=k esa izHkkoh Hkwfedk dh vlhelaHkkouk,a gSaA

oS/kfud ifjn`';

Hkkjr esa 1904 esa igyk lgdkjh fo/ku cuk FkkA o"kZ1912 esa u;k O;kid lgdkjh fo/ku cuk;k x;kA 1920ds ckn {ks=kh;] fHkUurkvksa ds dkj.k jkT;ksa ds fy;s vyx&vyxlgdkjh vf/fu;e cuk;s tkus yxsA 1947 Lora=krk izkfIrds ckn lgdkjh laLFkk ftudk nk;jk ftyk ;k jkT; Lrjrd Fkk] mudk jkT;ksa ds lgdkjh vf/fu;e ls fu;eu gksrkgSA ,slh lgdkjh laLFkk ftudk dk;Z{ks=k nks ;k vf/d jkT;ksard gksa os eYVhLVsV dksvkijsfVo ,DV] 2002 ds varxZr

* iwoZ izkpk;Z] jk"Vªh; lgdkjh izf'k{k.k ifj"k¼] ubZ fnYyh ,oa vè;{k oizcU/ lapkyd] lq;'k fodkl lk[k lgdkfjrk fy- bUnkSj (e-iz-)

JANUARY, 2016 19

lefiZr usrk Jh eksgu /kfj;k dh lnL;rk esa xfBr ,d^dksvkijsfVo bfuf'k,fVo isuy* dk xBu fd;k x;kA ifj.kkeLo:i o"kZ 1995 esa ^vkn'kZ lgdkjh fo/ku* (ekWMydksvkijsfVo ,DV) dks vk/kj cukdj vka/z izns'k ljdkj usigyh ckj ^E;qP;qvyh ,MsM dksvkijsfVo lkslkbVht ,DV&1995*ds uke ls ,d lekukUrj lgdkjh vf/fu;e ikfjr fd;kAnwljs jkT; eè; izns'k esa ^eè; izns'k Lok;Ùk lgdkfjrkvf/fu;e&1999* jkT; ljdkj us 23 uoEcj] 1999 dkslekukUrj lgdkjh vf/fu;e eatwj fd;kA blds ckn NRrhlx<+]mRrjk[kaM] fcgkj lfgr ntZu Hkj ls vf/d jkT;ksa esa Lok;Ùklgdkjh vf/fu;e ykxw fd;k x;sA o"kZ 1995 esa varjkZ"Vªh;lgdkjh egklHkk ds esupsLVj (fczVsu) esa fu/kZfjr lgdkjhigpku] lgdkjh ewY;ksa vkSj lgdkjh fl¼kUrksa dks fo'oO;kihekU;rk feyus ij Hkkjr ljdkj us Hkh lgdkfjrk dh jk"Vªh;uhfr ?kksf"kr dhA ftlesa ijLij lg;ksx ls vkRe&lgk;rk]Lo&mRrjnkf;Ro] lekurk] ,drk] yksdrkaf=kd] ikjnf'kZrk vkSjbZekunkjh tSls ewY;ksa vkSj lgdkjh fl¼kUrksa dks oS/kfudizko/kuksa ds varxZr ykus gsrq dne mBk,A dsUnz ljdkj usu;k eYVh LVsV dksvkijsfVo ,DV] 2002] ls izfrLFkkfir djeqghe dks vkxs c<+k;kA Hkkjr ljdkj }kjk d`f"k lk[klgdkfjrk dks l{ke] lqn`<+ cukus gsrq izksiQslj oS|ukFku dhvè;{krk okyh desVh dh vuqla'kk ij] iSDl dks :i;s13]597 djksM+ dh lgk;rk dk ykHk mUgha jkT;ksa dks nsusdk fu'p; fd;k] tks vius ;gka lgdkjh fo/kuksa esa lgdkjhlaLFkkvksa dks Lok;Rrk iznku djsxsaA

Hkkjrh; lafo/ku esa la'kks/u

Hkkjr ljdkj us Jh oklqnso vkpk;Z ofj"B lkaln dhvè;{krk okyh desVh dh vuqla'kk ij] lafo/ku esa 97ok¡la'kks/u] laln esa ikfjr djkdj 15 iQjojh] 2012 dks xtVesa izdkf'kr fd;kA la;qDr jk"Vª us Hkh o"kZ 2012 dksvUrjkZ"Vªh; lgdkjh o"kZ ?kksf"kr fd;kA lgdkjh laLFkkvksa dkslaoS/kfud ntkZ vkSj ekSfyd vf/dkj fn;kA jkT; ds uhfrfunsZ'kd rRo esa vuqPNsn 243&ZH ls 243&ZT rd u;sizko/ku fd;sA ifj.kker% ns'k ds lHkh jkT;ksa dks ,d o"kZds Hkhrj vius&vius lgdkjh vf/fu;eksa esa lgdkjh laLFkkvksadks LoSfPNd] Lo'kklh] turkaf=kd] Lok;RÙkk o O;kolkf;dizca/ ds izko/kuksa ds lkFk la'kks/u] lqfuf'pr djusdk vuqjks/ fd;kA vU;Fkk dsUnzh; fo/ku ykxw gks ldrkgSA

e-iz- lgdkjh lkslkbVh vf/fu;e] 1960 esa la'kks/u

eè;izns'k ljdkj us e-iz- lgdkjh lfefr vf/fu;e]1960 fu;e 1962 esa la'kks/u djds] ^e-iz- lgdkjhlkslk;Vh (la'kks/u) vf/fu;e&2012* ds uke ls izns'k esalgdkjh {ks=k dks lqn`<+ o l'kDr cukus gsrq ykxw fd;k gSA

1- la'kksf/r u;s vf/fu;e ds o`gn uke esa LoSfPNdrk]Lok;Ùkrk] Lo'kklh] turkaf=kd] O;kolkf;d izca/ 'kCntksM+s x, gSA

2- ifjHkk"kk esa pquko vFkkfjVh] eYVh LVsV dksvkijsfVolkslkbVh ,DV] jftLVªkj] fjVfuZax vkfiQlj rFkk lapkydeaMy dh uohu ifjHkk"kk,a tksM+h xbZ gSaA

3- e-iz- Lok;Rr lgdkfjrk vf/fu;e 1999 dk fujludjds /kjk 9(d) laifjorZu dk izko/ku dj izns'kdh lHkh Lok;Rr lgdkfjrkvksa dks u;s vf/fu;e esaLor% iathd`r gqbZ eku fy;k x;k gSA

4- /kjk&48 mi/kjk esa la'kks/u dj] lHkh lalk/u Js.khdh lgdkjh laLFkkvksa ds lapkyd eaMy esa v&½.khlnL;ksa] izcU/ esa Hkkx ysus ls oafpr fd;k x;k] nksfo'ks"kKksa dks cksMZ esa LFkku nsuk (O;olk;] cSafdax]izcU/] fo'ks"kK) nks efgykvksa ds in ,oa vuqlwfpr;k vuq- tutkfr esa ls ftlds lnL; vf/d gksa] ,din vkjf{kr rFkk ,d vè;{k nks mikè;{k lfgrvf/dre 15 lnL; rd dk cksMZ fd;k x;k gSA

5- cksMZ dk dk;Zdky 5 o"kZ fd;k x;k gSA

6- izfrfuf/;ksa ds vkj{k.k dks fujLr fd;kA

7- fofuZfn"V in ij] nks dk;Zdky ;k 10 o"kZ ds cknizfrcaf/r fd;k x;k gSA

8- foRrh; o"kZ lekfIr ds 6 ekg ds Hkhrj] okf"kZdlk/kj.k lHkk vk;ksftr dj vadsf{kr ys[kk i=kd ikfjrdjkuk vfuok;Z fd;k gSA lapkyd eaMy ds dk;Zdkyesa o`f¼ dk izko/ku fujLr fd;kA

9- dsoy mUgha lgdkjh laLFkkvksa ds cksMZ dks jftLVªkjlquus rFkk viuk i{k Li"V djus ds ckn] cksMZ dksHkax dj ldsxk] ftuesa 'kklu dh iwath] ½.k] vuqnku;k xkjaVh nh xbZ gSA vf/dre vof/ 6 ekg rdlhfer dh xbZA Hkax lapkyd eaMy ds lnL;] vxys7 o"kZ rd fdlh Hkh lgdkjh laLFkk esa lapkyd ugha

20 NCHF BULLETIN

jg ikosaxsA igys blh laLFkk esa ugha jgus dkizko/ku FkkA

10- /kjk&56 esa foRrh; o"kZ lekIr gksus ds 6 ekg dsHkhrj iath;d dks vads{k.k fjiksVZ] foRrh; i=kd] laLFkkdh xfrfof/ rFkk iath;d }kjk pkgh xbZ vU;tkudkfj;ka vfuok;Z :i ls izLrqr djus dk izko/kutksM+k x;k gSA

11- /kjk&57 esa lgdkjh lfefr;ksa ds fuokZpu gsrq izFkdfudk; (bysD'ku vFkkWfjVh) fuokZpd ukekoyh rS;kjdjus ,oa fuokZpu djkus gsrq lfpo Lrj ds ,dvf/dkjh dh fu;qfDr dk izko/ku gSA fu;qfDr eq[;lfpo dh vè;{krk okyh] LØhfuax desVh djsxhA

12- /kjk&58 esa lgdkjh laLFkkvksa dk vads{k.k djkus gsrq'kkldh; lgdkjh vads{kd ;k lh-,- vads{kd dhfu;qfDr] okf"kZd lk/kj.k lHkk }kjk djkus dkizko/ku fd;k x;k gSA 'kh"kZLFk laLFkkvksa ds vads{k.kizfrosnu] fo/ku lHkk esa j[ks tkus dk izko/ku fd;kx;k gSA

13- /kjk&74 o /kjk&75 esa leUl@vf/xzg.k@vkns'k voKk@dkVh xbZ jkf'k] le; ij tek ugha djus ij Hkz"Vvkpj.k dk vijk/ ekuk tk;sxkA blds fy, Hkkjh'kkfLr;ka yxkus ds vf/dkj fn;s x;s gSA

la'kks/uksa dk [email protected]

eè;izns'k esa Hkkjr ljdkj }kjk lafo/ku la'kks/u rFkkjkT;ksa ds lgdkjh vf/fu;e la'kks/u ds funsZ'kksa dks dsUnzdh ,d rjiQk dk;Zokgh] ekuk x;k gSA cM+s vupkgs ;k cseuls] NqViqV la'kks/u fd;s x;s gSaA blesa Lok;Rrk de ljdkj;k iath;d dk fu;a=k.k vf/d c<+sxkA lgdkjh laxBuksa dksdk;Z djus dk LoLFk] Lora=k o jpukRed okrkoj.k ughafey fey ik;sxkA Lok;Rr lgdkjh vf/fu;e ds rgr xfBriathd`r laLFkk,a Hkh vc iath;d ;k ljdkj ds fu;a=k.k esavk xbZ gSaA

D;k gksuk pkfg;s Fkk\

okLro esa vko';drk e-iz- Lok;Rr lgdkfjrkvf/fu;e&1999 esa dqN izHkkoh izko/ku djds] la'kks/ufd;k tkuk FkkA ftlls vuko';d] vokaNuh; ;k voS/kfudizo`fRr;ksa ij fu;a=k.k gks iqjkus 1960 ds vf/fu;e dks ghlekIr fd;k tkuk FkkA D;ksafd le; dh eakx ij e-iz-

Lok;Ùkrk vf/fu;e yEch cgl] fpUru ds ckn cuk FkkAblesa lgdkfjrk dh igpku] ifjHkk"kk] lgdkjh ewY;ksa ,oafl¼kUrksa ij cy fn;k x;k gSA mUgsa lgh jhfr ls ikyudk vkxzg gSA u;s la'kksf/r vf/fu;e] esa budk dksbZ ftØgh ugha fd;k x;k gSA lsYiQ xouZUl dks c<+kok fn;k tkukFkkA la?kh; laxBuksa dh ldkjkRed Hkwfedk ,oa nkf;Ro c<+k,tkuk pkfg;s FkkA laLFkkvksa esa nks"k ds fy;s <+kapkxr mPpLrjh; lgdkjh laxBuksa dks ftEesnkj cuk;k tkuk pkfg, FkkAgj NksVh&NksVh ckrksa ds fy;s lh/s jftLVªkj ;k ljdkj dkgLr{ksi izns'k dh lHkh 35 gtkj laLFkkvksa esa ugha gksukpkfg;sA lgdkjh laLFkkvksa dk jktuhfrdj.k djus esa 'kkldh;e'khujh dks ckè; fd;k] ,slk vkHkkl ugha gksuk pkfg,A blsfcuk lksps&le>s foyfEcr dk;Zokgh ls lgdkjh txr esaxyr lans'k tkosxk vkSj dk;Z laLd`fr nwf"kr gksxhA

eè;izns'k dh fo/ku lHkk esa vuqHkoh lgdkjh usrkvksadh cgqr cM+h la[;k gSA lHkh cM+h ikfVZ;ksa esa pkgs lRrki{k ds gks ;k foi{kh dbZ lgdkjh usrk fo/k;d gSA ijUrqviQlksl bl ckr dk gS fd buesa ls fdlh us Hkh Lok;Rrlgdkfjrk vf/fu;e ds lekIr djus ds izLrko ij dksbZizfrfØ;k ugha nhA ;g Hkh lgh gS fd e-iz- Lok;Rr lgdkjhvf/fu;e esa laifjofrZr ;k iathd`r dqN lgdkjh laLFkkvksaus] Lok;Ùkrk dk Hkkjh nq:i;ksx fd;k] ijUrq blesa nks"kh dksltk nsus ;k ihfM+r dks jkgr nsus ds ctk;] Lok;Rr lgdkjhvf/fu;e dks gh lekIr dj nsuk] dksbZ vPNh ckr ughaekuh tk;sxhA (lkHkkj% n dksvkjsVj] ebZ] 2014)

‘NCHF Bulletin’wishes its Readers,

Advertisers andSubscribers

A Very Happy andProsperous New Year

–Editor