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The Newsletter of Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT)

VOL. 5, ISSUE 5, July 2015

The PCGT Dialogues back with new topics to


look for, heres a peek on the first one.

Profile
Public Concern for Governance
Trust (PCGT), a registered trust,
founded by concerned citizens,
mobilises public opinion, increases

Public Concern for Governance Trust


Presents
PCGT Dialogue on

public participation and activism


towards

promoting

honesty,

transparency and accountability in


governance.

Vision
To strive for good governance,
contain corruption, uphold and
inculcate

values

and

enhance

Sadbhavna in the citizens.

Board of Trustees
CHAIRMAN
Mr. J. F. Ribeiro
MANAGING TRUSTEE
Mr. Dara Gandhy
JT. MANAGING TRUSTEE
Mr. Narayan Varma
TRUSTEES
Dr. R. K. Anand
Dr. Ratna Magotra
S. S. Puri
Gulam Vahanvaty
Prasad Chandran
M. R. Reddy

Tool for Empowerment Use & Abuse


Date: 31st July 2015, Friday
Venue: Hall of Quest (Basement),
Nehru Centre, Worli

Time: 11.00 am to 1.00 pm

PANELISTS

Mr. Dilip Cherian

- Image Management Guru

Mr. K. M. M Prasanna - Cyber Crime, Mumbai Police


Mr. Sanoop Thomas - Independent Security Consultant
Do join us as we examine the Pros and Cons of sharing our virtual lives.

For More details please contact us


Tel: 02223526426 Email ID: publicconcern@gmail.com

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 5, ISSUE 5, July 2015

VOICES

EDITORIAL
Living with the Differences

If one truly desires to see God, he


can do so through all religions and
sects like Hindus and Muslims or
Christians. But people fight saying my
God is better than others and unless
you pray in a particular way, there is no
salvation. Such knowledge is dogmatic
or stubborn and not good to have. Once
four friends were arguing vehemently
about the colour of a chameleon they
had seen under the same tree but at
different times; one saw it as red while
another one at another time as blue
and yet the third friend described the
colour as yellow and the fourth one
said that when he saw the chameleon,
it had no colour. All of them were right
and describing the same creature yet
everyone believed only what he saw.
Similarly everyone tries to describe the
god as per his understanding and gets
lost in unnecessary detail.
Above conversation was between two
semi literate but highly evolved spiritual
persons. Ramakrishna Paramhamsa
was talking with a disciple (1983). He
should know since he had practiced
Islam, Christianity and different forms
of Hindu religion before reaching the
conclusion that all ways lead to the
same God.
Unfortunately in our times the noise
makers are heard easily and they make
appearance every evening through
prime time TV right in our living rooms.
High pitched debates in TV studios
between individuals from different faiths
end up leaving the viewers confused
and misinformed. The studio guests
are carefully picked up for their known
extreme viewpoints as they spit venom
and abuse at each other violating the
fundamentals of any civilized debate.
They are ill informed not only about
other religions but often about their own
faith entrenched as they are in dogma
www.pcgt.org

and irrational arguments. There are


many voices of love and sanity that can
challenge such bigotry and intolerance
but may not contribute to the TRPs of
aggressive and provocative media.
One need not be a believer to be kind
and compassionate towards the fellow
beings. Many atheists have contributed
more to humanity while the religious
have fought bloody wars through the
history. We often forget that all life
sustaining elements do not differentiate
along caste or religion or geography. Air
that we breathe or the solar energy is
same for everyone and not customized
for different faiths. While treating the
victims of 1992-93 riots in Mumbai, we
could not differentiate whether the blood
smeared on our hands and clothes
was Hindu or Muslim. The blood banks
dispensed blood bags after matching
the blood groups alone and who knows
which Hindu or Christian blood saved a
Muslim life or vice versa.
Youth of the nation is our best hope
for the future. Any distractions will
jeopardize the full potential of their
prospects. It is imperative that they do
not allow the vested interests to hijack
the agenda. We are bound together
to cherish our co-existence amid our
differences. All youth, be they Hindu,
Muslim, Christian, Sikh or Parsi need
to come together as Indians and defeat
the divisive forces from all sides. This
is the only way to ensure that the
rich diversity of our nation remains
unique identity of India. PCGT has
decided to dedicate this years Youth
for Governance program as Youth for
Unity towards as our commitment to
national unity and harmony.
The plague and floods could not
destroy cities but what can destroy
cities is bigotry and intolerance.
Charles Correa
Dr. Ratna Magotra

Interns Speak

Learning is a hobby for the


members of PCGT. A new day
gives a new way for learning. Be it,
Kucch Aur programme in which we try
to inculcate values in the budding souls
of country, or Youth For Governance,
in which experts through dialogues,
impart knowledge of a particular field.
We interns learn a lot while organising
and attending such seminars People in
need approach PCGT and they helped
in resolving many issues with the help
of RTI says Umang Shirodariya.
Public Concern for Governance Trust
(PCGT) is that very place where I
always wanted to be.. The Dialogue
sessions, the Kuchh Aur program,
The Corruption Hatayenge Campaign,
Youth for Governance and the Right
to Information are the ways through
which we try to inculcate values among
people and gain transparency in the
working of the government. As an
intern, I got a good amount of exposure
and learnt many things. An all Smiles
Sanjana Sen exclaimed this.
Working in PCGT was always in my
priority list, when I joined here as an
intern I realised the reality of Indian
governance. Working with Mr. Ranga
Rao and going to the hearings of various
RTIs was an amazing experience, he
guided us like a father and shared his
experiences. The office environment
is very cooperative and friendly,
unanimously agreeing with the two
explained our third intern Roshni Patel.
I enjoyed my period of internship
at PCGT. The work regarding the
RTI matters was interesting and
we managed to get information on
Contd. on Page 3

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 5, ISSUE 5, July 2015

CORRUPTION HATAYENGE
Interns Speak Contd.

many socio political issues. It was an

event. All the brainstorming sessions

back with us from PCGT is great

amazing experience to be a part of

with Mithun sir were so much fun said

Teamwork and cooperation even under

Youth for Governance team to form

Suhani Merchant the last of the four

great pressure and of course a whole

and strategize on various ideas for

concluding.

lot of knowledge on our Governing

the PCGT dialogues and the Main

The most important thing we are taking

systems and its legalities.

*******

Monsoons wash away Corruption and the corrupt


time of the year known to

Newspaper article.

So when the dark clouds move out


the sun will shine on an optimistically

wash away all the muck and


the filth of the city clean.

Incidentally with all the crime being


busted all over the city of Mumbai
monsoons seems to be washing away
all the muck from the society and
politics and as well.

This

has

really

brought

some

corruption free governing system, a

deterrence for the Drug Peddlers now.

system washed by the droplets of

Many youngsters were a part of this

good governance, transparency and

menace that has now been taken care


of, partly at least if we are to be sure.

So let it Rain!!!

The ACB App that was designed in

Topics for PCGT Dialogues 2015

Recently we read about the Anti

collaboration with PCGT has been a

Corruption Bureau catch a well known

hit so far (please refer to our Facebook

Politician known for his array of chattels

page for more on this) with many cases

all falling in the illegal category, nothing


new to our ears, but this one was a
toughie to get hold of.

being registered not only in the city of


Mumbai but also from rural places in
Maharashtra. The ACB is being able

Our organization which has a separate

to get an enhanced outreach further

dealing with RTI cases was shocked

curbing all the illegal activities across

to read about a State information

the state of Maharashtra.

commissioner being a part of this


menace. It was not an easy assignment
for the ACB to get to that point seeing
the time it has taken, but it takes time
for the gloomy clouds to clear too. We

With the Lady Beat Marshals of Mumbai


Police keeping a watch all over the city
of Mumbai the rape cases seem to
have lowered down and women do feel

paid off.

an increased sense of security, yes,

caught with 12 kgs. of Mephodrome, a


drug popularly known as Meow Meow.
The credit for this goes to the Khabris,
the informants who are directly in touch

1.
Social

Media

Tool

for

empowerment Use & Abuse


2. Ethics in Medical Profession
3. Ethics in Chartered Accountancy
4. Gender Sensitization
Shivani Akashi
Editors Note: Shivani Akashi was
Project Manager for YFG 2013

do now obviously see the efforts have

Whats more a police constable was

accountability.

turning to be cautiously optimistic and


irrevocably hopeful in that sense.
So indeed the seasons have changed
and we do now perceive the monsoons

with the top cops in the Mumbai Police,

wash away not only our city but also our

as reported according to a well known

society and governing systems clean.

Forthcoming Events on PCGT


Calendar
1) Ethics in Chartered Accountancy
20th August 2015, Institute of
Chartered Accountants BKC
2) Ethics in Medical Profession
27th August 2015, at K. E. M.
Hospital
3) 10th RTI Anniversary
26th September 2015, at IMC
4) Commemorating 26/11
26th November 2015, at NCPA
www.pcgt.org

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 5, ISSUE 5, July 2015

CORRUPTION HATAYENGE (Contd.)

A SPECIAL CASE STUDY BY THE INTERNS OF PCGT


REPORT ON COMMUNITY TOILETS

e, the law students from


Pravin Gandhi College of
Law, interned with Public
Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT)
from 18th may, 2015 to 30th June,
2015. One of the activities taken
vigorously at PCGT is use of RTI
to fight corruption. One such visit
coincided with RTI workshop with the
slum dwellers living at Dharavi (G
North). During this interaction it was
revealed by the residents that they
were having several problems with
the public toilets available for their
use from excessive charges to lack of
cleanliness.

During our subsequent discussions


with the Trustees we were asked to
do a detailed research on existing
guidelines for public toilets in Mumbai
and submit the report at end of our
internship.
According to the Census report of
2011, Mumbai is home to more
than 12478447 people, consisting of
6736815 males and 5741632 female.
What we have till now noticed, the
speed of availing basic facilities and
services is much slower than the
speed of population swelling in the
city. Lack of basic facilities results
in adverse health and emotional
conditions for people. In case of
the public toilet facility, it has been
estimated that Mumbai requires about
50,000 public toilets.
In the process of our research, it was
interesting to find that there were
Community Toilet Guidelines issued
by the Government of India in 1995.
These in turn were based on the
UN guidelines (Regional Water and
Sanitation Group- South Asia, UNDPWorld Bank Water and Sanitation
Program).
www.pcgt.org

The Government had insisted on


framing of laws by the concerned
municipal authorities whereby the
BMC in Mumbai too had made norms
and revised the same in 2014. It is to
be appreciated that these are the only
guidelines by the Government of India
and hence not enforceable.
We compared the existing actual
status of public toilets in Dharavi (G
North) with the prescribed norms by
the BMC (See Annexure Part II) and
have reached following conclusions:

l The penalties if imposed, the BMC

l It took 20 years for BMC to make

would earn good revenue that


can be ploughed back for further
improvements and maintenance
of toilets and surplus in other local
welfare activities.

l According to the survey done by

We visited Dharavi and studied the


details on the toilets maintained and
run by the BMC, NGOs, MHADA and
Political Patronage.

a law and fear that it may take


another 20 years for enforcing the
same.
the Right To Pee campaign they
found that the toilets for women
so located at places that they
had to go through the corridor of
mens toilet; there were no female
attendant and even if the board
said free urinals for women, they
were made to pay by the male
attendants and if denied, abusive
words were used.

l The penalties given are not

implemented to date. We see a lot


of toilets where they overcharge,
the cleanliness isnt good, even the
main contract person isnt available
and the attendants may not always
have the ID cards provided by the
BMC.

The only toilets that appeared to be


clean were the mens toilets that were
run by the NGOs.
The ladies toilets in all the places were
unclean or run by any institution for
that matter and wer not maintained
at all.
During our talk with one of the
coordinators we got to know that
the conditions in one of the areas of
Dharavi (Shatabdi Nagar) are worse.
Not only the toilets were dirty, the
women were harassed and the people
had to sometimes buy water for using
the toilets.
We found lot of garbage being thrown
in the vicinity of the toilets. It was no
surprise, therefore, that the locals
especially the children choose open
defecation!
Our conclusion is that the NORMS set
by BMC were not implemented leaving
these toilets unclean, unhygienic and
awful to the point were one would
choose not to use them at all.
Research & Report by
Ms.Roshni Patel
Ms. Suhani Merchant
Ms.Sanjana Sen
Mr. Umang Shirodariya
Under the valuable guidance,
encouragement and support of PCGT

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 5, ISSUE 5, July 2015

KUCHH AUR REPORT JULY 2015


In spite of holidays, the program
didnt come to a standstill, but with
its social drive in mind continued to
conduct the sessions with children
from Community centres and Shelter
homes.

hildren are like buds in a

questionnaire which was followed by

garden

be

a discussion, activity and short film

lovingly

screening. With the help of the survey

nurtured, as they are the future of

report received, we were able to gauge

the nation and citizens of tomorrow -

that these sessions had left a positive

Jawaharlal Nehru.

change in the children who are now

carefully

and

should

and

motivated to live by these values.

Kuchh Aur Program emphasizes this

A very successful workshop on

saying by trying to inculcate good

Gender Equality was conducted with

values and morals in children. As April

boys from the age group of 10-15

was the end of the academic year,

years at a community centre called

children set off for their holidays with a

Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Federation

whole lot of ethical values instilled by

(BMMF). The workshop started

PCGT through Kuchh Aur Team.

with analyzing their views via a set

ublic

YOUTH FOR GOVERNANCE & RTI


Concern

for

Governance Trust (PCGT)

students to create awareness against

The workshop covered the technical

corruption through the RTI Act.

aspects of RTI along with practical

in collaboration with Mohalla

application helping students draft and

Committee, Bhartiya Muslim Mahila

file RTI applications. The sessions

Federation (BMMF) and Nirmala

proved to be a great exposure for all

Niketan College conducted 5 sessions

community people and students who

on Right to Information (RTI).

wrote their first RTI application and


further learnt to battle corruption using
this very tool.

The attendees were subsequently


guided to draft RTI applications for
The Workshop was attended by
the community people and college

some of the problems faced by them


in their daily lives.

www.pcgt.org

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 5, ISSUE 5, July 2015

PCGT PUNE

Seminar on Swine Flu, April 2015

ublic Concern for Govern-

is

ance Trust, Pune, in its

precautions are required to be taken by

relentless effort to educate

the public to avoid contracting it.

transmitted

and

what

simple

Mr. Cyrus Poonawalla was the Chief


Guest for this seminar.
Dr.

Purvez

Grant

reassured

his

The most important one is personal

hospitals commitment to do its best for

hygiene. The need to wash hands

the prevention and cure of the disease.

frequently either with soap or any


sanitizer was driven home repeatedly.
The need to isolate patients and keep
away from them was stressed.

In

the public held a seminar on the

a lively question answer session a

scourge of Swine Flu with emphasis

lot more aspects of combating the

on prevention.

pestilence were brought out.

Dr. Prachee Sathe

There

of the Ruby Hall gave a very graphic

was some discussion about annual

description

vaccination.

of

how

the

disease

tqyk 2015

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P.C.G.T
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,

P.C.G.T
P.C.G.T

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www.pcgt.org

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 5, ISSUE 5, July 2015

GET INFORMED

RTI Clinics In Mumbai

PCGT : Every Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 4.00 p.m.


For appointments and details call : 23526426 / 23526452.
RTI HELPLINE NO.: 93 2288 2288
Address : B/2, Mahalaxmi Chambers,

22,Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai-400026.
Email : publicconcern@gmail.com Vist us at www.pcgt.org

Giants International Charitable Trust : 1st & 3rd Monday of


every month between 4.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m.
For appointments and details call 23679698
Address: Orient Club., 2nd Floor,

9, Chowpatty Sea Face, Mumbai-400007
Email: giantwld@mtnl.net.in
Visit us at www.giantinternational.org

BCAS Foundation : 2nd, 3rd & 4th Saturday of every month


between 11.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m.
For appointments and details call 66595601-05
Address: 7, Jolly Bhavan No.2, Ground Floor,

New Marine Lines, Mumbai-400020
Email: bca@bcasonline.org
Visit us at www.bcasonline.org

Indian Merchants Chamber 1st & 3rd Wednesday of every


month from 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Resource Person: Mr. S. K. Nangia
For appointments and details call 22046633
Address: IMC Building, Churchgate, Mumbai-400 020

RTI Clinics In Pune

Pune Municipal Council : Every Friday between 11.00 a.m.


and 2.00 p.m.
For appointments and details call
Mr. Marutirao Sail Tel. 020 - 64005613
Address: Nagrik Suvidha Kendra, Pune Municipal Council,

Shivaji Nagar, Pune-411005
Email : pcgt@rediffmail.com Visit us at www.pcgt.org

PCGT: Every Saturday between 10.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m.


For appointments and details call
C. R. Kutpelli Tel. 020 - 64005613
Address: No 3, Thube Park, 16 Shivaji Nagar,
Pune-411005
Email: pcgtpune@rediffmail.com Visit us at www.pcgt.org
Printed & Published by Shri J. F. Ribeiro on behalf of Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT) and Printed at Finesse Graphics & Prints
Pvt. Ltd., 309, Parvati Industrial Premises, Sun Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai-400 013. Tel. Nos.: 24961685/24961605 Fax No.: 24962297
Published at Public Concern for Goverance Trust, B/2, Mahalaxmi Chambers, 22, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mumbai-400 026. Editor: Dr. Ratna Magotra
www.pcgt.org

PUBLIC CONCERN

VOL. 5, ISSUE 5, July 2015

FRIEND / VOLUNTEER WORK FORM


Name:

I would like to volunteer with PCGT : YES NO


From home At office (specify time)
Skills that I would like to contribute:
I would like to be involved in the following projects of PCGT:
RTI
Corruption Hatayenge
Kuchh Aur

Address:

Email:
Tel. No.

Fax No:

Mobile:
Please join PCGT. There are three options :
l Corpus Donation
l "I Bless You" -

Signature

Date:

DONOR CATEGORY

Note : Cheques to be drawn in favour of

` 100,000 and above


` 25,000 and above
` 10,000 and above


l "I Support You"
l Annual Supporter
` 200
Admission Fees
`
300
Annual Subscription
Corpus Donation may be chosen for any of the following
Corpus Funds :
l B. G. Deshmukh Memorial Corpus Fund
l Corruption Hatayenge Corpus Fund
l RTI-NV Corpus Fund
l Kuchh Aur Corpus Fund
l General Corpus Fund

Public Concern for Governance Trust.

Detach & send form to:


Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT)
B/2, Mahalaxmi Chambers,
22, Bhulabhai Desai Road,
Mumbai - 400026
Tel.: (022) 23526426
Email: publicconcern@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/PCGT
Registration No. E-20164 (Mumbai)
(The BOMBAY PUBLIC TRUST ACT, 1950)

(Please note that donations to Public Concern for Governance Trust


qualify for deduction u/s. 80G(5) (VI) of the Income Tax Act, 1961)
tear along this line

BOOK POST

PUBLIC CONCERN
C/o. Public Concern for Governance Trust (PCGT)
B/2, Mahalaxmi Chambers,
22, Bhulabhai Desai Road,
Mumbai 400 026.

To

Registration No. E-20164 (Mumbai)


(THE BOMBAY PUBLIC TRUST ACT, 1950)

www.pcgt.org

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