Erring officials will be taken to task

PUNE, Nov 4: Letters will be sent to 25 top government officials of Pune district from November 4, to mark the launch of the unique campaign...

PUNE, Nov 4: Letters will be sent to 25 top government officials of Pune district from November 4, to mark the launch of the unique campaign initiated by the People’s Action Committee to take erring officials to task.

Addressing an informal meeting of the committee here, chief convener of the committee and former bureaucrat Avinash Dharmadhikari termed this as an attempt to `empower’ citizens to fight for their own rights and help them where only greasing palms and influence could help in solving a particular case.

The letters will first be sent to the top five officials of Pune including the Police commissioner, district collector, divisional commissioner, district judge and the superintendent of police (Rural) informing them about the intent to take up cases of citizens on the committee platform and demanding an answer for the delay in the disposal of the cases.

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He said people did not wish to tangle with bureaucrats despite a delay in their cases. He explained that citizens can issue notices to erring government officials under Section 80 of the Civil Procedure Code informing the intent to file a case against the official failure to dispose off the case. Known in government parlance as the “60 Days Notice,” it is addressed to the district collector who has to send a reply to the case within this period, failing which the citizen is entitled to file a case against the official. The notices will be issued on behalf of the citizens by the committee and the cases if any, will also be filed against the officials, he stated.

Dharmadhikari revealed that following the launch on October 22, around 25 cases had been already been successfully disposed off. The cases will be received by at the Chanakya Mandal office from next Tuesday.

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the designation gives law enforcement “enhanced powers to combat a group that has instilled fear through violence and intimidation”.

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