Jai Hind!!
I wish to specify that you may please not provide to me that information (or particular portion thereof) which would impede the prosecution of offenders under any law of India, and also any personal information which is unconnected with any public activity/interest or which invades the privacy of any person. THIS INFORMATION IS SOUGHT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, AND THERE IS OVER-RIDING PARAMOUNT LARGER PUBLIC INTEREST TO BE GIVEN THE INFORMATION I HAVE ASKED FOR. This information is sought under the RTI Act’05, and as the applicant I would retain the right to inspect or ask for certified copies of the relevant documents/records/informations.
Preamble:- The Cantonment Boards, as per the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution of India, “have always remained a puzzle”. You can therefore appreciate the position of the ordinary citizen of India in trying to assign transparency and accountability with the Cantonment Boards. Cantonments remain a subject under the Union List, with accountability to Parliament.
The Cantonments Act 1924, as you will be aware, has its genesis in the need for an alien army to co-exist with a ruled civilian population. I do not wish to go into this further for the purposes of this application, except to state that despite my best efforts, I have been singularly unable to find the responsible public authority/authorities who will provide me with the following information, which pertains to the Pune Cantonment Board but can by definition be applicable to all Cantonments in India, too.
Which is why, within the ambit of the RTI Act’05, I choose to approach the PIO of the Office of the Prime Minister of India, since I am unable to figure out which Public Authorities are responsible, and request most humbly that as a citizen of India who is no longer a member of a “ruled civilian population”, I be provided by the PIO of the PMO the following informations:-
1) Please provide me with information on the Laws of India under which legally registered motor vehicles operating in India under the MVA and CMVR of the Govt. of India, which have already paid Central and State road taxes, while passing through roads which lie within Cantonments, are impeded from free passage and made to pay additional “Vehicle Entry Tax” or “VET”. Please note – this query applies to roads which are open to general traffic, within Cantonments, and not shut for security or any other reasons. It is essential to notehere that as per the Cantonments Act 1924, any taxes levied by Cantonment Boards need the prior sanction of the Central Government.
2) Please provide me with information on how and why the motor vehicle under my charge while driving through Pune was made to pay Rs 165/- as VET under duress by the Cantonment Executive Officer, Pune, on 13th of August, 2006 vide VET receipt No. 3816 signed by Shri Dinesh Pawar, Cantonment Executive Officer, Pune with their reference Letter No. 1/2/TAX/VET/2006-2007 dated 21st of April, 2006. (Copy enclosed for your ready reference)
3) Please provide me with information on the system of cash flow of the funds collected in this manner under “VET” by the Pune Cantonment Board, and the break-up on how much of these funds for the FY 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, collected as VET in the name of the Pune Cantonment Board, actually reach Government coffers.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Veeresh Malik,
D-61, Defence Colony,
New Delhi – 110024
I wish to specify that you may please not provide to me that information (or particular portion thereof) which would impede the prosecution of offenders under any law of India, and also any personal information which is unconnected with any public activity/interest or which invades the privacy of any person. THIS INFORMATION IS SOUGHT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, AND THERE IS OVER-RIDING PARAMOUNT LARGER PUBLIC INTEREST TO BE GIVEN THE INFORMATION I HAVE ASKED FOR. This information is sought under the RTI Act’05, and as the applicant I would retain the right to inspect or ask for certified copies of the relevant documents/records/informations.
Preamble:- The Cantonment Boards, as per the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution of India, “have always remained a puzzle”. You can therefore appreciate the position of the ordinary citizen of India in trying to assign transparency and accountability with the Cantonment Boards. Cantonments remain a subject under the Union List, with accountability to Parliament.
The Cantonments Act 1924, as you will be aware, has its genesis in the need for an alien army to co-exist with a ruled civilian population. I do not wish to go into this further for the purposes of this application, except to state that despite my best efforts, I have been singularly unable to find the responsible public authority/authorities who will provide me with the following information, which pertains to the Pune Cantonment Board but can by definition be applicable to all Cantonments in India, too.
Which is why, within the ambit of the RTI Act’05, I choose to approach the PIO of the Office of the Prime Minister of India, since I am unable to figure out which Public Authorities are responsible, and request most humbly that as a citizen of India who is no longer a member of a “ruled civilian population”, I be provided by the PIO of the PMO the following informations:-
1) Please provide me with information on the Laws of India under which legally registered motor vehicles operating in India under the MVA and CMVR of the Govt. of India, which have already paid Central and State road taxes, while passing through roads which lie within Cantonments, are impeded from free passage and made to pay additional “Vehicle Entry Tax” or “VET”. Please note – this query applies to roads which are open to general traffic, within Cantonments, and not shut for security or any other reasons. It is essential to notehere that as per the Cantonments Act 1924, any taxes levied by Cantonment Boards need the prior sanction of the Central Government.
2) Please provide me with information on how and why the motor vehicle under my charge while driving through Pune was made to pay Rs 165/- as VET under duress by the Cantonment Executive Officer, Pune, on 13th of August, 2006 vide VET receipt No. 3816 signed by Shri Dinesh Pawar, Cantonment Executive Officer, Pune with their reference Letter No. 1/2/TAX/VET/2006-2007 dated 21st of April, 2006. (Copy enclosed for your ready reference)
3) Please provide me with information on the system of cash flow of the funds collected in this manner under “VET” by the Pune Cantonment Board, and the break-up on how much of these funds for the FY 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, collected as VET in the name of the Pune Cantonment Board, actually reach Government coffers.
Thanking you,
Yours sincerely,
Veeresh Malik,
D-61, Defence Colony,
New Delhi – 110024
