Reply to RTI Request MODEF 53118 dated 09 Dec 2017
RTI First Appeal MODEF 60011 dated 15 Jan 2018
RTI Second Appeal CIC/DODEF/A/2018/112469
dated 26 Feb 2018
Reply vide MoD F No. 35(2)/2017-D(Pay/Services) by Speed Post
article No. ED024667448IN on 12 Mar 2019
Background:
1. Subsequent to the recommendations of the 7th CPC,
the GoI modified the recommendations and issued approval. MoD issued approval
vide Resolutions 1(6)/2016/D(Pay/Services) for Officers and
1(7)/2016/D(Pay/Services) for Other Ranks of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy &
Air Force), both dated 5th September 2016. MoD also required the
Armed Forces to furnish drafts of Special Army/Navy/Air Force Instructions for
formal approval of the pay for personnel of Armed Forces.
2. However, MoD issued Pay Rules for personnel of the Army and
Air Force and Pay Regulations of the Navy on 3rd May 2017. The Pay
Rules and Pay Regulations 2017 for Officers were amended on 6th July
2017.
3. The RTI request was for photocopies
of file notings, draft
SAI/SNI/SAFI submitted by Army HQ, Navy HQ and Air HQ subsequent to MoD Resolutions
dated 5th September 2016, drafts of Pay Rules and Pay Regulations prepared by D
(Pay/Services), corrections made thereon in pencil or any other writing instrument
by O/o CGDA, Defence (Finance), Ministry of Finance and any other Ministry or
Department, draft tables, calculations for pay fixation, draft pay matrix,
worksheets, documents, minutes of meetings, deliberations, discussions,
opinions, advices, circulars, orders, and reports.
4 In a reply
[No. 35(2)/2017/D(Pay/Services) dated 2nd January 2018 and received on
16th January 2018 by ordinary post], Shri Prashant Rastogi, then
CPIO & US, D (Pay/Services)
(a) Required
this applicant to visit MoD to inspect the information or authorise some one to do so, which in his perception
was voluminous and spread over several files.
(b) Invoked Section 7 (9) of the RTI Act, 2005 which actually requires the CPIO to
provide the information requested for in the format it is on record, but not in any other format if that
involves disproportionate diversion of resources, and
(c) Quoted
a select few lines from the honourable Supreme Court’s order in CBSE Vs Aditya
Bandopadhyaya viz. diversion of 75% of the CPIO’s time to collate information
under the threat of penal deduction to buttress his case.
5. On 15th
January 2018, a First Appeal was filed requesting the then First Appellate
Authority (FAA) [Ms Manisha Bhatnagar, DS (AG-I)] to order the CPIO to provide
the information. On receipt of the CPIO’s reply on 16th January
2018, a link paper dated 21st January 2018 to the first appeal was
addressed to the FAA citing medical & diet restrictions as well as the need
to obviate disproportionate financial loss for travel, boarding & lodging in addition to photocopying charges @ Rs 2 per page of the "voluminous information."
6. On 23rd
February 2018 (received by Speed Post on 26th February 2018), the
FAA ordered that a summary of the exact nature of information required may be
sent to her so that information “may be provided.” Vide reply dated 5th
March 2018, the summary was provided as per Para 3 above.
7. As no
reply was received within 30 days, a request for an update was sent to FAA on 6th
April 2018.
8. Vide his
reply dated 13th April 2018, Shri B D Barua, next DS (AG-I) & FAA
desired that the undersigned comply with the request of the CPIO dated 2nd
January 2018.
9. Therefore,
the Second Appeal was filed. The appeal was heard on 25th February
2019, and the hon’ble Information Commissioner was pleased to order the CPIO to
provide the information within 15 days of the order.
10. The information
was received on 12th March 2019 in two separate packages but without a covering letter.
11. After attempting to place them in a chronological order, the
following sequence of posts is being attempted: -
(a) First
Part: File notings leading to issue
of Pay Rules and Pay Regulations 2017 for Armed Forces Officers with declassified
minutes of the Cabinet decisions on the above as it is part of the replies
provided by CPIO in compliance with order of CIC dated 25th February
2019 in CIC/DODEF/A/2018/112469
(b) Second
Part: File notings leading to issue of
Amendments to Armed Forces Officers Pay Rules and Pay Regulations 2017
(c) Third
Part: Draft SAI/SAFI/SNI furnished by
TRIPAS and TRIPAS file notings and replies
(d) Fourth Part & Final part :Declassified
minutes of minutes of Empowered Committee of Secretaries on Pay, Allowances and Pension &
the Cabinet decisions on the above as it is part of the replies
provided by CPIO in compliance with order of CIC dated 25th February
2019 in CIC/DODEF/A/2018/112469
12. In order to ensure that a post is
properly published on the blog, the post will be confined to about 20-30 pages.
Hence your patience is requested.