DPS CGHS Managing Committee Members Violate RTI Act

November 24, 2018November 26, 2018 RMN News Corruption, Delhi, DPS CGHS, RTI

DPS Cooperative Group Housing Society, Plot No. 16, Sector 4, Dwarka, New Delhi 110 078

DPS CGHS Managing Committee Members Violate RTI Act

While the corruption has reached an alarming level at DPS CGHS, Sector 4, Dwarka, New Delhi, the managing committee (MC) members did not provide information that I had asked in my RTI application. The information that I had tried to get through RTI relates to extreme corruption and irregular activities at DPS CGHS.

Now, I have informed about the violation of RTI Act by the DPS CGHS MC members to the Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS). My representation is given below.

Dr. Jayadev Sarangi, IAS
Secretary (Cooperation)

Mr. Virendra Kumar , IAS
RCS (HOD)
Office of the Registrar Cooperative Societies (RCS)
Govt of NCT of Delhi
Old Court Building, Parliament Street
New Delhi 110 001

November 19, 2018

Subject: RTI Application in the Corruption Case of DPS CGHS, Sector 4, Dwarka, New Delhi 110 078

Dear Sir,

I am a member of DPS CGHS, Sector 4, Dwarka, New Delhi. This is about the corruption case of DPS CGHS. The RCS office had ordered the inquiry on January 25, 2018 under Section 61 of the DCS Act, 2003 to investigate the extent of “financial and other irregularities” in the case of DPS CGHS. The RCS office had also appointed an inspection officer in this case. However, the inquiry has not yet started although almost 10 months have elapsed. This delay in inquiry has given an opportunity to DPS CGHS managing committee (MC) members to commit more crimes and corruption.

The RCS official Kulvendra Yadav (Assistant Registrar, Section-II/GH) is repeatedly sending me redundant letters saying that the Society had filed an appeal on 28.02.2018 under Section 115(1) of DCS Act, 2003 against the RCS order.

But the RCS office is not supposed to stop or delay its inquiry simply because the Society has filed an appeal. An appeal cannot be a judgment to close a case. As this is a case of extreme corruption, fraud, cheating, and lawlessness at DPS CGHS, the RCS office must not delay or stop the investigation under the garb of some trivial excuses because it is the responsibility of the RCS office to stop corruption and catch the culprits immediately. I am more concerned in this case because my own money as a member of DPS CGHS has been swindled.

Therefore, the RCS office must reopen this case, dismiss the present managing committee (MC) of DPS CGHS, appoint an administrator, and start the inquiry to know the extent of financial and other irregularities in the Society so that the culprits could be caught and punished as per the law.

RTI Application

In this case, please refer to my RTI application dated October 15, 2018 (annexed below for your ready reference) that I had sent by Speed Post to the President / Secretary of DPS CGHS as well as to the RCS office.

But the President / Secretary of DPS CGHS have failed to give me any information in response to the queries that I had raised in my RTI application. Rather, they have sent me a letter dated 21.10.2018 in which they have shown their inability to provide me the information, which is a gross violation of the RTI Act.

I have to say the following in response to the said letter dated 21.10.2018 signed by DPS CGHS Vice President, R. Balasubramanian.

DPS CGHS Letter: “The information is available on the DPS CGHS website.”

My Response: The DPS CGHS website is a sketchy piece of work which hardly caries any relevant information. DPS CGHS MC has not created this website as it is mandatory to ensure transparency in the Society’s operations. Rather, the DPS CGHS MC is using this website as a propaganda tool to deceive the members as well as the government authorities. Many members also have complained about the non-functionality of the website. So, the information that I have asked in my RTI application cannot be taken from the DPS CGHS website.

Moreover, the DPS CGHS MC cannot refuse to give me RTI information because it is available on website.

According to RTI Law: The RTI application cannot be rejected only because alternative procedure is available under another statute. Such application shall be dealt with under the provisions of the RTI Act.

Read Punjab & Haryana High Court judgment: The Court held that in case of an application preferred under the Right to Information Act where alternative procedure and conditions are prescribed under any other statute/law, the said application cannot be rejected and/or information denied on this ground.

Therefore, the DPS CGHS MC should send me the information in the form of certified / signed copies of printed / photocopy papers for which I have already paid money to DPS CGHS.

I also urge the RCS office to check the DPS CGHS website and you will know that the information that I have asked in my RTI application is not available on DPS CGHS website.

DPS CGHS Letter: “The information that I have sought in my RTI application is humongous.”

My Response: The DPS CGHS MC cannot refuse to give me information simply because it is humongous – which is in fact a subjective assessment. As per RTI Law, I have given 30 days to the DPS CGHS MC to collect and send me the information for which I also have paid money. But the MC has defied the RTI Act / Law and did not give me the information.

DPS CGHS Letter: “Disclose the purpose of seeking information” in my RTI application.

My Response: The DPS CGHS MC cannot make it conditional that it would give me the RTI information only when I disclose the purpose of collecting this information.

According to the Government:

“The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency, and accountability, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense.”

This is the purpose of my RTI application, as I want to know the extent of corruption in DPS CGHS and take steps to stop corruption. So, DPS CGHS MC should have given me the information without any obstruction. But DPS CGHS MC has ignored the RTI Act / Law and did not give me the information.

DPS CGHS Letter: “Once clarify the purpose for seeking information and fix a convenient time to inspect the records of the society, the society will consider your request…”

My Response: This is an absurd condition specified by the DPS CGHS MC to deprive me of my fundamental right to information. This seems to be a ploy of the DPS CGHS MC to call me to the Society office and implicate me, as the MC has been doing for the past over 2 years.

While I have been raising my voice against the crimes and corruption of DPS CGHS MCs, the MC members have sent me repeated threats in order to suppress my voice. These threats include false police complaints against me, threats of physical harm to me, expulsion notices, legal notices, and slanderous attacks on my social as well as professional status. Last year, the MC also tried to get me expelled from the Society by giving false information to RCS office, but it did not succeed.

As the MC members are leaving no stone unturned to harm me (see my RTI application given below), I cannot go to the Society office because I feel threatened and scared. Keeping in view the criminal nature of DPS CGHS MC members, I am apprehensive that they can attack me physically and even make an attempt to eliminate me.

Therefore, the DPS CGHS MC should send information and certified copies* of the documents that I have asked in my RTI application to me through registered / speed post at my address given below. The RCS office must use its authority to order the DPS CGHS MC to send me the information as I have demanded in my RTI application.

I will go through the certified copies* of the documents that MC will send to me through speed post and if there is still some information that I need to collect from the Society office, I can go there if I am provided adequate security and police protection from the DPS CGHS MC members.

Also, at that time, the RCS office must depute a senior, responsible officer to help me collect the remaining information from the Society office under his / her supervision at a mutually convenient time.

Note: While the DPS CGHS MC has failed to give me the information that I had demanded under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, this is another indication that corruption worth crores of rupees has happened in DPS CGHS and corruption is still continuing in the Society.

You are, therefore, requested to immediately dismiss the DPS CGHS MC, appoint an administrator, and hold a thorough investigation into the financial and other irregularities at DPS CGHS so that the culprits could be caught and punished as per the law.

Regards
Rakesh Raman
DPS CGHS Membership No.: 133
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4, Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078

My RTI application dated October 15, 2018 is reproduced below for your ready reference.

THROUGH REGISTERED / SPEED POST

President: Neeraj Kumar Vaish
Secretary: M.N. Sampathkumar
Managing Committee (MC) Members
DPS Cooperative Group Housing Society (DPS CGHS)
Plot No. 16, Sector 4, Dwarka, New Delhi 110 078

October 15, 2018

Subject: Information required u/s 139 of Delhi Cooperative Societies Act / Rules (RTI Information)

Dear Sir,

I am a member of DPS CGHS. As specifically allowed and mandated per Section 139 of Delhi Cooperative Societies Act 2003 and Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005, whereby a society member can seek any information and documents pertaining to the society functioning, affairs and management, I hereby seek the following set of information and certified copies* of the documents to be provided to me through registered / speed post at my address given below. According to the Act, the pointwise information with the relevant documents must be sent to me within 30 days of the receipt of this letter.

A. ‘Fraud’ case of Rs. 44,34,151 concerning M/s Builtwell for recovery of the outstanding money from the past MC as stated in MC letter dated July 7, 2018

Documents Required:

Copies of the police complaint(s) and / or legal actions taken in this case during the years 2014-2018 by the MC members to recover money lost in the said ‘fraud’ of Rs. 44.3 lakh.
Copies of responses from the accused MC members or other departments / agencies and any other correspondence in this case during the years 2014-2018.
Information about the current total outstanding money (including interest amount) in this case and the name(s) and addresses of people who are accused in this case and from whom the ‘fraud’ money is supposed to be recovered.

B. Filing of fraud case of Rs. 55,00,000 against the past MC as stated in MC letter dated December 13, 2017 for excessive payments to M/s. Builtwell and M/s. Reliable Transmission. The MC stated in the letter “this has to be resolved by filing a case of fraud against the MC during that period which was responsible for the excessive payments.”

Documents Required:

Copies of the police complaint(s) and / or legal actions taken in this case during the years 2014-2018 by the MC members to recover money lost in the said ‘fraud’ of Rs. 55 lakh.
Copies of responses from the accused MC members, M/s. Builtwell, M/s. Reliable Transmission or other departments / agencies and any other correspondence in this case during the years 2014-2018.
Information about the current total outstanding money (including interest amount) in this case and the name(s) and addresses of people who are accused in this case and from whom the ‘fraud’ money is supposed to be recovered.

C. Recovery of money (estimated to be crores of rupees) in the fraud case of DPS CGHS MC and M/s Builtwell and M/s Reliable Transmission as stated in MC letter No. DPS/ Audit/ 2005-06/12 dated September 12, 2016 from a former MC President M M Shukla.

Documents Required:

Copies of the police complaint(s) and / or legal actions taken in this case during the years 2014-2018 by the MC members to recover money lost in the said ‘fraud’.
Copies of responses from the accused MC members, M/s Builtwell, M/s Reliable Transmission or other departments / agencies and any other correspondence in this case during the years 2014-2018.
Information about the current total outstanding money (including interest amount) in this case and the name(s) and addresses of people who are accused in this case and from whom the ‘fraud’ money is supposed to be recovered.

D. FAR construction / repairs in the DPS CGHS society building

Documents Required:

Copies of all the documents on the basis of which DPS CGHS MC has planned to carry out FAR / extended construction in the building
Copies of all the documents on the basis of which DPS CGHS MC has planned to carry out repairs in the building
Copies of all the correspondence (to and from) done with the architect firm M/s Vivek & Arti Architects during the years 2016-2018.
Copies of all the advertisements released or Requests for Proposal (RFP) sent during the years 2016-2018 to architect firms, companies, and others to participate in the FAR construction / repairs project in the DPS CGHS society building.
Copies of formal quotations and proposals received during the years 2016-2018 from all the competing architect firms or vendors who participated in the bid / tender before selecting M/s Vivek & Arti Architects.
Copies of all the documents and the comparative statement including prices and other terms of all the firms that participated in the tender while selecting M/s Vivek & Arti Architects. These copies should be signed by all the MC members and / or sub-committee members who selected M/s Vivek & Arti Architects.
Bank statements of money given during the years 2016-2018 to M/s Vivek & Arti Architects or any other firm for FAR construction / repairs in the DPS CGHS society building. If the money is paid in cash, provide the signed copies of related vouchers.

E. List of DPS CGHS members who paid for FAR construction / repairs

Documents Required:

List of members who have paid to MC for FAR construction or any related repairs in the DPS CGHS society building during the years 2016-2018. The list should include each member’s name, address, membership number, amount paid, and date of payment.
Copy of the bank statement where the MC deposited the money of such members.

F. Cost calculation of FAR construction / repairs in DPS CGHS society building

Documents Required:

Copies of all the documents signed by MC members, sub-committee members, and / or external parties during the years 2016-2018 for calculating the cost of FAR construction and repairs.

G. Contracts with external commercial companies

Documents Required:

Copies of all the documents [ including general body meeting (GBM) decision, Requests for Proposal (RFP), tender, payment and other terms, competing offers, and other correspondence (to and from) during the years 2016-2018 ] while allowing telecom company AIrtel to set up its infrastructure in the DPS CGHS society building.
Copies of all the documents [ including general body meeting (GBM) decision, Requests for Proposal (RFP), tender, payment and other terms, competing offers, and other correspondence (to and from) during the years 2016-2018 ] while allowing telecom company Jio to set up its infrastructure in the DPS CGHS society building.
Copies of all the documents [ including general body meeting (GBM) decision, Requests for Proposal (RFP), tender, payment and other terms, competing offers, and other correspondence (to and from) during the years 2016-2018 ] while allowing mobile app company “ALL IS WELL” to set up its infrastructure in the DPS CGHS society building / security room.
Copies of all the documents [ including general body meeting (GBM) decision, Requests for Proposal (RFP), tender, payment and other terms, competing offers, and other correspondence (to and from) from 2010 to 2018 ] while allowing general store (Amul company) to set up its shop in the DPS CGHS society building. In this case, the documents should also include the bank statement for the money received from general store (Amul company) vendor during the years 2010-2018.

H. Security guards contract and court case

Documents Required:

Copies of all the documents [ including general body meeting (GBM) decision, Requests for Proposal (RFP), tender, payment and other terms, competing offers, and other correspondence (to and from) during the years 2014-2018 ] while appointing security guards / agency in the DPS CGHS society building.
Copies of all the documents [ including general body meeting (GBM) decision, Requests for Proposal (RFP), tender, payment and other terms, competing offers, and other correspondence (to and from) during the year 2017 ] while “outsourcing security service” (Reference: MC letter dated September 3, 2017) and terminating the services of security guards employed at that time in the DPS CGHS society building.
Copies of all the documents [ including general body meeting (GBM) decision, job advertisement, etc. ] while employing the security guards in 2016 and who were terminated in 2017.
Copies of all the documents during the years 2017 and 2018 related to the labour court case regarding the termination of services of security guards by the MC. These documents should also include the bank statement for paying any compensation money, etc. to the terminated security guards or other expenses related to the labour court case.

I. Cash to members / residents. Reference MC letter No. DPS/GBM/03/2014-15 dated 15.08.2014

Documents Required:

Copies of all the documents [ including general body meeting (GBM) decision, Requests for Proposal (RFP), tender, advertisement, payment and other terms, competing offers, and other correspondence particularly during the years 2014 and 2015 while giving Rs. 6 – 7 lakhs to Mr. Gautam and Mr. Saggi (residents) for repair work.
Copies of the documents that mention the monthly expenditure limit of the MC (that is, the money that MC can spend without GBM approval).

J. Response to RCS inquiry

Documents Required:

Copies of all the documents including DPS CGHS MC’s response to the inquiry ordered by RCS office under directions from Directorate of Vigilance of Delhi Government and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). The references of the letter are given below.

RCS: F.47/Coop./1350/GH/SW/2011/7051 dated 4.5.2011

Directorate of Vigilance: F.27/2/2011/DOV/1080 dated 15.2.2011 forwarded by CVC

CVC: O.M. No. 1716/10/8/104428 dated 01.10.2010 and O.M. No. 1716/10/8/117161 dated 24.01.2011

K. Police complaint

Documents Required:

Copies of all the documents related to DPS CGHS MC’s complaint letter dated 22.5.2018 addressed to SHO, Dwarka, Police Station to file an FIR against me / my news network Raman Media Network. The documents must include the basis on which the DPS CGHS MC wrote the letter signed by DPS CGHS president Neeraj Kumar Vaish to the police, and it was circulated by the MC among the members of DPS CGHS.

L. Allegations

Documents Required:

Copies of all the documents related to the letter of Ms. Anita Bhagat (Flat No. 401) as stated in MC letter dated October 2, 2018 alleging that Rakesh Raman and others have used her name without her consent in corruption allegations against the MC. The documents must include the basis on which the DPS CGHS MC reached this conclusion, and letter was publicly circulated by the MC among the members of DPS CGHS.
Copies of all the documents related to a complaint by a former MC member (Mr. Kaul) who alleged that I (Rakesh Raman) “wrongly used his signatures.” It is stated in DPS CGHS MC letter dated July 7, 2018. The documents must include the basis on which the DPS CGHS MC reached this conclusion, and letter was publicly circulated by the MC among the members.
Copies of all the documents related to complaints that the MC has sent to police against me and the complete list (including names, addresses) of members / residents / others who have signed these complaints against me (Rakesh Raman).

M. Circulation of minutes of the meeting (AGM of 29.7.2018)

Documents Required:

Copies of all the documents that certify the date on which the minutes of the meeting (AGM of 29.7.2018) were circulated among all the members of DPS CGHS.

*Certified Copies = All documents are to be prepared on the letterhead of the DPS CGHS with seal of the Society and signature of the competent authority of the Society Management, i.e., President or Secretary. For bank statements, it is the seal of the Bank and signatures of the Bank Branch Manager. Please mention the total number of pages that you are sending to me in response to this RTI application.

Further, I enclose herewith a cheque No. 131613 dated 15.10.2018 of Oriental Bank of Commerce, Sector 4, Dwarka, New Delhi in favour of DPS CGHS Ltd. of amount Rs. 500 toward the RTI application fee of Rs 10, the expenses for photocopies, and postage charges. In case the amount is insufficient to cover the photocopy charges, please count the number of copies, calculate the additional amount, and inform me within 10 days of the receipt of this letter, through speed post and I will send you the remaining amount. After that you may send me the required documents (such period of letter exchange, approximately 1 week, will be exempted from the calculation of the 30 days’ time limit for providing RTI information). However, if no such intimation is received from your side regarding the fee within 10 days, it will be assumed that no further amount is required.

Thanking you,

Rakesh Raman
DPS CGHS Membership No.: 133
463, DPS Apts., Plot No. 16, Sector 4
Dwarka, Phase I, New Delhi 110 078

Copy: Registrar Cooperative Societies, Govt of NCT of Delhi, Old Court Building, Parliament Street, New Delhi 110 001

You can click the following weblink to study the details of corruption and illegal activities at DPS CGHS.

[ Humanitarian Crisis Persists at DPS Housing Society in Delhi ]

Weblink: http://www.ramanmedianetwork.com/humanitarian-crisis-persists-at-dps-housing-society-in-delhi/

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also runs an exclusive community-driven social service “Clean House” to help the suffering residents of Delhi raise their voice against the growing corruption and injustice.

In today’s media world controlled by corporates and politicians, it is extremely difficult for independent editorial voices to survive. Raman Media Network (RMN) News Service has been maintaining editorial freedom and offering objective content for the past more than 12 years despite enormous pressures and extreme threats. In order to serve you fearlessly in this cut-throat world, RMN News Service urges you to support us financially with your donations. You may please click here and choose the amount that you want to donate. Thank You. Rakesh Raman, Editor, RMN News Service.

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