The Trustees of Public Concern for Governance Trust and individual supporters have been active in lobbying the Governments of India and Maharashtra against the appointment of tainted officers to positions of responsibility or post-retirement sinecures. These moves have sent a strong message to corrupt officers that they will not be permitted to get off lightly with political patronage. Furthermore it has helped honest officers to find the space which was originally denied to them.
The Public Concern for Governance Trust has also
organized two seminars, one for the Medical Profession and the other
in the field of education to highlight the evils prevalent in these
professions which were inconsistent with the objectives of the professions
themselves.
In short, the Public Concern for Governance Trust is trying in its own
limited way to spread this programme of probity in public life and of
good governance. Its supporters have lectured the youth in colleges
about integrity and honesty. Some of these students have become active
messengers against corruption in their educational and social fields.
Lectures on the Right To Information (RTI) Act have been organized in
some poorer areas of the city and PCGT is also facilitating workshops
for employees of corporate bodies to ensure that they take up local
issues effectively through the use of the RTI Act.
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The Public Concern for Governance Trust then took up the case of Navleen Kumar, a social activist who was murdered in a most brutal fashion because she was espousing the cause of tribals who were being deprived of their land by unscrupulous builders in the Vasai area. The builders had the support of some politicians and police officers and hence the investigation into the murder case was suspect. The Public Concern for Governance Trust set up an award in the name of Navleen Kumar, held a public meeting to honour her memory and pursued the investigation into her murder with the result that the Addl. D.G.P. CID intervened and did his best to bring the culprits to book.
PCGT organized an interactive seminar on 'Ethics in Medical Profession & Doctor-Patient Relationship' on June 22, 2003, at Nehru Centre, Mumbai, in collaboration with the Association for Consumers' Action on Safety and Health, Association for Senior Citizens, Forum for Medical Ethics and Foundation for Research in Community Health. Mr. B. G. Deshmukh, Chairman, PCGT, along with other eminent medical personalities expressed their views and concerns over malpractices and corruption existing in the health sector and also suggested that patients should be made aware of their rights and duties.
About 2500 Parsis held a silent, peaceful candle-light protest at Azad Maidan on April 13, 2004, to protest against the vandalisation of the Bhika Behram Well. PCGT played an integral role to show solidarity with the Bhika Behram Well Trust and the Parsi community. This serious matter necessitated urgent action from relevant law enforcement agencies and pressure building by concerned citizens. Vigilance is the key word.
A seminar on 'Ethical & Other Issues In Higher Education' was organized by PCGT on March 31, 2004, at the Bombay Stock Exchange, Mumbai. The chief guest of the seminar was the then Governor of Maharashtra and Chancellor of Universities in Maharashtra, Shri Mohammed Fazal.
Based on the deliberations of the seminar, remedial measures on good governance in University Administration, admissions to professional courses (Engineering and Medical), fees charged by private engineering and medical colleges, autonomy of colleges and transparency and accountability, were outlined and sent to the Governor of Maharashtra.
The Public Concern for Governance Trust filed a PIL against the Government and CIDCO on April 13, 2005, for manipulating sale of public land to a Builder against all established norms. The High Court not only quashed the sale of the six plots of land concerned but passed severe strictures against those involved and barred the builder from bidding for any future contracts in CIDCO.
An interactive meeting on 'Corruption: The Nemesis of Developing India' , organized jointly by Indian Merchants' Chamber (IMC), Central Bureau of Investigation and PCGT was held at the Indian Merchants' Chamber premises on June 28, 2005. In this meeting Mr. S. P.Srivastava - IPS, Joint Director of CBI, West Zone, stated that a large part of corruption in Indian public life is confined to less than 2 million decision making public sector officials among the total number of 19.5 million public sector employees in the country. Therefore the incidence of corruption in India can be reduced drastically by focusing on merely 2 million PSU officials who are engaged in rendering various kinds of public services directly or indirectly. He also appealed to the public to help CBI to fight against corruption. The following dignitaries also shared their views : Mr. J. F. Ribeiro - Executive Chairman of PCGT, Chairman of IMC's Anti-Corruption Cell and former police commissioner of Mumbai; Mr. Ravindra Kadam - Advocate General of Maharashtra; Mr. J. D. Virkar - Director General of Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB); Mr. K. Subramanyan - Chief Vigilance Officer of BPCL and Mr. Nayan Patel - Vice President of IMC.
'Drive Against Bribe' was the largest coordinated campaign to popularize the Right To Information (RTI) Act. From July 1 to 15, 2006, organizations all over India held seminars, clinics, to assist common citizens in filling RTI applications. The aim was to give a message to people all over the country to 'stop paying bribes' and to find out the information they wanted through the RTI Act.
In Mumbai, PCGT, with several partners, simultaneously organized this campaign at the Government Law College, under the guidance of Mr. Sailesh Gandhi, the R.T.I. Activist. The highlight of the campaign was the presence of dignitaries like Ms. Aruna Roy (pioneer of the R.T.I. Act), Dr. Suresh Joshi (State Information Commissioner), Mr. S. P. Srivastava (Jt. Director, C.B.I.), Mr. B. G. Deshmukh, Mr. J. F. Ribeiro, Mr. R. H. Mendonca and Mr. Veerkar (Director General of Anti Corruption Bureau, Mumbai).
During this campaign, about 2000 R.T.I. applications were filled and some even received a positive response before the campaign ended. The departments which received the maximum applications were BMC, Rationing Office, Co-operative Housing Society and the Police.
The end of the campaign marked the beginning of
the crusade for R.T.I. The 'Pausing' (not the 'Closing') Ceremony was
celebrated in the presence of the then State Election Commissioner Mr.
U. P. S. Madan. Student volunteers performed skits, sang motivational
songs on R.T.I., and made the celebration memorable, thereby inspiring
the people to keep the flame of R.T.I. forever glowing.
PCGT organized a one day Consultation Meeting along with Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) on March 25, 2006, in Mumbai. One of the chief focuses of the meeting was to evaluate the initiatives taken in Police Reforms and lessons learnt. Along with this, the key topics discussed were :
1) Handling public complaints
2) Creation of an Independent Body to monitor police performance
3) Insulating the police from illegitimate political interference.
4) Providing secure tenure for officers at the cutting edge level.
2006
To spread the message of good governance in Pune,
Mr. B. G. Deshmukh, Chairman, along with eminent citizens of the city,
started the PCGT Pune Chapter on August13, 2006, with its office at Sancheti
Institute. The stated mission of the Pune Chapter is to 'Identify and
address issues of public concern with a view to improving governance in
the Pune Metropolitan Region'.
PCGT is registered with the Charity Commissioner. Donations to PCGT qualify for deduction u/s 80-G (5) (VI) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.