Floriano C. Lobo
383A - Pirazona, Moira - Bardez - GOA - 403 507 -Tel: Res: (0832) 2470223
(M) 9890470896
BY REGISTERED A/D
Ref. No.
GOG/APL/RTI/9/2008/003
September 26, 2008
To,
The Secretary to Governor,
Appellate Authority under RTI Act, 2005,
Raj Bhavan,
Dona Paula,
Goa-403 004.
Sir,
Subject: Appeal under RTI Act, 2005 - Your Ref No. GS/RTI/8/2008/2722 dtd.
10 Sep. 2008.
I make this appeal on the following grounds:-
That the Governor, who is the head of the State in a 'Democratic System of
Governance', cannot be, and must not be above board with respect to public
probity, by virtue of His being an Office of a 'Public Servant'.
That, it is agreed that certain vital information/s such as information
relating to criminal investigation/s of serious crimes which are being
pursued by Investigative Agencies and/or the Courts of Law or the
proceedings leading to bringing certain accused to criminal justice, cannot
be divulged since such information may be used to defeat the very purpose
it is collected for.
That, the application for information in question does not seek any
information regarding any criminal investigation/s but only such accounting
details where a tax-payer rightfully wants to know if his hard-earned money
is being used fruitfully and effectively by the Head of State.
It is generally felt that in a purely 'Democratic State' such as ours, the
Office of the Governor is mostly decorative and therefore superfluous,
especially when the grievances of the common man are hardly addressed even
in most demanding of cases. In my personal experience, I was not able to
obtain an appointment with His Excellency, the Governor, when this
appointment was vital and most needed. The pertinent question that arises
is "What then is the use of this decorative Office if the tax-payer's money
is dwindled away to maintain such vain glory?"
Cont:-
If this supposition is wrong by any chance, then the information sought in
the RTI application in question should be forthcoming without any extra
official attempts to hide it from the tax-payer, for the tax-payer is raison
d'etre of the existence of the state government, including its supreme
head, the Governor.
In the attached letter, the P.I.O. of the Raj Bhavan indicates that
Section 8(1)© of the Right to Information Act, 2005 exempts the Office of
the Governor from disclosing this vital information. If that be so, then in
my humble opinion, and as an involuntary tax-payer, the Right to
Information Act, 2005 is utmost deficient and needs to be corrected on a war
footing.
Also, in the attached letter, the P.I.O. of the Raj Bhavan indicates that
the provisions of the 'Indian Constitution' exempts the Office of the
Governor of the State from disclosing this vital information. If that be so,
then the Indian Constitution must be swiftly amended to remove this gross
anomaly, since such a Constitution is, and could be detrimental to the
governance of this democratic nation, since the Head of the State must, at
all times, be held accountable than anybody else. Otherwise this entire so
called 'DEMOCRACY' is nothing but a sham. I very rightfully do not think
that Mahatma Gandhi, who is called the 'Father of the Nation' has sacrificed
all, including himself to build an Autocratic State in the name of
Democracy.
That I, as a conscious and responsible citizen of this State, want to know
what it costs this State, and therefore my pocket, for the up-keep of the
Office of the Governor. And I shall not rest until this legitimate
information is made accessible to me. Therefore, it is fervently prayed that
the above information may be given to me.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-
(Floriano C. Lobo)
Att: As above.
Copy to: P.I.O., Directorate of Accounts, Panjim, for kind information
