Confession by Planning Commission on privileged toilets
Planning Commission while trying to justify expense of rupees 35 lakhs on renovating two toilets at Yojana Bhawan (New Delhi) has confessed its unpardonable mistake of installing ‘Door Access System’ in these fancy toilets which allowed a privileged entry to these toilets only to some selected few through smart cards.
It is indeed a big irony that renowned planners planning for 121 crores people of this great nation could not even foresee non-feasibility of such smart-cards!
Whole episodes reflects mindset of discrimination even in use of toilets inherited from erstwhile British rulers who had built three different types of stair-cases in North Block and South Block for discriminatory use by government-staff of different grades.
Planning Commission should fix responsibility for wasting rupees 5.20 lakhs for discriminatory use of toilets on now dismantled ‘Door access System’. Clarification also alleges about motivation of filing RTI petition with some ‘limited’ queries only.
In case Plan Panel considered it necessary to add any clarification on the subject-matter of the RTI petition, it could do so by sue-motto disclosure of any such information under query (7) of RTI petition which read as ‘Any other related information’. Bigger question is mindset to decide for fancy toilets instead of hygienic toilets renovated with economy and austerity.
Government initiates ‘austerity-measures’ with high publicity through media. Abandoning austerity-measures for returning to normal system should also be likewise publicised. Since Planning Commission Deputy Chairpersons holds status of a Union Cabinet Minister, he should disclose details of his assets and wealth on website like is done for other Union Cabinet ministers. Considering highly-criticised travel-expenses of Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson, these should also be sue-motto disclosed on website in full details.
