Inefficiency of Civic Authorities... From Pillar to Post

The heading of the post may not ring bells for most of us; as most of us regularly have to go thru the Red Tape of Bureaucracy and Apathy of Government officials. Due to the inefficiency of our Government Machinery "We The Citizens" are suffering daily even though we pay our taxes honestly. 

Most of us have already become mute Spectators so much so that now we don't bother to complain about our own rights. I'm also going thru the inefficiency of Delhi Development Authority (DDA); which is in charge of Electrifying and Maintaining Street Lights in our area. 

Here's the story: - 

• On Feb 18, 2014 I raised complaint to DDA Street Light helpline against 50 - 60 faulty street lights in my locality. Complaint wasn't resolved in a week's time so I again spoke with officials manning the helpline. They informed that the contractor have closed the complaint stating that my locality doesn't falls under DDA jurisdiction.

• I was advised to speak with Contractor's supervisor; he was unable to help and asked me to speak with BSES officials instead. BSES officials in turn informed that DDA has to make payment to them towards maintenance and I should approach DDA.

• So, I called up Junior Engineer (JE) of DDA but he also couldn't offer any help and asked me to contact his superior Executive Engineer (EE). Now, this EE saheb also gave a lot of gyan about working of DDA. He informed that they have sent "Deficiency Budget" to their seniors for for approval. After approval these street lights may get be repaired. But, he also failed to give any timeline for repair of these non functional street lights.

• No action was taken till last week of March 2014 so I approached the Citizen Group "Dwarka Forum" and they forwarded by complaint to SE- Electrical & EE- Electrical Division 5/12 on March 06, 2014. This also evoked no response and I was forced to escalate the complaint to Delhi's LG office which have a Online Grievance Redressal Portal. called "Listening Post" 

• LG's office forwarded my complaint to SE HQ Elect of DDA still no action have been taken till date i.e. April 24, 2014.

This is typical example of running from Pillar to Post. As I have been made to approach the junior level of Government Machinery to the highest echelons of bureaucracy.... Still, no action at all... 

Wonder I live in a Metro or in a village???

Why I voted for Aam Aadmi Party... ???

Quite a few of my friends ask me why I support Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Few of them are critical towards AAP. I have been repeatedly giving answers to all their questions individually.

But, today I thought of answering frequently asked questions of my friends and readers thru this blog post: -

1) What were the achievements of Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi?

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was formed when Jan Lokpal Bill wasn't passed by Parliament and we commoners were chided by our elected representatives. This gave birth to AAP which fought Delhi Assembly elections and won 28 seats.  It formed a minority govt after Congress gave unsolicited but unconditional support. 

Later Congress and BJP came together to defeat this effective Anti-Corruption Bill Jan Lokpal Bill. So, Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet resigned on principles. However, in that short stint of 49 days they did a lot for Delhi; here are few of the highlights:- 

Being a Aam Aadmi of Delhi; I also got benefited by many of these schemes. Few were :- a) Nursery Admission Helpline; where my complaints against erring Pvt. Schools got resolved in no time. b) Prices of Vegetables and fruits came down Authorized Street Vendors were not forced to bribe the Beat Constables of Delhi Police. 

Friend's we are seeing a change in Indian Political system as people have started questioning elected representatives which is a good sign of a vibrant Democracy. Arvind Kejriwal and other top leaders of Aam Aadmi Party always answer its critics, journalists or public.

But, I wonder why no one questions the CM's of MP, Chhattisgarh or Rajasthan? What had they done in past 4 months??? Do ask few questions to them also...

2) Why Arvind Kejriwal ran away in 49 Days???

Few people are labeling Arvind Kejriwal as Escapist. I request them to please listen to the speech of Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee given in Parliament on May 27, 1996. Excerpts of the speech are here in this video where he talks about true definition of Escapist:-

He says "I have been accused that I am craving for power and that my actions are a result of my craving for power. If the people have given my party the highest number of seats should I shy away from staking a claim for power. Should I run away from the battlefield to betray the confidence reposed by the people in making us the single largest party...?"

Full speech here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1n_OIp3EOs

In 11th Lok Sabha (1996) BJP was the single largest party with maximum number of seats. BJP and its pre poll allies got 161 + 26 = 187 seats out of 543 i.e. 34% and Vajpayee Ji become the Prime Minister of India. Results of Delhi Assembly Elections (2013) were simillar to the Fractured Mandate of LS Elections of 1996. As BJP was the single largest party; with its pre poll ally they got 32 seats (32+1) out of 70 i.e. 46%.  

But, this time BJP ran away from the battlefield and betrayed the confidence reposed by the people of Delhi as they declined the offer of LG to take over reins of Delhi. So, who is an escapist?.... It's BJP, as they ran away from responsibility. Presently BJP doesn't have leaders with intellect or statesmanship like Vajpayee Ji who can advice the present day leaders on polity. If few good leaders are there in the party their voices are being muzzled. Still, the same party has the audacity to call AK an escapist; and they along with Congress have created hype against AK.

Arvind Kejriwal never ran away but he and his party is here for long long time and they would make the lives of corrupt politician as MISERABLE very MISERABLE.

3) AAP wants a hung parliament so that they can play destructive politics.

I would want my dear friends to recollect the results of 11th Lok Sabha Elections (1996) when BJP under the able leadership of Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to power for 13 days. Wasn't that a HUNG PARLIAMENT or a unstable government??? 

Also, hope you all remember that after BJP; United Front Govt. came to power with support of Congress.

This United Front had constituents like Telgu Desam Party (TDP), Assom Gan Parishad (AGP), Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC), MDMK, PMK and Ram Vilas Paswan (JD-S) now founder of Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP). 

All these parties now have Pre Poll Alliance with BJP for 2014 LS Elections. 

Why now BJP have taken support from parties which were responsible for giving a Hung Parliament and Unstable govt. from 1996 - 1998? Any answers...

AAP has been formed for the development of the country and not for any other reason.

4) AAP can't win many seats and won't be able to form the Govt; as they are not contesting enough seats.

After General Elections in 2009; 15th Lok Sabha was formed. This Lok Sabha has MP's from 38 National / Regional Parties. Only ten parties have MP's in two figures (1) i.e. Greater Than or Equal to 10. Remaining 28 parties have Less than 10 MP's i.e. Less than 10 & Greater than 1. 

Does this means that candidates from a Clean and Honest Party can not contest poll? Is it somewhere written in our Constitution? If constitution doesn't bar any citizen of India to contest polls than why few people are so annoyed with AAP fighting elections? 

As per National Election Watch & ADR Report (2) Indian electorate have voted 162 MP's with Criminals records out of which 72 MP's have serious criminal cases registered against them. We can allow RAPISTS, MURDERERS, KIDNAPPERS in parliament but we will oppose honest and educated candidates who are being fielded by Aam Aadmi Party. Be rational and leave this kind of hypocrisy.

Also, must like to tell my dear friends that as on date Aam Aadmi Party have nominated 434 candidates all across India; which is maximum by a debutant in Indian Polity.

All these candidates are fighting elections on funds generated mostly by online donations details of which can be taken from AAP website anytime (3).

(1) http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/Members/partywiselist.aspx

(2) http://www.adrindia.org/files/High%20level%20criminal,%20financial%20&%20educational%20analysis%20LS%202009.pdf

(3) http://www.aamaadmiparty.org/donation-list

5) AAP won't support any party which means that the seats won by them will be a waste.

Indian constitution had given powers to each MP to participate in debates, ask questions or introduce Private Member’s bills in the Parliament. It doesn't mean that people who vote for these ruling party or opposition MP's have wasted their votes.

Aam Aadmi Party may or may not support any party for government formation but its MP's would act as true representatives of voters and won't just sit in the parliament for mere attendance. 

Also understand that we require honest MP's on opposition benches who can keep a close watch on the MP's sitting on treasury benches. 

It is a known fact that "duty of opposition is hardly less important than that of Government".

AAP will play the role of an effective & constructive opposition and will safeguard the interest of "Mango People" of INDIA.

6) If AAP does well, then they will only push the nation towards another election.

We have had many stable governments in past. But, the stability brought along Corruption, Crony Capitalism and scams. 

As per news reports (4) "exchequer will spend Rs. 7000 to Rs. 8000 crore to hold the electoral exercise for the 16th Lok Sabh". 7K - 8K Crore are peanuts If we compare this with the scams of past.

You would appreciate the fact that stability shouldn't come at the cost of Corruption. We must understand that short term instability is better than corrupt governments.

(4) http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-2014/rs-30-000-crore-to-be-spent-on-lok-sabha-polls-study-496364

Hope my friends and other readers would make an informed choice and select a clean and a honest MP; who would represent us in House of The People "Parliament".

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Crosswordsguy

The Winner "ICICI AirTel rewards HPCL Gold Card "

Why avail a Credit Card?

Whenever I used to pay cash for my purchases, all my friends used to scold me for this. They always suggested me to go for a credit card, they explained me 1000 advantages of having plastic money. My view of paying thru Cash or Debit card was changed when several benefits were cited by them like:- 52 day credit period, No need to carry cash, online shopping, online Bill payment, special offers, free rewards, Etc. etc

Peer pressure!

So, finally under peer pressure I started my search for the card which best suited me. Search ended with ICICI bank offering me a lifetime free Credit card with my salary account. Within 15 days of my application I was granted my first credit card “ICICI HPCL Solid Gold Card” which I used for six months (June 05 to Feb. 06).

My Prudent Decision!

Later in March 06, as I latched on to AirTel network with a post paid connection I converted my solid gold card into co-branded “ICICI AirTel rewards HPCL Gold Card” (AirTel Rewards Card). This day today (March 10, 2007), I have completed one very rewarding year with the best Co branded Credit Card…….

How I have been benefited!

At first it took me few weeks to understand the Nitti gritty of using a credit card sensibly. But soon I perfected this art and started enjoying all the benefits attached to Plastic Money card.

Unique Offers

1) First I got “ Mobile office” activated on my AirTel connection. At that time its subscription charges were Rs. 600/month which I got for free. (So, a cool saving of Rs. 600*3 = Rs. 1800) *

2) Than I got the privilege customer care called “AirTel Care Touch”, which is much superior to normal 121 services *

3) Rewards point redemption against free ISD/ STD/ Local min and free value added services * This was the most enticing offer, as till date I have received credit of almost Rs. 3500/- in my AirTel bills by redeeming rewards points.

4) Also, contrary to the normal rewards structure of ICICI credit cards where reward point is offered for transaction worth Rs. 200, here 2 reward points are credited for every Rs. 100 of AirTel mobile bill if payment is made thru the AirTel Rewards card.

5) Waiver of 2.5% surcharge on fuel purchases at HPCL outlets.

Other than these offers ICICI bank comes up with very innovative loyalty rewards programs like:- Xpresss rewards points, 10 times rewards points, Up to 100% cash back.

Verdict: -

ICICI AirTel rewards HPCL Gold Card is the king among all the co-branded cards. Me have found this card much superior to my other cards/Co-Branded cards:- ABN-Amro Adlabs Card, Citibank Shoppers’ Stop Gold Card, HSBC Gold Card, SBI Lifestyle Card. I highly recommend this card to all. But be careful while spending and always pay Total Payment Due and use credit card more like a Charge Card, as revolving credit on credit cards can be HIGHLY EXPENSIVE.

p.s. Now ICICI had withdrawn many exclusive offers for AirTel subscribers, as it seems AirTel was not cooperating with the bank in reward point credit. It would be better if both parties coordinate with each other for their own benefits too.

A Novice in Blogging...

Hey friends....

Mi heard a lot about this medium of BLOGS..... And today mi also starting my own blog.
The starting blog entry is blank...

Keep checking this space as soon a lot will happen at this place...

Byeeee..

Crosswordsguy