Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
$message = 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
$stackFrame = (int) 1
$trace = [
	(int) 0 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ServerRequest.php',
		'line' => (int) 2421,
		'function' => 'deprecationWarning',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead.'
		]
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
		'line' => (int) 73,
		'function' => 'offsetGet',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'catslug'
		]
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Controller/Controller.php',
		'line' => (int) 610,
		'function' => 'printArticle',
		'class' => 'App\Controller\ArtileDetailController',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 120,
		'function' => 'invokeAction',
		'class' => 'Cake\Controller\Controller',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 94,
		'function' => '_invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/BaseApplication.php',
		'line' => (int) 235,
		'function' => 'dispatch',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\BaseApplication',
		'object' => object(App\Application) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 162,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 88,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 96,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 51,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Server.php',
		'line' => (int) 98,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\MiddlewareQueue) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/webroot/index.php',
		'line' => (int) 39,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Server',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Server) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	]
]
$frame = [
	'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
	'line' => (int) 73,
	'function' => 'offsetGet',
	'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
	'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {
		trustProxy => false
		[protected] params => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] data => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] query => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] cookies => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _environment => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] url => 'interviews/simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299/print'
		[protected] base => ''
		[protected] webroot => '/'
		[protected] here => '/interviews/simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299/print'
		[protected] trustedProxies => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] _input => null
		[protected] _detectors => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _detectorCache => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] stream => object(Zend\Diactoros\PhpInputStream) {}
		[protected] uri => object(Zend\Diactoros\Uri) {}
		[protected] session => object(Cake\Http\Session) {}
		[protected] attributes => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] emulatedAttributes => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] uploadedFiles => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] protocol => null
		[protected] requestTarget => null
		[private] deprecatedProperties => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	},
	'type' => '->',
	'args' => [
		(int) 0 => 'catslug'
	]
]
deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
$message = 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
$stackFrame = (int) 1
$trace = [
	(int) 0 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ServerRequest.php',
		'line' => (int) 2421,
		'function' => 'deprecationWarning',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead.'
		]
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
		'line' => (int) 74,
		'function' => 'offsetGet',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'artileslug'
		]
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Controller/Controller.php',
		'line' => (int) 610,
		'function' => 'printArticle',
		'class' => 'App\Controller\ArtileDetailController',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 120,
		'function' => 'invokeAction',
		'class' => 'Cake\Controller\Controller',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 94,
		'function' => '_invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/BaseApplication.php',
		'line' => (int) 235,
		'function' => 'dispatch',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\BaseApplication',
		'object' => object(App\Application) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 162,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 88,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 96,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 51,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Server.php',
		'line' => (int) 98,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\MiddlewareQueue) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/webroot/index.php',
		'line' => (int) 39,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Server',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Server) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	]
]
$frame = [
	'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
	'line' => (int) 74,
	'function' => 'offsetGet',
	'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
	'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {
		trustProxy => false
		[protected] params => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] data => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] query => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] cookies => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _environment => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] url => 'interviews/simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299/print'
		[protected] base => ''
		[protected] webroot => '/'
		[protected] here => '/interviews/simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299/print'
		[protected] trustedProxies => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] _input => null
		[protected] _detectors => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _detectorCache => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] stream => object(Zend\Diactoros\PhpInputStream) {}
		[protected] uri => object(Zend\Diactoros\Uri) {}
		[protected] session => object(Cake\Http\Session) {}
		[protected] attributes => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] emulatedAttributes => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] uploadedFiles => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] protocol => null
		[protected] requestTarget => null
		[private] deprecatedProperties => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	},
	'type' => '->',
	'args' => [
		(int) 0 => 'artileslug'
	]
]
deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 6205,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 14,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 6299,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 6205,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;Right to Information&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets....&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot; title=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/&lt;br /&gt;We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic&lt;br /&gt;leshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 6205,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 14,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 6299,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 6205
$metaTitle = &#039;Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;Right to Information&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets....&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p&gt;Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot; title=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/&lt;br /&gt;We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic&lt;br /&gt;leshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>interviews/simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets...."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <p>Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: <br /><br /><br /><em>How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? <br /></em><br />Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. <br /><br /><em>What was your next step? <br /></em><br />We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. <br /><br /><em>What was the information you got? <br /></em><br />The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. <br /><br /><em>How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM'S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? <br /></em><br />We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. <br /><br /><em>Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? <br /></em><br />The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. <br /><br /><em>What other RTI successes has NAPM had? <br /></em><br />We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><em>The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms" title="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/<br />We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic<br />leshow/7564335.cms</a> </em>&nbsp;</p>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$maxBufferLength = (int) 8192
$file = '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php'
$line = (int) 853
$message = 'Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853'
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Code Context
            $response->getStatusCode(),

            ($reasonPhrase ? ' ' . $reasonPhrase : '')

        ));
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 6205,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 14,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 6299,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 6205,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;Right to Information&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets....&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot; title=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/&lt;br /&gt;We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic&lt;br /&gt;leshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 6205,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 14,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 6299,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 6205
$metaTitle = &#039;Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;Right to Information&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets....&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p&gt;Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot; title=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/&lt;br /&gt;We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic&lt;br /&gt;leshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>interviews/simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets...."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <p>Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: <br /><br /><br /><em>How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? <br /></em><br />Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. <br /><br /><em>What was your next step? <br /></em><br />We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. <br /><br /><em>What was the information you got? <br /></em><br />The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. <br /><br /><em>How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM'S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? <br /></em><br />We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. <br /><br /><em>Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? <br /></em><br />The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. <br /><br /><em>What other RTI successes has NAPM had? <br /></em><br />We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><em>The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms" title="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/<br />We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic<br />leshow/7564335.cms</a> </em>&nbsp;</p>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$reasonPhrase = 'OK'
header - [internal], line ??
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emitStatusLine() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 54
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Code Context
                    $value

                ), $first);

                $first = false;
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67f2e9f8d2b91-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 6205,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 14,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 6299,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 6205,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;Right to Information&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets....&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot; title=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/&lt;br /&gt;We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic&lt;br /&gt;leshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 6205,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p&gt;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. 
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;
&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 14,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 6299,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 6205
$metaTitle = &#039;Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;Right to Information&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets....&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p&gt;Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal&#039;s Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was your next step? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What was the information you got? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM&#039;S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;What other RTI successes has NAPM had? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, &lt;a href=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot; title=&quot;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms&quot;&gt;http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/&lt;br /&gt;We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic&lt;br /&gt;leshow/7564335.cms&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>interviews/simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets...."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <p>Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: <br /><br /><br /><em>How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? <br /></em><br />Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. <br /><br /><em>What was your next step? <br /></em><br />We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. <br /><br /><em>What was the information you got? <br /></em><br />The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. <br /><br /><em>How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM'S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? <br /></em><br />We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. <br /><br /><em>Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? <br /></em><br />The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. <br /><br /><em>What other RTI successes has NAPM had? <br /></em><br />We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><em>The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms" title="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/<br />We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic<br />leshow/7564335.cms</a> </em>&nbsp;</p>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$cookies = []
$values = [
	(int) 0 => 'text/html; charset=UTF-8'
]
$name = 'Content-Type'
$first = true
$value = 'text/html; charset=UTF-8'
header - [internal], line ??
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emitHeaders() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 55
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

<head>

    <link rel="canonical" href="<?php echo Configure::read('SITE_URL'); ?><?php echo $urlPrefix;?><?php echo $article_current->category->slug; ?>/<?php echo $article_current->seo_url; ?>.html"/>

    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>

$viewFile = '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp'
$dataForView = [
	'article_current' => object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		'id' => (int) 6205,
		'title' => 'Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B',
		'subheading' => '',
		'description' => '<p>
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: <br />
<br />
<br />
<em>How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? <br />
</em><br />
Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. <br />
<br />
<em>What was your next step? <br />
</em><br />
We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. <br />
<br />
<em>What was the information you got? <br />
</em><br />
The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. <br />
<br />
<em>How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM'S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? <br />
</em><br />
We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. <br />
<br />
<em>Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? <br />
</em><br />
The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. <br />
<br />
<em>What other RTI successes has NAPM had? <br />
</em><br />
We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. 
</p>
<p>
&nbsp;
</p>
<p>
<em>The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms</a> </em>&nbsp;
</p>',
		'credit_writer' => 'The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms',
		'article_img' => '',
		'article_img_thumb' => '',
		'status' => (int) 1,
		'show_on_home' => (int) 1,
		'lang' => 'EN',
		'category_id' => (int) 14,
		'tag_keyword' => '',
		'seo_url' => 'simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299',
		'meta_title' => null,
		'meta_keywords' => null,
		'meta_description' => null,
		'noindex' => (int) 0,
		'publish_date' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		'most_visit_section_id' => null,
		'article_big_img' => null,
		'liveid' => (int) 6299,
		'created' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'modified' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'edate' => '',
		'tags' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		'category' => object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		'[new]' => false,
		'[accessible]' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		'[dirty]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[original]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[virtual]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[hasErrors]' => false,
		'[errors]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[invalid]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[repository]' => 'Articles'
	
	},
	'articleid' => (int) 6205,
	'metaTitle' => 'Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B',
	'metaKeywords' => 'Right to Information',
	'metaDesc' => '
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets....',
	'disp' => '<p>Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: <br /><br /><br /><em>How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? <br /></em><br />Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. <br /><br /><em>What was your next step? <br /></em><br />We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. <br /><br /><em>What was the information you got? <br /></em><br />The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. <br /><br /><em>How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM'S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? <br /></em><br />We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. <br /><br /><em>Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? <br /></em><br />The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. <br /><br /><em>What other RTI successes has NAPM had? <br /></em><br />We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><em>The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms" title="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/<br />We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic<br />leshow/7564335.cms</a> </em>&nbsp;</p>',
	'lang' => 'English',
	'SITE_URL' => 'https://im4change.in/',
	'site_title' => 'im4change',
	'adminprix' => 'admin'
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	'id' => (int) 6205,
	'title' => 'Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B',
	'subheading' => '',
	'description' => '<p>
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: <br />
<br />
<br />
<em>How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? <br />
</em><br />
Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. <br />
<br />
<em>What was your next step? <br />
</em><br />
We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. <br />
<br />
<em>What was the information you got? <br />
</em><br />
The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. <br />
<br />
<em>How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM'S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? <br />
</em><br />
We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. <br />
<br />
<em>Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? <br />
</em><br />
The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. <br />
<br />
<em>What other RTI successes has NAPM had? <br />
</em><br />
We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. 
</p>
<p>
&nbsp;
</p>
<p>
<em>The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms</a> </em>&nbsp;
</p>',
	'credit_writer' => 'The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms',
	'article_img' => '',
	'article_img_thumb' => '',
	'status' => (int) 1,
	'show_on_home' => (int) 1,
	'lang' => 'EN',
	'category_id' => (int) 14,
	'tag_keyword' => '',
	'seo_url' => 'simpreet-singh-rti-activist-from-national-alliance-for-peoples-movement-napm-interviewed-by-viju-b-6299',
	'meta_title' => null,
	'meta_keywords' => null,
	'meta_description' => null,
	'noindex' => (int) 0,
	'publish_date' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	'most_visit_section_id' => null,
	'article_big_img' => null,
	'liveid' => (int) 6299,
	'created' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	'modified' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	'edate' => '',
	'tags' => [
		(int) 0 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	'category' => object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	'[new]' => false,
	'[accessible]' => [
		'*' => true,
		'id' => false
	],
	'[dirty]' => [],
	'[original]' => [],
	'[virtual]' => [],
	'[hasErrors]' => false,
	'[errors]' => [],
	'[invalid]' => [],
	'[repository]' => 'Articles'

}
$articleid = (int) 6205
$metaTitle = 'Interviews | Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B'
$metaKeywords = 'Right to Information'
$metaDesc = '
Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets....'
$disp = '<p>Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: <br /><br /><br /><em>How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? <br /></em><br />Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. <br /><br /><em>What was your next step? <br /></em><br />We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. <br /><br /><em>What was the information you got? <br /></em><br />The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. <br /><br /><em>How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM'S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? <br /></em><br />We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. <br /><br /><em>Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? <br /></em><br />The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. <br /><br /><em>What other RTI successes has NAPM had? <br /></em><br />We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><em>The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms" title="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/articleshow/7564335.cms">http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/<br />We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic<br />leshow/7564335.cms</a> </em>&nbsp;</p>'
$lang = 'English'
$SITE_URL = 'https://im4change.in/'
$site_title = 'im4change'
$adminprix = 'admin'

include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51

Simpreet Singh, RTI activist from National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) interviewed by Viju B

Activist Simpreet Singh received the national RTI council award instituted by Arvind Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation on behalf of the National Alliance for Peoples Movement (NAPM) which uses the RTI Act to expose fraud and misappropriation of public assets. NAPM used the RTI Act to investigate Adarsh, the tower meant for Kargil war widows, but usurped by state bureaucrats, politicians and defence personnel who had no role to play in Kargil. Singh spoke to Viju B about the scam: How did you come to know that Adarsh towers were built illegally? Six years ago, when the Maharashtra government said they will convert Mumbai into Shanghai and began doling out land reserved for the poor and homeless to developers, we began looking into this issue. It began as a social movement, but we could not get enough information. We then used the RTI Act to expose several housing frauds related to the slum rehabilitation scheme where land meant to house slum-dwellers was grabbed by builders with political consent. We found out that construction of a building had begun at the Backbay Reclamation in Colaba where many defence personnel and state bureaucrats were members. What was your next step? We filed about seven RTI queries, asking for details of file notings, sale of land and environmental clearances. The RTI queries were filed with the Mumbai collectorate, state revenue department, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, state urban development and environment department. What was the information you got? The RTI replies showed that the width of the road in front of the building was reduced from 70 metres to 19 metres. Though the area came under coastal regulation zone (CRZ)-1, it was changed to CRZ-2. The adjoining plot of Bombay Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) was used for granting additional floor space index. The building came without any environmental clearance and the then state urban development secretary P V Deshmukh used a communication from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to show that Adarsh had its environmental clearance. The file notings also showed in chronological order how each minister and bureaucrat who got a flat in Adarsh was involved at some point or other in granting permits such as commencement and occupation certificates. The final list of 103 members showed that there were hardly any Kargil widows even amongst defence personnel who got flats. How difficult was it to get information and how much did NAPM'S public interest litigation filed in 2010 help? We had to wait for almost six months to get RTI responses, though under the RTI Act it is mandatory that they reply within 30 days of receiving the query. Our PIL relied on the RTI replies. If it was not for the RTI Act we would not have been able to crack the Adarsh scam. Do you think the demolition order of Adarsh by the MoEF was the right move? The demolition order acknowledged the fact that the building was illegal. We are happy about this. But MoEF is silent on the action to be taken against officials involved in the scam. The building did not come up on its own. Under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act, department heads can be prosecuted for abetting a crime. What other RTI successes has NAPM had? We exposed the environment violations committed by the Lavasa group while constructing luxury apartments in Pune. We also exposed how 350 acres of prime land meant for middle and lower-middle class housing was given to a builder in Powai for just 40 paise per acre. They were liable to pay Rs 2,000 crore, but the government levied a fine of just Rs 200 crore. The PIL on this is still pending.   The Times of India, 25 February, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/ We-used-the-RTI-Act-to-expose-several-housing-frauds/artic leshow/7564335.cms