Part C Information on & Around

Education Cess:
I had filed an RTI application on the subject of Education cess. Surprisingly, I received two replies – one: CPIO and under secretary; two: CPIO and Sr. Account Officer (LCS). Both give different figures

I am following it by writing to both of them to find out how the figures differ.

RTI quarrel between Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan/ Yogendra Yadav:
One of the five conditions put forth by Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav before Arvind Kejriwal was the adoption of RTI. While Kejriwal said he had agreed to this demand, questions have been raised about why it had to be made at all as AAP has always been a vociferous advocate for all political parties to be brought under the ambit of the RTI Act.

Kejriwal, who made a mark as an RTI Activist before floating the party, asked Yadav why he made this demand as he had failed to implement it in Haryana for over a year while he had been the state convener.

“At this point it is also imperative for the party to do some soul searching. It cannot be denied that after making such a big deal about the CIC order in 2013, which said the six major national parties should be brought under RTI, AAP failed to implement it on itself,” said a party member.

Heart Attacks:
Data given out by BMC in response to an RTI query showed that 29,393 deaths due to heart attacks were registered in the city between March 2014 and March 2015. In the corresponding period of the previous year, 24, 603 Mumbaikars had succumbed to heart attacks.

The seriousness of the problem can be gauged from the fact that heart attacks account for a third of annual deaths in the city. For instance, 31% of the 93, 254 deaths recorded in Mumbai in 2014-15 were due to heart attacks. The other big killers are TB (19 each day) and cancer (18 a day).