Pune activists extend support

Pune civic activists who have been at the forefront of exposing corruption have extended support to the anti-corruption crusade launched by eminent social activist Anna Hazare.

President of the Nagrik Chetana Manch Major General (retired) SCN Jatar said: “We support Anna Hazare’s agitation. There is some criticism that democratic norms are being bypassed in the demand for the Jan Lokpal Bill. But politicians will not take note of the issue unless there is an agitation.”

Jatar himself has exposed many corruption cases. One of his crusades related to preventing an attempt to convert 29 acres of forest land in Kondhwa into a residential zone for high-end apartments.

Pune RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar’s expose of the then chief minister Manohar Joshi had led to the politician’s resignation. As in-charge of the urban development department, Joshi had allowed a change in the reservation of a prime plot to facilitate the construction of a residential project by a company owned by his son-in-law, Girish Vyas.

Kumbhar said: “People see a ray of hope that a mechanism to deal with corruption will come in place.”

Another Pune activist, Vivek Velankar, who heads the Sajag Nagrik Manch (SNM), has used the RTI effectively to expose irregularities and corruption in public life.