Times of India: Bareilly: Sunday, December 21, 2014.
Taking
serious note of the failure of three officials to respond to queries under the
Right to Information Act in time, the State Information Commission (SIC) has
asked the chief development officer (CDO) of Bareilly to levy a penalty of Rs
25,000 each on three officials. In one case, the RTI application had been kept
pending for four years.
The move
comes after Nathu Lal, a resident of Manuna village, sought information in 2010
on development work being carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act.
The public
information officer (PIO) at Vikas Bhawan failed to provide the information
needed in four years since the application was filed. The applicant thus
petitioned the SIC.
SIC member
Khadijatula Kubra, pulling up the officer for the delay, imposed a fine of Rs
25,000 on the PIO and instructed the chief development officer (CDO) to realize
the amount from his salary.
In the second
case, a resident of village Bhadrak, Jitendra Kumar, sought information from
the secretary, gram panchayat, Bhadrak, last year. He failed to get an answer
to his application.
In the third
case, a resident of Nawabgunj tehsil, Brijesh Kumar, sought information under
the RTI from the block development officer (BDO) Nawabgunj last year. The officer
kept the matter pending, and the applicant petitioned the SIC.
In each of
these cases, the SIC has instructed the chief development officer to realize
the Rs 25,000 fine from the salaries of the officials in 15 days.
CDO Shiv
Sahai Awasthi said, "The amount will be deducted from the December salary
and deposited with the state treasury. The officers however have the right to
against the decision to the State Information Commission (SIC). The fine could
be waived at its discretion.
Talking to
TOI, RTI activist Khalid Jilani said, "The approach of local authorities
towards disposal of RTI applications is insensitive. RTI queries are kept
pending for years together."
Under the RTI
Act 2005, an application should get a response within 30 days.