DNA:
Mumbai: Wednesday, 10 February 2016.
A public
information officer (PIO) has been fined Rs1.25 lakh for not providing
information to an applicant for five of his applications. For each, a maximum
fine of Rs25,000 can be slapped on a PIO as per the Act, and that's the amount
that the errant PIO has been penalised. The fine will be taken from his salary
over a period of time.
The fine was
levied in five different orders dated January 28 by state chief information
commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad. The PIO, who is from the building and factory
department, did not give information to RTI applicant Rego Dias.
A resident of
Kalina village, Dias, through his five applications filed last April and May,
had sought to know the details of action taken on illegal construction in a
four-storey building. He had asked for fine and notices slapped, permission
based on which the structure had come up, copies of complaints received, and
the log book.
"I had
filed the applications because there are too many illegal constructions
sprouting up every now and then in the area. One keeps complaining but there is
no action taken. I had sought details on the action taken on the complaints and
the copies of the records they have," said Dias, who added that he has
also filed a public interest litigation on illegal constructions in the area.
"The
order is good and it should be implemented, because even after complaining, the
officers do not take any action. Such officers need to be penalised. In this
case, the PIO did not even turn up for one of the hearings."
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