Times of India: Nagpur: Saturday,
May 21, 2016.
The State
Information Commission, Nagpur bench, has imposed a fine on the naib tehsildar
(nazul) for not providing information under Right to Information (RTI) Act to a
Jaripatka resident. SIC VD Patil has ordered that a sum of Rs500 be deducted
from the salary of the naib tehsildar and paid to the complainant BM
Bhagchandani for mental harassment.
The
commissioner has also directed the naib tehsildar to personally remain present
before him and provide an explanation for violation of Sections 19 (8) (g) and
20 (1) of the RTI Act. If the officer fails to show up, the commission would
give an ex-parte decision. The resident deputy collector, who is the first
appellate authority, has been asked to fix responsibility on the guilty officer
else the commission would take action against him as per RTI Act.
Bhagchandani
had in March 2013 sought copies of maps of nazul properties of Refugee Layout,
Jaripatka, from the year 1954. He had also sought copies of revised maps about
permitted commercial use in the layout. When the naib tehsildar refused to
provide these maps, claiming that they were not available, Bhagchandani went
into appeal in September 2013. This did not yield any results since the naib
tehsildar again claimed that the maps were not available with the nazul
department.
The
complainant then filed an appeal with the SIC in February 2016. He claimed
before the commission that the information sought by him was available with the
nazul department but the naib tehsildar was deliberately not providing it to
him. The defendant was not present but commissioner Patil, on going through the
documents submitted by the complainant, found substance in his appeal and
allowed it.
The
commissioner directed the naib tehsildar (nazul) on May 13 to provide the
information sought by Bhagchandani within 15 days of issue of the order. He
also imposed the fine on him and ordered him to personally appear before the
SIC.
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