The Hindu: Belagavi: Wednesday,
February 15, 2017.
Advice to
dept. heads from State Information Commissioner.
State
Information Commissioner Shankar R. Patil called upon heads of departments to
suo motu declare all the necessary information about various programmes and
schemes, projects and works taken-up along with the budgetary allocations on
their respective websites and at the project sites, which he said would
certainly bring down the number of applications seeking information under the
RTI Act, 2005, by half.
Mr. Patil,
who is one of the six Commissioners in the Karnataka Information Commission,
was speaking to mediapersons after conducting a training programme for Public
Information Officers and First Appellate Authorities in various departments
here on Tuesday. He also advised the officials to be proactive in replying to
applications seeking information under the RTI Act even without waiting for the
maximum 30 days. Information on various subjects was readily available which
could be given in a very short period of time. “At times, I have furnished
information to various applicants in hardly five minutes.”
When his
attention was drawn towards the fact that despite the directions from the
government and KIC, many departments do not display details about their
projects on the site nor update their website regularly, he said: “Our
officials need to be proactive as the RTI Act is the simplest of all Acts,
legislated with the avowed objective of promoting transparency and
accountability in governance and empower public with the information; if they
do this, there will be a significant drop, by 50%, in applications seeking for
such information.”
On the
allegations of growing number of self-proclaimed RTI activists even in taluk
centres now, using the RTI Act as a tool to blackmail officials to make quick
money, he said there was no specific complaint before the KIC but it was matter
to be looked into by the government.
To a
question, he said he had disposed of about 4,500 out of the 8,000 cases which
came up before his court since he took charge of his office two years and eight
months ago. Now, totally around 30,000 applications were pending for disposal
before the KIC.
Penalty
Mr. Patil
slapped a penalty of Rs.25,000 on V.N. Karekar, Town Planning Officer at
Hubballi-Dharwad Urban Development Authority, for failing to provide
information and non-compliance with the KIC’s order in violation of the RTI
Act. Mr. Karekar, while serving in the same post in Belagavi Urban Development
Authority earlier, had not provided information for three years on the criteria
adopted for appointment of law officers as sought by an advocate.
In another
case, the Police Commissioner had been advised to issue show cause notice to
retired Assistant Sub-Inspector M.G. Mujawar for giving false information while
in service.
Mr. Patil
said action could be taken for violations of RTI Act even after retirement of a
public officer but within four years from the day of his or her retirement.
.JPG)
.JPG)
