Wednesday, May 30, 2018

PB INFO PANEL FINES PIO DOCTOR FOR NOT GIVING INFO UNDER RTI

Daily Pioneer: Chandigarh: Wednesday, May 30, 2018.
For unnecessarily refusing to provide information sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Punjab State Information Commission on Tuesday imposed Rs 10,000 fine on the Public Information Officer doctor, besides ordering Rs 5,000 compensation to the complainant.
The fine amount would be deducted from the salary of Dr Karamjit Singh, appointed as the Public Information Officer (PIO) at Mohali Civil Hospital, in two installments and to be deposited the same in the government treasury.
The Commission has also instructed the office of Mohali Civil Surgeon to give a compensation of Rs 5,000 to the complainant as a public authority. “The order has been passed by State Information Commissioner Yashvir Mahajan on a complaint filed by Mohali-resident Tej Kar who had sought information regarding a case from Mohali Civil Hospital under the RTI Act, but the then PIO Dr Karamjit forensic expert (now posted as additional assistant commissioner Roopnagar under-training) arbitrarily delayed to give information,” said the Commission spokesperson. Spokesperson pointed that despite the State Information Commission’s intervention, the matter remained pending for a year.During the hearing of the case, the PIO refuted to give the information on the pretext of ‘state property’. “When the Information Commission ordered to give the information, Dr Karamjit, on the next hearing, requested the Commission that a record has been lost during the transit period, and an FIR had been registered in this regard,” added the spokesperson.