Appoint PIO within 15 days, GSIC tells GCZMA

TNN, Jun 5, 2010, 05.25am IST

PANAJI: Blaming the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) for showing "total disregard to the provisions of the RTI Act and depriving the citizen of his right to seek information", the Goa state information commission (GSIC) has once again directed the GCZMA to appoint a public information officer (PIO) within 15 days of its order issued on June 1, 2010.

The commission also ordered that, on his appointment, the public information officer of the GCZMA should dispose the application of V A Kamat, a Panaji-based member of the Goa Bachao Abhiyan. Kamat had filed the application on July 4, 2009. A copy of the commission's order has been sent to the chief secretary.

This is the second time the GSIC has directed the GCZMA to appoint a public information officer. In its June 1 order, the commission noted, "Right from the date the order of the commission was passed on July 16, 2009, directing the public authority of GCZMA to appoint a public information officer, to this date, the public authority has not yet appointed a public information officer thereby showing total disregard to the provisions of RTI Act and depriving the citizen of his right to seek information under the RTI Act."

Kamat had appealed to the information commission regarding information sought by him from the GCZMA on October 21, 2008. However, the public information officer did not provide the information nor did the first appellate authority decide the first appeal. But the member secretary (GCZMA) provided the information required by Kamat on May 6, 2009.

In its order dated July 16, 2009, the commission noted that no one has been appointed as public information officer by the GCZMA after the resignation of two public information officers and the first appellate authority cannot perform the duties of public information officer. It also directed the GCZMA to appoint a public information officer to dispose the matters under RTI and the first appellate authority to dispose the first appeals.

The commission also noted, "It appears that the public authority of GCZMA failed to appoint a public information officer to deal with matters of disposing the applications for information under the RTI Act. Every citizen has a right to information and as per the mandate of section 4 of RTI Act every public authority shall designate a public information officer."