Outlook:New Delhi:Friday, March 02, 2012.
The Central Information Commission has rebuked the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for turning a Nelson's eye to illegal constructions in the national capital and not furnishing information about them.
The case relates to activist Anil Datt Sharma who through a number of RTI application sought to know details of 100 illegal constructions in the national capital from the civic body but the concerned officials refused to provide the information saying that the addresses are unidentifiable.
Such a lackadaisical attitude of the civic body irked Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi who pulled up MCD officials by saying there was "collusion between MCD engineers and those indulging in illegal construction."
"It is primarily the job of MCD to ensure that illegal and unauthorised construction does not take place. However, despite a public spirited citizen informing MCD and the police department also informing the Dy. Commissioner the PIO has taken a position that there is no record of illegal activity and the address cannot be identified," Gandhi said.
Issuing a show cause notice to concerned official for not providing information, Gandhi said, "Citizens have been trying to use Right to Information to make the MCD engineers perform their duty but MCD engineers appears to have come up with the smart idea of claiming that they can see no illegal constructions anywhere".
"The modus operandi appears to be not to take any action when illegal construction is going on and subsequently to claim that the illegal properties must have been constructed before 2007 which have been given protection by an Act of Parliament," he said.
He said there was a malafide intention in not providing the information on the illegal constructions and concluded that it is impossible that only JEs could be responsible for providing such wayward information to the appellant.
The case relates to activist Anil Datt Sharma who through a number of RTI application sought to know details of 100 illegal constructions in the national capital from the civic body but the concerned officials refused to provide the information saying that the addresses are unidentifiable.
Such a lackadaisical attitude of the civic body irked Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi who pulled up MCD officials by saying there was "collusion between MCD engineers and those indulging in illegal construction."
"It is primarily the job of MCD to ensure that illegal and unauthorised construction does not take place. However, despite a public spirited citizen informing MCD and the police department also informing the Dy. Commissioner the PIO has taken a position that there is no record of illegal activity and the address cannot be identified," Gandhi said.
Issuing a show cause notice to concerned official for not providing information, Gandhi said, "Citizens have been trying to use Right to Information to make the MCD engineers perform their duty but MCD engineers appears to have come up with the smart idea of claiming that they can see no illegal constructions anywhere".
"The modus operandi appears to be not to take any action when illegal construction is going on and subsequently to claim that the illegal properties must have been constructed before 2007 which have been given protection by an Act of Parliament," he said.
He said there was a malafide intention in not providing the information on the illegal constructions and concluded that it is impossible that only JEs could be responsible for providing such wayward information to the appellant.
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