The Times of India:
Ahmedabad: Wednesday, April 03, 2013.
The Right to
Information commissioner recovered Rs 2.44 lakh in penalties during the year
2011-12. The penalties were imposed in 25 cases. The commission also disposed
of 2,699 cases during the period.
The RTI
report has been submitted in the assembly. "In order to ensure the
efficacy of the commission and the interest of the effective implementation of
the RTI act in the state, it is suggested that the government should ensure the
compliance of the penalty orders of the commission by the officer concerned
within a reasonable period of time, say three months from the date of the
order," the commission has observed. "It was observed that the
officers paid small amounts quickly but larger amounts were found to be
pending. A suitable mechanism is required to be set up for timely recovery of
penalty."
The report
further states that the majority of applications received by the commission
related to the functioning of local self-governments including corporations,
villages, talukas, and district panchayats.
The
commission stated that disputes were arising due to such problems as lack of
transparency in working; vested interests; denial of legitimate services; and
delay in attending to requests. The commission also noted that a massive
capacity-building exercise needs to be undertaken.
.JPG)
.JPG)
