DNA: Mumbai: Saturday, March 29, 2014.
The state
information commissioner has ordered the municipal commissioner to fix
responsibility for the delay in providing information about the legality of a
Vikhroli mall.
In his order
on March 18, Ratnakar Gaikwad stated that public information officer Bharambe,
who was also an assistant engineer in the 'S' ward, was summoned by the
commission to explain why action should not be taken against him for delaying
to provide the information. (Bharambe's first name has not been mentioned in
the order.)
RTI activist
Dilip Gaikwad had in his application on September 30, 2013, sought to know why
no action was taken against Vinayak Arcade Mall, in Vikhroli (West), which was
an illegal construction, despite a court order to this effect.
Appearing
before the commission, Bharambe said he had assumed that the applicant sought
information for several illegal structures around the mall and not specifically
about the mall and that collecting this information took some time.
Bharambe said
that he had in a letter dated October 31, 2013, to the applicant, asked him to
collect the documents available. He said that his office had also informed the
applicant to inspect the documents, but the applicant did not visit the office
till November 11. 2013.
Subsequently,
the applicant went in for the first appeal.
The information
commissioner stated in his order that there had been a delay in providing the
information and he directed the civic chief, Sitaram Kunte, to conduct an
inquiry into the matter, fix responsibility and take action against all those
responsible for the delay.
Gaikwad asked
the civic chief to submit a report on the matter by May 31, 2014.
.JPG)
.JPG)
