DNA: Mumbai: Saturday, 03 May 2014.
After asking Mhada to take disciplinary action
against one of its officers last September, the state information commission
has fined a public information officer (PIO) Rs10,000 for not providing an
applicant information related to RPI leader Ramdas Athavale.
The order was given by state chief information
commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad on April 3. It was passed on an application by
Andheri resident RP Yajurvedi Rao. It was Rao's application based on which the
commission had directed disciplinary action against a PIO of Mhada earlier. dna
had reported it on September 2, 2013.
Rao, in his new application dated December 29,
2012, had sought information about transfer of land to Seema Athavale, the RPI
leader's wife, from her mother Sheela Wadekar. The land, which is in Bandra,
was first given to the late Yadavrao Wadekar, Seema's father. Rao had asked some
other questions pertaining to cases regarding the same.
"An RTI application was filed because there
was some problem with the procedure while transferring the land. While it takes
years in case of a normal citizen, in this case, the land was transferred
faster," said Rao.
When dna inquired how the RTI came about in the
first place and on Athavale of all leaders, Rao said, "We heard that a
plot of land that was in his father-in-law's name was transferred to his
mother-in-law and then gifted to his wife. We found something fishy about it
and, hence, filed an application."
When contacted, Ramdas Athavale said, "The
matter has been sorted out legally. There was a court case and the court passed
an order stating that Mhada has the right to allot the plot of land to us. The
case went on for 18 years but it has been resolved."
.JPG)
.JPG)
