Pune Mirror: Pune: Monday, August 18, 2014.
State
Information Commissioner raps officers who've repeatedly ignored RTI
applications, saying they are abetting illegal work.
Notices have
been issued to 22 information officers attached to various departments for
providing false or inadequate information to applicants over various issues.
State Information Commissioner at the Pune bench Ravindra Jadhav pulled up the
officers for their reluctance in sharing information, accusing them of
shielding illegal work and being against the interests of transparency.
Jadhav found
that officers from the Revenue department and Education department are the most
frequent culprits. The officials found guilty will face fines ranging from Rs
2,000 to Rs 20,000 as per provisions of the law. But the fact that it has been
done with such alarming regularity reveals a disturbing trend.
The officers
pulled by Jadhav include the Deputy Health Chief of the Pune Municipal
Corporation (PMC), Vijay Garud, Gramsevak from Pune ZP, Praksh Umape of the
Pune School Board, Vilas Kare-Nayab, Daund Tahasildar, M S Sable, the Building
construction department deputy Engineer, among others. These officials will now
have to submit their clarification behind not providing the information.
RTI activist
Vijay Kumbhar said, "The commission issues notices, but never manages to
recover the fines. And since they are never actually fined, the officers have
no fear of the law; they keep hiding information with impunity."
Revealing
more about the modus operandi of the repeat offenders, Kumbhar said they tend
to avoid attending the hearing when it reaches the courts. This rigmarole of
appeals and repeat hearings continues for more than three years, and many cases
even get transferred, he said. All of which means the information originally
sought never gets answered.
Under Jadhav,
the Pune bench hears appeals from Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur and Kolhapur
districts. It happens to be one of the most active benches of the Commission in
the State.
.JPG)
.JPG)
