As RTI petitions pile up, info chief cracks the whip

Times of India: Dharwad: Friday, 20 February 2015.

State chief information commissioner AKM Nayak on Thursday fixed deadlines for authorities from different departments and agencies to furnish information sought by RTI applicants and warned them of stringent action if they fail to toe the line.

At a hearing of applications, filed under the Right to Information Act, at the deputy commissioner's office here on Thursday, he received around 20 petitions from the public and assured them that the information they seek will be provided within the given time frames.

Prakash Mahale, an RTI activist who has sought information on the Reliance JIO work in the city, was among the 20 whose petitions were taken up. "I had requested some documents last year, suspecting some irregularities in HDMC (Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation). But I have received no information despite filing two appeals," he alleged.

He also drew Nayak's attention to the permission granted for the construction of a recreational club in Hubballi. "I had sought copies of the non-objection certificates with HDMC last year, but these, too, I haven't received as yet," he said.

Nayak asked the civic authorities the reason for the delay in furnishing the information and directed them to provide it soon.

Another petitioner, Akbal Ansari from Navalgund taluk in Hallikeri village, complained that gram panchayat officials had not been quite forthcoming on information he had sought on Ashraya houses last November. "Some information that they did manage to provide were irrelevant to the petition."

Another petitioner, who had asked for information on workers hired on a contract basis in Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), said his request had gone unheeded despite several applications. Officials from KSRTC, HDMC, gram panchayata and other department were present at the meeting.