DNA:
Mumbai: Thursday, 24 September 2015.
The state
information commission (SIC) has ordered the authorities to make available
online all the information related to toll contract and agreement of
Mumbai-Pune Expressway latest by September 30. Also information pertaining to
toll on all four entry points to Mumbai must also be put up online, the SIC
said. In addition to that, the government will also have to put up online
information related to 43 toll projects, with details of money collected
month-wise and contract-wise, by October 10.
Directions to
put up all these details came after activist Vivek Velankar filed a complaint
with the information commission. While the Maharashtra State Road Development
Corporation (MSRDC) was given a deadline of September 30, Public Works
department's (PWD) deadline is October 10. In a contempt of the commission's
earlier order, PWD and MSRDC had failed to provide the information. On July 23,
state Chief Information Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad had ordered that besides
the above information, all that related to public-private partnership (PPP)
model and toll contract details must also be put up on the website. The order
was reported by dna in its July 24 edition. The information was to be provided
latest by August 28.
Back then,
Pune-based Velnakar had complained that the authorities were not complying with
Section 4 of the Right To Information (RTI) Act that pertains to suo motu
disclosure and to DoPT circular that deals with the subject. Meanwhile during
the hearing, Velankar pointed out that PWD did not publish any information
while MSRDC published some, just a day before the hearing. He further stated,
"MSRDC published just six agreements of toll, that too without details of
operation and maintenance manuals, fees collected and criteria of vendor
selection."
Officials of
the respective departments present during the hearing said the order will be
complied with. The commission, in its order, has also asked the additional PWD
chief secretary and MSRDC managing director to report the compliance. Both
officials were not available for comments.
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