RTI activist gets 32kgs of 'replies' after 8 month delay in Coimbatore

Times of India: Coimbatore: Friday, October 09, 2015.

An RTI activist, who was denied information by panchayat officials for his queries under the right to information act, finally received 32 kilos of papers as replies on Wednesday morning after waiting for eight months.

He had requested information on the expenditure and details of work sanctioned by the executive officer of Vellalore town panchayat for a period of six months from August 2014 till February 2015.

Seven months later, he finally received his replies, costing the government more than 11,000.

"This February, I had filed an RTI asking for information on files signed by executive officers Ravi and Ganeshan during the six month period. But even 30 days after I filed the petition, I did not get a reply. So, I appealed to the higher officials seeking information. They kept telling me that there were several documents and they needed time to gather the information and take photo copies," said Daniel Jesudas.

When the executive officer of town panchayat was contacted, he said he had taken charge only in the last week of August. "After I took charge, I received orders from the assistant director town panchayat of Coimbatore district asking me to reply to the RTI queries. Since he had asked for all documents from all registers, it took us some time to take photo copies. Moreover, we had to carry out other duties as well," said N Suresh Kumar, executive officer, Vellalore Town Panchayat.

Besides, Daniel was not specific about the details sought. He wanted to see all the documents signed by the two officials. "We had to go through all the registers and documents," he added.

Daniel said that in Vellalore town panchayat several sites that should have been approved by LPA were illegally approved by the panchayat officials. "Unapproved sites could be given approval only if the district collector permits it. Most of these sites have not provided open space area and basic amenities," he said.

As per the courier slip, courier charges alone were 1,130 and the weight of the three loads of papers was 32 kilos. "The panchayat officials told me they spent more than 9,000 just on photo copies," said Daniel.

This February, I had filed an RTI asking for information on files signed by executive officers Ravi and Ganeshan during the six month period. But even 30 days after I filed the petition, I did not get a reply. So, I appealed to the higher officials seeking information.