The
Hitavada: Mumbai: Thursday, 17 December 2015.
Right to
Information (RTI) Act makes it mandatory to supply information sought within 30
days, but Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (MSSIDC)
has created a record of sorts by stonewalling an RTI query for 42 long months
yes that’s right- for last 42 months, it has made an applicant to run from
pillar to post, exhausted all quasi-judicial and even the highest judicial
forum wasting public money, but refused to supply the information till date.
Interestingly,
neither the High Court or even the Supreme Court found any merit in the
petitions filed by the MSSIDC, but still the information sought has not been
provided. Applicant Saurabh Agrawal moved RTI application on February 23, 2012
to MSSIDC asking two simple questions- Total loss suffered by MSSIDC due to
coal-handling agent M/s Mohit Minerals Pvt Limited in WCL and SECL for the coal
quota from July 2009 to March 2011.
The
application was forwarded to Nagpur office on March 7, 2012 for necessary
action. Despite repeated follow-up, the information was not furnished. Two
months later, Nagpur office refused to supply information and applicant was
asked to approach Mumbai head office again. This ping-pong continued for some
more time and even the first appeal filed with appellate authority failed to
evoke any response.
Frustrated by
this approach, Agrawal filed second appeal with State Information Commission,
which pulled up MSSIDC for infringing RTI provisions and directed MSSIDC on
November 8, 2012 to give inspection of all relevant documents available in the
office of MSSIDC. Initially some inspection was permitted, but all sensitive
files were quickly moved in the chamber of Divisional Manager, Agrawal alleged
in his complaint to SIC while pointing out delaying and denying tactics of
MSSIDC. The SIC order directing inspection and denial by MSSIDC officials
citing flimsy excuses went on for some time forcing the Commission on February
26, 2013 to pass a stern order directing inquiry and action against erring
officers. This order was followed in breach and MSSIDC chose to move the High
Court which directed on December 9, 2014 MSSIDC to conduct a preliminary
inquiry to deal with the grievance of RTI applicant. few months later, even
this order was challenged before the Supreme Court which dismissed the special
leave petition of MSSIDC on November 20, 2015. Agrawal claimed that despite
this, the MSSIDC has refused to supply relevant information to him, for reasons
best known to officials.
With Central
Government promoting voluntary disclosure by all government agencies and usher
into era of transparency, the public sector undertakings like MSSIDC are
harassing citizens and creating all sorts of obstacles to furnish a very
innocuous information is astonishing, Agrawal lamented.
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