DNA: Mumbai: Wednesday, March 02, 2016.
A public
information officer (PIO) with the land records department was fined Rs40,000
for not providing information to an applicant regarding properties. The penalty
was levied after applicant's four RTI applications related to city survey
number, transfer deed, sale deed, mutation of certain property and the reason why
they were done were not given. The case is another instance of a PIO not
providing information to a series of applications.
The penalty
was levied by Thanksy Thekkekara, state information commissioner (Konkan bench)
on February 26. The RTI applications were filed by Jayesh Motawani, resident of
Ulhasnagar. The order also asked the superintended of land records to conduct
and enquiry.
Jayesh in his
four applications had sought details of land records, property card, mutation
entry and documents that his uncle had but were changed to someone else's name
after he passed away. His uncle passed away in 1990 while the transfers took
place in 1993, 2011 and 2012.
"I
wanted the information but the PIO did not give any," said Motwani. He
then chose to file first appeal wherein no order was passed. During the second
appeal, the commission called both the then PIO when the application was filed
and the present one.
Despite the
order directing that the information be provided to the applicant, no
information was provided. While Vijay Lalsingh Rathod, the PIO who was in
office when the application was filed, was fined Rs40,000, TM Chavan, the
present PIO, was slapped a show-cause notice as to why no fine should be
imposed on him. During the hearing, in some case, it was said that property
cards were available, in some others, the order said that no property card was
available.
Rathod did
not attend any of the hearings. "They did not even state that the records
are destroyed. At the hearing, the present PIO said that he could not give
reply because he was new and that he did not get the application but had
property card. Other documents, he claimed were not in office. We pointed out
that an FIR should have been registered. However, we have not received any
information till date," said Motwani.
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