Times of India: Aurangabad: Sunday,
May 29, 2016.
The pendency
of second appeals made under the Right To Information (RTI) Act 2005 has
touched 32,644 in the state, affecting the implementation of the transparency
legislation.
Latest data
from the state information commission shows that Pune and Amravati divisions
have maximum number of pendency of second appeals, followed by Nashik. At
Aurangabad, the pendency of these appeals has crossed 3,700 mark.
Pune and
Amravati SIC benches have 7,502 and 7,433 second appeals pending, respectively.
Nashik division has 6,727 pending second appeals, followed by Konkan (4,228),
Aurangabad (3,714), Greater Mumbai (1,973), Nagpur (849) and Mumbai (218)
RTI activists
said the vacant posts of the information commissioner on State Information
Commission (SIC) benches in different divisions were one of the key reasons
behind the high number of pending second appeals.
Three of the
eight SIC benches in different parts of Maharashtra do not have full-time
information commissioners for a long time now. V D Patil, information
commissioner for Nagpur bench of SIC, has been given additional charge of
Aurangabad and Amravati divisions. Similarly, R J Jadhav, information
commissioner of Pune bench, is also looking after Nashik division.
The post of
Aurangabad information commission has been lying vacant since June 23 following
Maharashtra Governor had accepted the resignation of then Information
Commissioner D B Deshpande after he was booked by the state anti-corruption
bureau for his alleged involvement in the Maharashtra Sadan scam.
P W Patil,
who was serving information commissioner with the SIC Nashik bench, was given
additional responsibility of Aurangabad bench subsequently. However, his tenure
ended on October 14, 2015.
When
contacted, RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said the government has no legal hurdles
like in past while making appointments of the information commissioners.
"Given pending litigation in the court, the government was reluctant to
make necessary appointments for last several months. As our knowledge, the government
is now free to make appointments," he said.
Kumbhar also
claimed that the SIC benches were adopting a bureaucratic approach while
handling second appeals under the RTI Act.
As per
procedure, the information commission receives second appeals against the
orders of appellate officers under Section 19 of the RTI Act. The information
commissioner disposes of second appeals. The applicant, the public information
officer or assistant public information officer and appellate officer (where
required) are called for hearing of the second appeal and their say is
considered by the information commissioner while deciding the case.
RTI activist
Vivek Velankar accused the state government of neglecting the transparency
legislation. "The RTI Act has become nobody's child. None of the ruling
parties want to strengthen it. While the implementation of the Act took a back
seat during the previous Congress-NCP government, it is meeting equal fate in
the current BJP-led government," he said.
When
contacted, BJP spokesperson Shirish Boralkar said the process of appointing
information commissioners for vacant SIC benches, including Aurangabad, has
been started. "Competent persons will take charge on vacant benches soon,
as names of some individuals have been shortlisted," he said.
Boralkar
added that the pendency of second appeals gradually mounted during the rule of
previous Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra.
State chief
information commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad could not be reached for his
comments.
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