Hindustan Times: Gurugram: Wednesday, August 01, 2018.
The Haryana
State Information Commission (SIC) has directed the Gurugram commissioner of
police to issue bailable warrants against certain officials of the Haryana
Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), formerly Huda, the district town and country
planning (DTCP) (enforcement), and the district development and panchayat
officer, citing their failure to appear before the Commission despite repeated
summons.
The commission
issued these directions via three orders dated July 13, copies of which were
obtained by the Hindustan Times on Friday. Each order relates to a separate RTI
request filed by activist Harinder Dhingra.
Gurugram
police commissioner KK Rao said the order had not reached his office yet and
that “it must be with the special police officer”. “I will have to check,” he
said.
As per the
SIC orders, Ved Parkash Sehrawat of the DTCP (enforcement) and Jyoti Phogat,
the state public information-cum-accounts officer (SPI-O) at the HSVP office in
Gurugram, had been summoned in relation to the issue of parking fee violations
by city malls and hospitals.
Dhingra had
filed these RTIs between August 8 and 9, 2017.
“Shopping
malls and hospitals in Gurugram are not allowed to levy parking fee because
there is no provision in the law which taxes this source of commercial income,”
Dhingra said. After noticing that this was a common practice, contrary to the
law, Dhingra filed a complaint with the Chief Minister’s Office in May 2017.
The CMO directed the HSVP and the DTCP to carry out an inquiry based on his
complaint.
Having
received no information months after he had first requested it, Dhingra filed
RTI requests in August 2017 to ascertain the status of his complaint. After the
RTIs failed to elicit any response within the stipulated 30-day time frame,
Dhingra appealed before the Huda administrator’s office in Gurugram and the
Chief Town Planner’s office in Chandigarh. The appeals were filed on October 25
and October 26, 2017, respectively.
A second
appeal was filed before the SIC on January 24, 2018, after Dhingra failed to
receive any information on unauthorised parking fee being levied.
Invoking
Section 18(3) of the RTI Act, which provides the SIC with powers equivalent to
that of a civil court, the HSVP and DTCP officers were summoned for a hearing
on July 13, which they were not present for.
In relation
to another request filed by Dhingra in February 2016, the district development
and panchayat officer was summoned. Dhingra sought information on the funds
spent and permissions sought for a panchayat ‘oath taking ceremony’ held at
Leisure Valley ground in the same month.
Having
received no reply to the RTI within 30 days, Dhingra filed a first appeal on
August 28, 2016, before the director of panchayats. After this failed to elicit
a response to the RTI, the SIC issued a show-cause notice to the DDPO on
February 22, 2018, which reportedly was not complied with.
Consequently,
SIC has now summoned all three officials to another hearing on November 5,
2018, to be held at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Gurugram.
“The
Commission’s move is welcome because it will show other officials that they are
accountable to the public and need to be responsive,” Dhingra said.
Responding to
why Dhingra’s appeals were “ignored”, all the officers cited ignorance.
DTCP officer
Sehrawat said he was unaware of any such RTI request or SIC directive. “I am a
new incumbent, and have assumed my post on July 6. The honourable commission’s
orders must be complied with and I will make sure of the same. I will follow up
on Dhingra’s case,” he said.
Narender
Sarwan, DDPO, also said he was unaware, but added, “I will make sure to be
present at the next hearing and will provide whatever information the
commission has asked me to produce.”
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