CET Bhubaneswar to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation for not furnishing info

Times of India: Bhubaneswar: Sunday, 26 July 2020.

State Information Commissioner BK Mohapatra has directed College of Engineering and Technology (CET) Bhubaneswar to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to the appellant for not furnishing required information sought by the appellant under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The commissioner passed this direction on July 16 while disposing of an appeal petition filed by one Biswanandan Dash. The institution will pay the compensation within a month. Mohapatra has also imposed penalty of Rs 25,000 on public information officer (PIO) of the CET Bhubaneswar for denial of information under RTI Act.

Dash had filed RTI application on January 7, 2016 to the PIO of CET seeking information on 11 points in relation to the walk-in-interviews conducted by the college on July 8, 2015 and December 25, 2015 for selection and appointment of some contractual faculty members in the department of English and Mathematics.

On February 5, 2016, Achyutananda Acharya, the then PIO, had supplied the information and asked the appellant to deposit Rs 10 towards the cost of the five page information. The appellant found the information incomplete supplied by the PIO but deposited Rs 10 towards cost of information. Though money was deposited in the form of money order, the PIO did not supply any information.

Dash had filed first appeal on February 26, 2016 to PK Patra, the First Appellate Authority-cum-Principal, CET, Bhubaneswar seeking complete information. Patra had conducted hearing and passed the order on May 13, 2016, affirming entitlement of the appellant to the information. But the PIO did not supply any information despite order of Patra.

Dash had filed second appeal on August 6, 2016 before the commission seeking complete information, penalty on the PIO for denial of information and compensation for the loss suffered by him. The information commission heard the cases several times and issued notices to PIO and the institution.

Finally, the commission passed the penalty and compensation orders on July 16, said the appellant.

CET principal PK Patra said he will go through the order after getting it. "As CET Bhubaneswar is a government college, I will inform the government about the order. The state government will take appropriate action in this matter," he added.