Hindustan Times: Chandigarh: Wednesday, August 19, 2020.
The Punjab State Information
Commission (PSIC) has directed Rohit Kumar, public information officer (PIO)
and the Ludhiana municipal corporation (MC)’s first appellate authority to
appear before the commission for not coming up with a clear response to a query
under the Right to Information on appointment of transparency officers in the
civic body.
The next hearing through video
conferencing has been scheduled for September 14.
City based RTI activist Rohit
Sabharwal had, under RTI, sought the names of the transparency officers deputed
in MC and asked for reasons if they had not been appointed.
As the MC failed to provide the
information, Sabharwal moved the PSIC and during its hearing on August 5, and
the commission observed that the MC had failed to appoint the officer and that
Rohit Kumar had submitted “a vague reply” that the commission had to deploy the
officials in MC.
This happened despite PSIC already
issuing a letter to the department of government reforms to appoint the
officers in public authorities in 2019.
Directing the MC to submit a reply
with the applicant, the commission ordered the PIO and the MC's first appellate
authority (a copy is with the Hindustan Times) to be present during the next
hearing.
Sabharwal said in November, 2010, the
chief information commission (CIC) had issued circular to appoint transparency
officers, following which the department of state governance reforms had issued
a letter on July 23, 2019, for the same. He alleged that even after 10 years
since CIC had issued the circular, the transparency officer had not been
deputed in MC.
The role of the transparency officer
is effective record management, digitisation of records, high priority and
quality in disposing of RTI applications etc.
It is the responsibility of the PIO of
a public authority to supply correct and complete information within the
specified time to any person seeking information under the RTI Act.
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