The Times of India: Chandigarh: Thursday, 20 July 2023.
Taking note of the inordinate delay in providing of information under the Right to Information Act by a block development and panchayat officer (BDPO), the Punjab State Information Commission (PSIC) has directed the Amritsar district development and panchayat officer to conduct a probe into the matter and act against the erring official. The department has been asked to submit a compliance report of the action taken against the official.
The directions were issued by the bench of Maninder Singh Patti, the state information commissioner, while hearing an appeal filed by an Amritsar resident, who sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the BDPO.
The appellant sought information on July 30, 2021, but was denied the details, following which he filed an appeal before the first appellate authority. The appellant approached the commission on September 4, 2022, and a notice of hearing was issued for February 2, 2023. The public information officer (PIO) was given a final opportunity to provide the information. However, in the April 25 hearing, the PIO stated that the information sought by the appellant was not available in the official record as "the previous panchayat secretary/sarpanch has not provided the record until now." The PIO was instructed to locate the record and provide it to the appellant before the next hearing.
Taking note of the inordinate delay in providing of information under the Right to Information Act by a block development and panchayat officer (BDPO), the Punjab State Information Commission (PSIC) has directed the Amritsar district development and panchayat officer to conduct a probe into the matter and act against the erring official. The department has been asked to submit a compliance report of the action taken against the official.
The directions were issued by the bench of Maninder Singh Patti, the state information commissioner, while hearing an appeal filed by an Amritsar resident, who sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the BDPO.
The appellant sought information on July 30, 2021, but was denied the details, following which he filed an appeal before the first appellate authority. The appellant approached the commission on September 4, 2022, and a notice of hearing was issued for February 2, 2023. The public information officer (PIO) was given a final opportunity to provide the information. However, in the April 25 hearing, the PIO stated that the information sought by the appellant was not available in the official record as "the previous panchayat secretary/sarpanch has not provided the record until now." The PIO was instructed to locate the record and provide it to the appellant before the next hearing.
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