Times of India: Gandhinagar: Tuesday, 11 June 2024.
The Gujarat Information
Commission recommended that the state govt establish a mechanism where fines
imposed on public information officers of various departments be recovered
within three months.
In its report tabled in the recent assembly session, the information commission said that in 2022-23, penalties were issued in 132 cases against public information officers of various departments, and fines amounting to Rs 11.34 lakh were imposed.
While disposing of a total of 6,853 appeals and complaints during the year, the information commission had imposed penalties on public information officers (PIOs) in a total of 132 cases for breach of provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Of these, 87 instances of fines were in cases of appeals and 45 were in instances of complaints.
During the year 2022-23, penalties were issued in 1.47% of the total appeals and 4.73% of the total complaints that were brought before the commission, the report said.
“With a view that the Right to Information Act is effectively implemented in the state and the authority of the commission is duly acknowledged, it has been suggested to ensure that the amount of penalty is recovered from the concerned officer within a reasonable time i.e. within three months from the date of the order of the commission,” the information commission recommended in its report.
The commission has also suggested to the govt that it must establish a mechanism to ensure that the penalty imposed by it is paid in time and “the same is reviewed regularly at the head of the department and administrative department levels.”
To reduce the number of instances where PIOs are penalized, the commission has asked the administrative reforms and training division of the GAD to provide training to all PIOs, assistant PIOs and appellate officers at Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA).
The training module, which will include judgments of the Supreme Court, high court and other courts, should be repeated every two years, the commission said.
In its report tabled in the recent assembly session, the information commission said that in 2022-23, penalties were issued in 132 cases against public information officers of various departments, and fines amounting to Rs 11.34 lakh were imposed.
While disposing of a total of 6,853 appeals and complaints during the year, the information commission had imposed penalties on public information officers (PIOs) in a total of 132 cases for breach of provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Of these, 87 instances of fines were in cases of appeals and 45 were in instances of complaints.
During the year 2022-23, penalties were issued in 1.47% of the total appeals and 4.73% of the total complaints that were brought before the commission, the report said.
“With a view that the Right to Information Act is effectively implemented in the state and the authority of the commission is duly acknowledged, it has been suggested to ensure that the amount of penalty is recovered from the concerned officer within a reasonable time i.e. within three months from the date of the order of the commission,” the information commission recommended in its report.
The commission has also suggested to the govt that it must establish a mechanism to ensure that the penalty imposed by it is paid in time and “the same is reviewed regularly at the head of the department and administrative department levels.”
To reduce the number of instances where PIOs are penalized, the commission has asked the administrative reforms and training division of the GAD to provide training to all PIOs, assistant PIOs and appellate officers at Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA).
The training module, which will include judgments of the Supreme Court, high court and other courts, should be repeated every two years, the commission said.
.JPG)
.JPG)
