Times of India: Chandigarh: Thursday, 17 July 2025.
Citing administrative negligence, the Punjab chief information commissioner has criticised the Jalandhar municipal corporation (MC) for failure to provide information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in a timely and transparent manner.
The commissioner warned
that continued non-compliance could lead to disciplinary action against senior
officials. The observations were made by chief information commissioner
Inderpal Singh during the hearing of an appeal filed by a resident of Hoshiarpur,
who sought information from the MC on March 21. On getting no response, the
appellant approached the commission on May 27.
In the first hearing on June 19, the complainant sought stringent action against the respondent for failing to comply with the RTI Act. No one appeared on behalf of the MC in that particular hearing. However, Rakesh Kumar, officer on special duty (OSD) to the Jalandhar MC commissioner, was present in an unrelated matter and was asked to confirm the names of officials responsible for handling the RTI request. He said Suresh Kumar Sharma was serving as additional commissioner and Rajesh Khokhar as assistant commissioner.
The commission, taking note of the absence of the officers, warned that if they failed to appear on the next date, their presence would be secured through bailable warrants, and disciplinary action could also be recommended to the competent authority.
In the last hearing, Khokhar appeared and submitted an affidavit stating that the RTI application did not relate to his department. He clarified no officer named Suresh Kumar Sharma was holding the post of additional commissioner at the relevant time and identified Rakesh Kumar, who was transferred on June 30, as the officer in charge when the RTI application was filed.
The commission then expressed dissatisfaction with Jalandhar Smart City Limited's reply. The response, sent via email, was unsigned and lacked identification of the public information officer (PIO) responsible. Although it claimed that information for Points 1 and 2 was available online, the commission found the links inactive or inaccessible. This, it observed, amounted to a violation of Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, which mandated that if information sought pertained to another public authority, the original PIO must transfer the application to the body concerned.
The commission criticised the unprepared appearance of Khokhar, noting that he neither provided a satisfactory response nor consulted his colleagues before attending the hearing. The commission called it a wasteful burden on the exchequer that such a senior officer was deputed without being properly briefed.
The chief information commissioner then directed the MC commissioner to identify all officers, PIOs, and APIOs responsible for each point raised in the application. They were instructed to submit the complete record of the RTI request along with related correspondence and to furnish details of all RTI applications received in the last six months.
The commission also ordered that all officials concerned, including Khokhar, must be present at the next hearing scheduled for Aug 6. In addition, the PIO of Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company has been impleaded as a necessary party in the case.
Citing administrative negligence, the Punjab chief information commissioner has criticised the Jalandhar municipal corporation (MC) for failure to provide information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act in a timely and transparent manner.
In the first hearing on June 19, the complainant sought stringent action against the respondent for failing to comply with the RTI Act. No one appeared on behalf of the MC in that particular hearing. However, Rakesh Kumar, officer on special duty (OSD) to the Jalandhar MC commissioner, was present in an unrelated matter and was asked to confirm the names of officials responsible for handling the RTI request. He said Suresh Kumar Sharma was serving as additional commissioner and Rajesh Khokhar as assistant commissioner.
The commission, taking note of the absence of the officers, warned that if they failed to appear on the next date, their presence would be secured through bailable warrants, and disciplinary action could also be recommended to the competent authority.
In the last hearing, Khokhar appeared and submitted an affidavit stating that the RTI application did not relate to his department. He clarified no officer named Suresh Kumar Sharma was holding the post of additional commissioner at the relevant time and identified Rakesh Kumar, who was transferred on June 30, as the officer in charge when the RTI application was filed.
The commission then expressed dissatisfaction with Jalandhar Smart City Limited's reply. The response, sent via email, was unsigned and lacked identification of the public information officer (PIO) responsible. Although it claimed that information for Points 1 and 2 was available online, the commission found the links inactive or inaccessible. This, it observed, amounted to a violation of Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, which mandated that if information sought pertained to another public authority, the original PIO must transfer the application to the body concerned.
The commission criticised the unprepared appearance of Khokhar, noting that he neither provided a satisfactory response nor consulted his colleagues before attending the hearing. The commission called it a wasteful burden on the exchequer that such a senior officer was deputed without being properly briefed.
The chief information commissioner then directed the MC commissioner to identify all officers, PIOs, and APIOs responsible for each point raised in the application. They were instructed to submit the complete record of the RTI request along with related correspondence and to furnish details of all RTI applications received in the last six months.
The commission also ordered that all officials concerned, including Khokhar, must be present at the next hearing scheduled for Aug 6. In addition, the PIO of Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company has been impleaded as a necessary party in the case.