"The protection of RTI activists is not in the hands of the Information Commission.Awareness of RTI Act is a big reason of the increasing pendency." asserts State Information Commissioner (SIC) Rajkeshvar Singh of UPSIC
Read full news below :-
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/meerut/55-info-officers-to-be-fined-Rs-25000-each/articleshow/45243832.cms
55 info officers to be fined Rs 25,000 each
TNN | Nov 22, 2014, 10.55 PM IST
Pankul Sharma | TNN
MEERUT: State Information Commissioner (SIC)Rajkeshvar Singh, on a visit to Meerut on Saturday, instructed the district magistrate to penalise 55 information officers from different departments with a penalty of Rs 25,000 each. The SIC was in the city to address a meeting of officials on the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005.
On getting to know that there were as many as 832 RTI applications pending in Meerut, the official said those responsible for the large pendency - and Meerut has the dubious distinction of being the district with the largest pendency of RTI applications in the state - should be penalised. Chaudhary Charan Singh University accounts for 116 of the pending RTI applications.
The SIC asked the district magistrate to recover Rs 13,75,000 from the 55 information officers who showed laxity in responding to RTI applicants. He directed all departments to dispose of pending applications in a period of one or two months.
Addressing the media, he said, "Awareness of RTI Act is a big reason of the increasing pendency. Information officers are not intentionally showing laxity. This is the system. It is not so perfect. Under the law, information must be provided in 30 days."
The SIC explained that departments that have the largest public dealings also have the highest pendency. "Following the CCSU, the revenue department is at second position, having 100 pending cases. Power Corporation and Meerut Development Authority have 60 and 54 pending applications respectively."
Asked about threats to RTI applicants, the SIC said, "The protection of RTI activists is not in the hands of the Information Commission. It is the responsibility of police and district administration."
He urged citizens to refrain from misusing the RTI Act. If bizarre information is sought, it takes up time and energy that could be better spent elsewhere, he said. "Information on a private person cannot be provided. Information that affects business interests is also not given. There is a provision to consider the needs of secrecy," the SIC explained.
A special hearing of RTI applications is scheduled in Lucknow on December 27. RTI applications that pertain to the Meerut Development Authority and the city municipal corporation will be heard on January 17 next year.
Posted by: urvashi sharma <rtimahilamanchup@yahoo.co.in>
| Reply via web post | • | Reply to sender | • | Reply to group | • | Start a New Topic | • | Messages in this topic (1) |
No comments:
Post a Comment