Officials in dock for providing delayed, incomplete info

Hina Rohtaki

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 3

A state public Information officer (Assistant Registrar) and the first appellate authority (Registrar) of the Registrar (Cooperative Societies) are in the dock for delaying and supplying incomplete information under the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005, to a resident. The incomplete information was provided after 11 months.

Coming down heavily on them, the Haryana State Information Commissioner (SIC) stated that their conduct was not acceptable and the SPIO was liable for penal action under Section 20 (1) of the RTI Act.

SL Vinayak, a resident of the Mansa Devi Complex, Sector 5, Panchkula, had filed an RTI plea on May 26, 2014, with the SPIO asking how many complaints pertaining to his cooperative society had been received and how many of these had they disposed of with noting and references from May 5, 2012, to May 5, 2014. Reminders were sent, but to no avail.

The resident also filed an appeal with the first appellate authority (Registrar) on August 7, 2014, but nothing was done. After 11 months, an incomplete reply was submitted to the applicant on March 16, 2015. He then filed an appeal with the commission.

In his missive, the SIC stated, “After going through the record, the commission observed that incomplete information has been provided to the appellant and there is considerable delay in providing the information.”

The notice further stated that the SPIO had not discharged his obligations diligently under the Act and was liable for penal action under the said section.

“During the hearing of the appeal, neither the SPIO nor the representative of the first appellate authority were present. They haven’t sent any written submission regarding their absence. This is not acceptable,” the order stated. 

A show-cause notice under the Act has also been issued asking him why penalty of Rs 250 per day (for the number of days of delay), subject to a maximum of Rs 25,000, for furnishing incomplete and delayed information should not be imposed upon him. The commission has also asked him to appear in person before June 30, 2015.