BMC official fined Rs. 25,000 for flouting RTI act….Kunal Purohit
In a rare order that boosts the spirit of the Right to Information Act, 2005, the state chief information commissioner (SCIC) Ratnakar Gaikwad has fined an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Rs. 25,000 for refusing to reveal information under the act for nearly two years now.
This is the highest fine that can be imposed on an errant government official who refuses to reveal information, under the act.
In August 2010, Khar resident Hasim Shaikh petitioned the H west ward seeking to inspect the register containing details of notices issues to unauthorised constructions happening in Bandra and Khar(West). These suburbs are witness to frenzied building construction activities and building of high-rises. The then public information officer (PIO), MD Sawant, who was head of the building and factory department, responsible for these notices, accepted Shaikhs application.
However, every time Shaikh went to the ward office, he was sent back, without being allowed to allow inspect the register. An exasperated Shaikh then went in for an appeal, where the appellate authority warned Sawant of subverting the act and ordered him to furnish the information to Shaikh. The warning was futile because I kept going to the ward office, but civic officials kept blocking all my queries. More than six months after filing the application, I decided to appeal to the chief information commissioner, said Shaikh.
Around 16 months after he had filed his second appeal, the SCIC finally gave a hearing, where Sawant remained absent. Gaikwad then slapped a show cause notice to Sawant, asking him to explain the reason for not revealing the information.
Hearing Sawant, Gaikwad passed an order last week, ordering that the former be fined.
Gaikwad said in his order, Sawant has admitted that he did not disclose the information. In keeping with the spirit of the act, Sawant should be fined Rs. 25,000 which shall be recovered from his salary in the next three months.
Gaikwad has also instructed the local ward office to furnish the information to Shaikh in the next 15 days.
URL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/BMC-official-fined-Rs-25-000-for-flouting-RTI-act/Article1-890227.aspx