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| CIC penalizes Deputy Director Estates for with holding info on procurements | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Aug 18: The State Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) G R Sufi has issued penalty notice against the Deputy Director Estates Jammu who also happens to be the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Directorates Jammu office. The said officer had failed to provide information to an information seeker under J&K RTI Act 2009. The information seeker had sought details about various items procured by the Estates Department which was denied by the Deputy Director Estates.
Details available with Early Times reveal that one Zameer Ahmad Allaqaband, a resident of Noorbagh Srinagar sought detailed information under J&K RTI Act 2009 related to items procured by the Estates department. The applicant filed RTI application before the PIO, Estates Department, Civil Secretariat, Jammu on 24.11.2014. The PIO promptly intimated the information seeker that basic fees for obtaining information was not deposited in accordance with Section read with Rule 3 of J&K RTI Rules, 2012. Later on the information seeker deposited the basic fees in accordance with the rules. Hence his application was treated to have been filed on 02.12.2014.
As certain information was not available with the PIO he invoked section 5 of J&K RTI Act 2009 and sought assistance of Deputy Directors-cum-PIOs of Jammu and Srinagar in addition to it Executive Engineers of Jammu/Srinagar were also directed to provide the necessary information as some details were available with them. Part information was given by the Deputy Director-cum-PIO Srinagar on 6.1.2015. Information from Jammu was not received by the information seeker within the stipulated period. But the appellant admitted before State Information Commission during case hearing that he received the same after the PIO received the notices from the Commission.
Being aggrieved with the inaction of the PIO Jammu, the appellant preferred a first appeal before Director Estates on 14.1.2015 who happens to be designated First Appellant Authority (FAA) contending therein that information was not received from PIO Jammu. The appellant's first appeal was adjudicated by the FAA vide his order dated: 9.2.2015. FAA held that Deputy Director-cum-PIO Jammu has not provided information to the appellant and he had directed for the disclosure of the information within seven days. He was also asked to explain the reasons for not providing the information to the appellant within the stipulated time. The appellant again having failed to receive the information within seven days preferred second appeal before the State Information Commission (SIC) . Accordingly hearing was fixed for 2.7.2015. Dr. G.N. Itoo, Director-cum-FAA Estates Department and Mazahir Hussain Shah, Assistant Director-cum-PIO Estates Department attended. Appellant also attended the hearing of 2nd appeal before Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) G R Sufi at Srinagar on 2.7.2015
CIC G R Sufi read in his order ruled : "The appellant has not made a proper ground for issuing a direction by this Commission to the defaulting PIO in his second appeal for providing the information. However, the contents of the second appeal does suggest that the appellant wants disclosure of information.
The Commission, keeping in view the spirit and rationale of the Act directs the then defaulting Deputy Director-cum- PIO Jammu i.e Vinod Kuamr Behnal to explain why penalty proceedings under section 17 of the J&K Right to Information Act, 2009 may not be initiated against him. His reply, if any, must reach this Commission within 15 days from the receipt of this order. The present Deputy Director-cum-PIO i.e Satish Kumar Sharma is directed to serve a copy of this order on the then PIO Vinod Kumar Behnal". |
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