Team News Riveting
Raipur, October 13
Commissioner of Chhattisgarh State Information Commission Dhanvendra Jaiswal has imposed a penalty of Rs 85.37 lakh on officials for laxity in providing information under the act in over three thousand cases in the last two and a half years.
According to the commission spokesperson, the State Information Commissioner’s Court has imposed the fine in the orders passed from March 2021 to September this year. Those found guilty for failing to implement the RTI act effectively include Joint Collector, Tehsildar, CEO District Panchayat, Block Education Officer, Mining Officer, Women and Child Development Officer, Public Information Officer of Medical College and Secretaries of Gram Panchayats and others were designated as public information officers.
Similarly, disciplinary action is also being recommended by the Commission against the first appellate officers.
The Right to Information Act came into force from October 12, 2005. Its objective is to provide citizens with the right to know information, promote transparency and accountability in the functioning of government, curb corruption and make democracy truly work for the people. Common people can get information from government offices and government-funded NGOs.
Under the Act, Public Information Officers have to provide information to the applicants within 30 days. If he fails to give the information or is negligent in giving the information, then a hearing is held against him before the first appellate officer, where the application is resolved within 30 days or maximum 45 days. Even at this stage, when the applicant does not get the information or gets incomplete information, then a second appeal or complaint is made to the State Information Commission.
The State Information Commissioners dispose of the applications under the quasi-judicial system under the provisions of the Act and recommend disciplinary action against the first appellate officers along with imposing fine on the defaulting Public Information Officers. Arrangement of online hearing in Chhattisgarh State Information Commission Naya Raipur has been made for hearing second appeals and complaints under the Right to Information Act. Appellants can apply online as well as offline.
The hearing is conducted from the video conferencing room of NIC located in the collector office of all the districts. It facilitates applicants to avoid coming to Raipur. The State Information Commission has also started hearing through mobile in June 2023. Through this, the Appellant and the Public Information Officer are participating in the hearing of the second appeal by connecting through their mobiles.
