CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
Block IV, 4Th Floor, Old JNU Campus
New Delhi-110067
Appeal No. CIC/MA/A/2008/01267/LS
Appellant: Shri Bijay Kumar Das
Director, Good Samaritans
Public Authority: Director General of Mines Safety
Ministry of Labour & Employment
New Delhi
Date of Hearing: 15/10/2008
Date of Decision 15/10/2008
FACTS
OF THE CASE:
By his letter of 16/01/2008, the Appellant had requested for the
following information from PIO, Office of the Director of Mines Safety,
Jharkhand:-
“(1) Kindly provide information stating whether all the persons
employed through every contractor in a mine under
appointment by the owner, agent and manager of the mine or
with the knowledge of the manager, whether for wages or not
come under the purview of Section 2(h) of the Mines Act, 1952.
(2) Kindly provide information stating whether “Register of
Employees” maintained in “Form b” under rule 77 of the Mines
Rules, 1955 shall be one for each mine, where the names and
other particulars of all the persons employed directly and all the
persons employed through contractors, whether employed in
night shift or day shifts and whether employed permanently or
temporarily or it shall be separate for the all the persons’
employed directly and separate for all the persons employed
through every contractor.
(3) Kindly provide information stating whether it is obligatory on
the part of the manager of every mine to ensure that the names
and other particulars of all the persons employed in a mine
directly or through contractors shall be entered in the “Register
of employees” in “Form B” maintained under rule 77 of the
Mines Rules, 1955 and not to allow any person to work in the
mines without entering his/her name and other particulars in the
“Register of employees” in Form B maintained under rule 77 of
the Mines rules, 1955.”
2. The CPIO, vide his letter dated 06/02/2008, had informed the
Appellant that the information requested for by the Appellant was available
in the Mines Act, 1952 and Mines Rules, 1955. The Appellant had filed an
Appeal before the Appellate Authority by his letter of 18/02/2008. The
Appellate Authority, by his letter of 02/04/2008, had upheld the decision of
the CPIO. The Appellant has filed the present Appeal against the order of
the Appellate Authority.
3. The matter was fixed up for hearing on 15/10/2008. Neither the
Appellant nor any representative of the Public Authority appeared before the
Commission. It has, therefore, been decided to decide the matter on the
basis of material on record.
DECISION
3. In the Appeal filed before this Commission, the Appellant has not
contested the stand taken by the CPIO and Appellate Authority. He has,
however, pleaded that it would not be possible for illiterate and BPL
category citizens to purchase Mines Act and Mines Rules, read the
provisions thereof and cull out the information sought by them. He has also
pleaded that the reply given by CPIO may be considered as deemed refusal
to provide information. The plea taken by the Appellant appears to have
some merit. The scheme of RTI Act is to disseminate the information held
by the Public Authorities except for that which is exempted u/s 8 of the RTI
Act. I agree with the Appellant that the law books in which the requisite
information is available are not easily accessible to the poor labourers; nor
are they in a position to read those law books and cull out the relevant
information. In view of this, the CPIO is hereby directed to furnish point-
wise information on the above mentioned three points to the Appellant. The
information would preferably be in simple Hindi which is easily
understandable by the persons for whom it is meant. This should be done in
three weeks’ time.
4. The matter is disposed of, accordingly.
Sd/-
(M.L. Sharma)
Central Information Commissioner
Authenticated true copy. Additional copies of orders shall be supplied against
application and payment of the charges, prescribed under the Act, to the CPIO of this
Commission.
(K.L. Das)
Assistant Registrar