185 HarkrishanDassNihawanVsDDA0104 1 1
CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
Room No.308, B wing, August Kranti Bhawan, Bhikaji Cama Place, New Delhi-110066
Appeal No. CIC/LS/A/2009/000185
Appellant: Shri Harkrishan Dass Nijhawan
Public Authority: Delhi Development Authority
(through Shri Mahabir Singh
Deputy Director (LIG))
Date of Hearing: 01/04/2009
Date of Interim Decision: 01/04/2009
FACTS
:-
By his letter of 18/08/2008, the Appellant had sought the following information:-
“1. Provide me the Information in detail name of banks in which the collected
amount of registration money under DDA Housing Scheme 2008 will be
parked. What will be ratio of the deposits in these banks?
2. Provide me the Information in detail what interest rates will DDA get from
the banks where the registration amount collected under DDA Housing
Scheme 2008 has been parked/placed and the tenure of the deposits.
3. Provide me the Information in detail as to how many forms for the DDA
Housing Scheme 08 were printed and what is the cost of a single
application form costing to DDA. Also provide us with names, telephone
number and addresses of the printing vendor.
4. Provide me the Information in details as to how many downloaded forms
have been received under DDA Housing Scheme 2008 till date with
Rs.150.00 charges.
5. Provide me the Information in detail whether DDA is giving any
commission to the seller of application forms under DDA Housing
Scheme 2008. If yes how much per form.”
2. To this, Smt. Usha Ravichandran, Deputy Director (Institutional Land) had
responded vide letter dated 23/09/2008, vide which she had transferred the RTI
application to Deputy Director (LSB)-(1).
185 HarkrishanDassNihawanVsDDA0104 1 2
3. The letter dated 03/11/2008 of Smt. Neelam Chadha, Director (Housing)-II, (AA),
to the Appellant is reproduced below:-
“Please refer to your RTI application dated 18/08/2008 received
vide ID No. 4969 dated 2/9/08. In this regard, it is to inform that as the
desired information was not available with the undersigned, concerned
officer was requested to provide the same as per Section 5, Sub-Section
(4) &(5) of the RTI Act, 2005. Information as received from Dy. FA(H)-
I/PIO vide his letter No. Dy. FA(H)-I/4969/625/750 dated 29/10/2008
along with its enclosures is enclosed.”
4. Smt. Neelam Chadha had also sent letter dated 06/11/2008 to the
Appellant wherein it was mentioned that 10,30,000 forms were printed for DDA Housing
Scheme, 2008 @ Rs.19.50 etc.
5. As the Appellant did not receive complete information, he had filed first appeal
before Shri Rajeev Pandey, Chief Accounts Officer, vide letter dated 07/11/2008 which,
as per Commission’s records, does not appear to have been decided so far.
6. Hence, the present appeal.
7. The matter was heard on 01/04/2009. The Appellant appeared before the
Commission. The DDA is represented by the officer named above. It is the submission
of the Appellant that even though Smt. Neelam Chandha’s letter dated 03/11/2008
mentions that letter dated 29/10/2008 of Deputy FA(H) was being enclosed, no such
letter was received by him. It is also his submission that the first Appeal filed by him has
not been decided by the Chief Accounts Officer, DDA. His broad submission is that
DDA has not responded to his RTI application and the information sought is being
malafidely kept back with the intention to conceal financial mismanagement and
malpractices prevailing in DDA.
8. It is the submission of Shri Mahabir Singh that only point No.3 pertains to his
Department regarding which information has already been provided. According to him,
point Nos.1&2 of the RTI application pertain to the Chief Accounts Officer; point No.4
to Deputy Director (Systems) and point No.5 to FA(H), DDA and, hence, they are
required to provide information on the above points. It is his say that the information on
the above points is to be provided by the above mentioned authorities.
9. It is noticed that the concerned officers of DDA have taken this RTI application in
a casual and lackadaisical manner, in total disregard of the mandate of RTI Act, 2005.
The Appellant herein has raised certain queries regarding the management of the
financial resources of the DDA and as a concerned citizen, he is entitled to know the
same. However, no information whatsoever on point Nos.1&2 has been provided to him.
What is worse is that Shri Rajeev Pandey, Chief Accounts Officer, DDA, has not
185 HarkrishanDassNihawanVsDDA0104 1 3
bothered to decide the first Appeal filed before him on 07/11/2008, despite a lapse of
about 3 ½ months. This is viewed adversely.
INTERIM DECISION
10. Let notices be issued to the following officers of DDA to Show Cause why action
should not be taken against them u/s 20(1) of the RTI Act:-
(1) Shri Rajiv Pandey, Chief Accounts Officer, DDA;
(2) Shri P.R. Tomar, Deputy Director (Systems), DDA; &
(3) Shri Pawan Kumar, Financial Adviser, DDA.
11. The matter is adjourned to 08/05/2009 at 10.30 hrs. The above mentioned
officers are directed to appear before the Commission and also to submit their written
representation, if any, two days before the date of hearing.
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
Tele: 011 2671 73 53
Fax: 011 2610 62 76