The Central Information Commission (CIC) has written to the Anti-Corruption Bureau about \u201cwidespread and organised activity of illegal and unauthorised construction\u201d and noted that complaints to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have had \u201cno impact\u201d.<\/p>\n
The remark came on an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Kabir Basti in north Delhi.<\/p>\n
He had sought information regarding unauthorised construction in the Subzi Mandi area. He approached the CIC after he did not get a satisfactory response from the MCD.<\/p>\n
\u201cLaw-abiding citizens in Delhi are at their wits\u2019 end to get a method of stopping the widespread illegal constructions in Delhi. Scores of RTI applications and complaints to the MCD appear to have no impact at all and citizens start losing faith in the existence of a rule of law,\u201d information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said during a hearing March 25.<\/p>\n
The MCD was represented by R. Prasad, deputy commissioner, Civil Lines Zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe appellant has made a number of complaints to the deputy commissioner, Civil Lines Zone (R. Prasad)\u2026It is apparent that the MCD is unwilling to take any action on complaints of such unauthorised constructions,\u201d Gandhi observed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the information is still balanced and it is claimed that regularisation and sealing file is not obtainable since nobody knows where it is. This is a file relating to 2008 about unauthorised construction and, hence, it may well have been stolen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PIO (Public Information Officer) states that he is not able to get the cooperation of his officers in the MCD in spite of repeated verbal and written reminders,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe commission has also filed a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Bureau about such widespread and organised activity of illegal and unauthorised construction in the capital city of this country,\u201d Gandhi added.<\/p>\n
The CIC directed the PIO to \u201clocate the file and provide the information to the appellant before April 10, 2010\u2033.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the file is not located, he will (have to) file a police complaint about the theft of the file, giving the names of the officers who last handled it and send a copy of the police complaint to the appellant and the commission before April 20, 2010,\u201d Gandhi ordered.<\/p>\n
The commission also held the MCD\u2019s PIO R. Prasad and other deemed PIOs responsible for not following the RTI Act properly as they did not reply to applications within 30 days, as mandated under the Act.<\/p>\n
The commission issued a showcause notice, asking \u201cwhy penalty should not be levied on them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the facts before the commission, it is apparent that the PIO and the deemed PIOs are guilty of not furnishing information within the time specified under the (RTI Act) by not replying within 30 days. It appears that the PIO and deemed PIOs\u2019 actions attract the penal provisions,\u201d Gandhi said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA showcause notice is being issued to them, and they are directed to give their reasons to the commission to show cause why penalty should not be levied on them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also directed the MCD officials to attend the next hearing April 23 with \u201cwritten submissions\u201d showing why they should not be penalised.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are other people responsible for the delay in providing the information to the appellant, the PIO is directed to inform such people of the showcause hearing and direct them to appear before the commission with him,\u201d Gandhi added<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has written to the Anti-Corruption Bureau about \u201cwidespread and organised activity of illegal and unauthorised construction\u201d and noted that complaints to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) have had \u201cno impact\u201d. The remark came on an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by Sanjay Kumar, a resident […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-top-law-news"],"yoast_head":"\n