Pune state information chief cracks whip on district collector, officials over RTI

The State information commissioner (SIC), Pune, Vijay Kuvalekar, has warned of “strict action” against the district collector, sub-divisional officers and tehsildars of the district for their failure to update their records on mandatory information under Section 4 of the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005.

Kuvalekar issued this warning while hearing a complaint filed by RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar regarding non-compliance with provisions of Section 4 by the office of the district collector.

In his complaint, Kumbhar said that in May this year he applied for information pertaining to stone quarries in the district. In particular, he sought details of dates of renewal of lease of the quarries, royalty paid for each quarry to the government and the action taken by the district collector against defaulters.

However, when Kumbhar went for inspection of records under Section 4 of the RTI Act to the office of the district mining officer, he was not given any information. Also, his RTI application under Section 6 was not answered within the time limit.

Taking a strong view of the matter, Kuvalekar pointed out it was the duty of the public authority (PA) —  in this case the collector — to ensure proper implementation of both Sections 4 and 6 of the RTI Act in their office.

According to him, as the matter of stone quarries is of public interest, the matter assumes more significance and thus has to be looked into urgently.

In his final order, the commissioner directed the collector to ensure that all information regarding the stone quarries be immediately put on the official website of the district collectorate by September 25.

Failure to do so, Kuvalekar warned, would invite disciplinary action against the collector, the sub-divisional officers and tehsildars, which might include fines.