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Mumbai, March 12: | | Know the law | | • The Maharashtra Right to Information Act, 2002 came into force in September 2002
• Under the law, ‘information’ is anything relating to the affairs of the government or of any public authority. It could be in the form of a document, diskette, floppy or other electronic mode
• Every administrative unit has designated Public Information Officers (PIOs) to deal with requests
• The PIO should reply to you within 15 working days from the date of receipt of the application. Either he will provide the information sought, or request additional time or reject the information, explaining why he has done so | IF IT’S been a month since you filed an application asking for details of the road repairs being carried out outside your house and haven’t got it yet, the officer in charge can now be penalised.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to penalise all civic officials who delay or do not give out information under the Maharashtra Right to Information Act, 2002.
‘‘If an official needs more time to collect information, he should despatch a letter immediately to the applicant,’’ said Additional Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte. ‘‘Any official who causes delays in providing information will be penalised.’’
The decision was made after the Lokayukta sent notices to 68 civic officials, including civic chief Johny Joseph, demanding an explanation for delays in replying to various cases.
The notice to Joseph was withdrawn after the delay was justified but a number of other officials were fined a total of over Rs 1.5 lakh.
The Act itself allows for a period of one month before officials must hand over the information requested.
There are 85 Public Information Officers (PIOs) responsible for providing information under the Act. The PIOs may refer cases to an appellate authority—all deputy municipal commissioners fall in this category.
If the applicant still fails to get the information he wants, he may complain to the additional municipal commissioner of his ward.
Kunte said workshops and seminars would also be organised to train officers in better coordination for the collation of information. |