Info panel slaps ₹25K fine on PWD official for delay

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana information commission has slapped a fine of ₹25,000 on the state public information officer (Spio)-cumexecutive engineer of provincial division, PWD (buildings and roads), Hansi, for over six-month delay in providing information.

The case pertains to an application filed under right to information (RTI) Act by a Kurukshetra-based contractor, Krishan Lal, seeking details of the objections on works undertaken by him from Manoj Ola, Spio-cum-executive engineering in October, 2017.

However, since the applicant did not get the required information in time, he moved the commission where information commissioner Hemant Atri gave the SPIO a fortnight’s time to supply the information.

The appellant at the time of hearing on July 13 said the SPIO furnished information on June 4 after commission’s order on May 28, and that the SPIO furnished his unattested reply on July 10.

Atri in his decision expressed ‘shock’ over SPIO’S ignorance that he had defied commission’s direction by furnishing unattested information.

Also, the SPIO had not furnished the information even after his own superior – the first appellant authority (FAA) – had categorically directed him to provide information and despite the fact the appellant had deposited ₹3,288 as document fee on October 12, 2017.