‘Missing’ records land MC into trouble with RTI activist

As reported in Hindustan Times on dated 14th September 2012
Source: Hindustan Times e-Paper

LUDHIANA: The municipal corporation (MC) once again landed itself into trouble without checking its records. The recent example is that of the missing records that the corporation has failed to provide to an RTI activist.

Kuldeep Singh Khaira, had asked the MC to provide the record pertaining to relevant pages of the register containing all the entries of challans alongwith the copy of challans filed under Section 269 and 270 of Punjab Municipal Act, 1976 for BRS Nagar from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 1998.

Khaira filed the application on January 13, however the MC failed in providing information to Khaira within one month after which he went for the first appeal in the case.

All the information was sought from the building branch of the MC that is responsible for maintaining such records. As the area lies in zone D, the records must have been secured by it. But Khaira was not provided with any records.

Inspite of providing information, the officials of the building branch zone D, on the hearing of first appeal on May 14 said that the information should be provided by the zone A officials as there was no zone D at the time for which information has been sought.

Khaira added that on May 14 a time bound inquiry had been marked to the senior town planner (STP) to fix the responsibility of custodian of the instant record and he was also directed to avail the documents sought for by the appellant as soon as possible.

“Till date, the Inquiry Officer has neither initiated any proceeding of inquiry,” said Khaira. On the contrary MC has surprisingly replied to an RTI application filed by another RTI activist, Rohit Sabharwal that there were no missing files in zone -D of the MC.

The reply from zone D claims that all the draft men of the zone D have checked and there were no missing files in the zone.

Zonal commissioner Ajay Sood also said that there were no missing files in the zone D. “If a file is missing, a particular procedure takes place after which an FIR is also registered,” Sood said.