Look, who is seeking info under RTI

**ganpat1956** · 05-30-2007, 08:41 AM

NAGPUR: Information commissioner (Vidarbha) Vilas Patil, who hears appeals under Right to Information (RTI) Act, is now taking recourse of the same Act to seek information of his own 'service conditions.'

Patil, who also reprimands errant officials for non-compliance, filed an application under RTI himself in the state general administration department recently after the government denied him the details.

Patil told ToI on Tuesday: "As per the central Right to Information Act, salaries and allowances and service conditions of the information commissioner shall be the same that of the chief secretary. I took the oath last December but so far the government has not made my service conditions clear. It has not issued a government resolution. I receive basic salary equivalent to what is paid to the chief secretary. However, I do not know what is my travel allowance, house rent allowance and leave entitlement for this post."

Patil said that he has not received any of these allowances. "I have asked the details in the RTI application regarding the service conditions and allowances given to the chief secretary. I received a vague reply from the government. I received a letter, asking me to check details on the government website,"Patil said. Ironically, Patil has been provided with a computer which does not have Internet connection.

There are other issues too regarding which the information commissioner is upset with the government. "We have a sanctioned staff of 18 but only two are permanent staff. Three clerks and three stenographers are on a deputation. We have also not received sanctioned allocations from government. A decision was taken in last winter session to allocate Rs 13.5 lakh each to Nagpur and Aurangabad information commissioners. However, we have just received Rs 4.5 lakh,"he said.

Over 1,400 appeals were filed before the information commissioner (Nagpur and Amravati) in first three months of year but a vast majority of them remain pending.

Look, who is seeking info under RTI-Nagpur-Cities-The Times of India

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**karira** · 05-30-2007, 11:09 AM

Sponsorer

Good !
Now that the IC has got a taste of "the medicine"
hopefully he will look at appeals coming in to him
more carefully.

**avinash** · 05-30-2007, 08:21 PM

[quote=ganpat1956;2697]NAGPUR: Information commissioner (Vidarbha) Vilas Patil, who hears appeals under Right to Information (RTI) Act, is now taking recourse of the same Act to seek information of his own 'service conditions.'

Hi

In this case, I feel that what the applicant did is not right. It is impossible for me to believe that a senior bureaucrat like Vilas Patil is not aware of his "service conditions". If senior IAS officials and others hih in the hierarchy are not aware of their service conditions, then who is?

However, I do not know what is my travel allowance, house rent allowance and leave entitlement for this post."

The law says that it should be equivalent to that of the Chief Secretary. Is there any ambiguity about it?

Ironically, Patil has been provided with a computer which does not have Internet connection.

How many officials have been provided with internet connections by the Government. For example, how many police stations have internet connections? Why make such a big fuss about this?

"We have a sanctioned staff of 18 but only two are permanent staff. Three clerks and three stenographers are on a deputation.

This "sanctioned staff" v/s "actual strength" is there in several departments. It is not something that is unique to the Information Commission. Employing people cost money. I think officials like Patil are taking out their personal grievances against the government by taking recourse to the RTI. This phenomenon is there in several departments where a large proportion of queries are from staff.

On balance, RTI is an excellent tool for the common citizens. But babus and other senior officials should not use this to beat the very government that gave them such sweeping powers in the first place.

Avinash

**Dr. Pathak** · 05-30-2007, 10:23 PM

I wonder too, why would the Information Commissioner need to raise an RTI application, if it is purely to get the information.

Under Section 18 (3) (b) the power of Information commissioner, it says "requiring the discovery and inspection of documents" ; why would an Information Commissioner resort to RTI application other than to make Government aware about the new Act.

**sunil sri** · 05-31-2007, 12:04 PM

RTI INDIA Administrator,

since he was seeking information relating to his personal only, he has rightly taken action as a citizen. he is not covered under provision of section 18(3) for seeking his personal information.