CIC Helpless –Non-Compliance of its Orders by DDA

Dr. Hari Dev Goyal
Director, Right to Information Centre-Dwarka

Numerous reminders and RTIs could not get any result of the non-implementation of CIC orders.

Central Information Commissioner Shri M. L. Sharma passed (File No. CIC/LS/A/2009/00248) a Decision on 31.03.2009 on my RTI application to Delhi Development Authority (DDA) dated 12.2.2008. Three officials of DDA Shri V. P. Bansal, Dy. Director (SFS), Shri Anil Kumar, Dy. Director and one Dealing Assistant were present.

“It is decided that Shri V. P. Bansal, Deputy Director (SFS) would provide

information in regard to the ownership of flats mentioned at Serial No.

(ii) to (vi) of the RTI application within four weeks time”.

A number of letters to Shri M. L. Sharma, Central Information Commissioner and to Shri Wajahat Habibullah, Chief Information Commissioner could not get the applicant/appellant any Information from DDA.

In one letter dated 21ST July 2009 by Shri Pardeep Kumar, Advocate (Legal Retainer) in the CIC wrote to Shri V. P. Bansal, it said:

“You are, hereby, directed to go through the non-compliance complaint and furnish the complete requisite information to the Appellant directly, with a copy thereof to the Commission, within two weeks from the receipt of this letter, failing which the Commission will be constrained to initiate penalty proceedings under Section 20 of the RTI Act. You are directed to  offer your comments on the non-compliance complaint of the Appellant, for the consideration of the Commission.”

Delhi Development Authority, as usual, did not care for this shallow threat and did not supply any information. The Chief Information Commissioner, through letter dated 8th February, 2010 was again informed about non-compliance of the orders of the CIC during the last ten months. He was also requested to get the appellant information and to initiate penalty proceedings under Section 20(1) for imposition of penalty and u/s 20(2) of the RTI Act for official disciplinary proceedings. No reply was received from the CIC for two months.

Another RTI application dated April 10, 2010 was filed to CPIO (Kind attention: Shri Pankaj K. P. Shreyaskar, Joint Registrar) for ensuring compliance of the Orders or Decisions of the Central Information Commission under ‘Powers and Functions of the registrar under central Information Commission (Management) regulation, 2007 dated 13th June, 2007. Request was made in the application for supply of information/copies of the correspondence between the Commission and the DDA and also the information whether any penalty proceedings u/s 20(1) and departmental action u/s 20(2) have been initiated? No reply to this RTI application has been received from the Commission.

RTI activists are requested to suggest the next course of action for getting information from DDA.

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