Repeated RTIs on Same Issues to Be Disallowed
The commissioner reviewed the RTI implementations at Kakinada municipal corporation here on Monday.
Kakinada:The Right To Information (RTI) Commissioner VSK Chakravarthi has said that "prohibitory orders are being issued" against individuals repeatedly filing petitions on the same issue.
He said the commission has taken note of instances where petitions regarding the same issues were filed repeatedly, inquiries into such matters have been conducted and prohibitory orders issued against certain individuals where necessary.
The commissioner reviewed the RTI implementations at Kakinada municipal corporation here on Monday. The panel is currently considering some RTI applications. These would be examined in a lawful and fair manner and appropriate action taken.
He said that the public information officers (PIO) and appellate authorities should act responsibly so as to effectively implement the RTI Act at the grassroots levels. He observed the maintenance of records related to the RTI Act and the information maintained under Section 4 (1)(b), managed by the PIOs and AAs of various departments in the KMC and observed that many of the petitioners are seeking information regarding Town Planning and Engineering wings.
The commissioner exhorted the KMC officials to provide complete and comprehensive information within the statutory timeframe. If an applicant seeks information in Telugu, it should be provided in the same language. “Rejecting a request solely because the information is available only in English is not justifiable.”
He said that if the information requested in an application appears unclear, officials should not wait until the deadline expires. Instead, they should immediately contact the applicant to obtain the necessary details and provide assistance.
Rejecting an application on the final day citing ambiguity runs counter to the spirit of the law and could lead to an increase in first and second appeals, he said.
KMC commissioner NVV Satyanarayana, additional commissioner KT Sudhakar, deputy commissioner K Srinivas, SE P Venkatrao, health officer Pridhwi Charan and others were present.
