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| Inexperienced officers designated as PIOs to public's inconvenience | | | Early Times Report
Srinagar, Sept 5: The newly appointed Under Secretaries who completed KAS probation period have been designated as Public Information Officers (PIO) under State RTI Act in addition to their own job and duties at the Civil Secretariat . These inexperienced officers are literally made scapegoats who have to face the music at State Information Commission for no fault of theirs. In one such case an officer of the Under Secretary level who was recently posted in PHE Department Civil Secretariat was also designated as PIO and to look after RTI related matters . But the poor officer having no basic training on RTI had to face embarrassment while he appeared before the SIC some days back here.
A complaint was filed by one Aijaz Hussain Malik who is an employee in Water Works Division Srinagar before the State Information Commission (SIC) on 19-09-2012. To investigate into the complaint, the PIO and complainant attended the hearing and were heard . As per the details available with Early Times the complainant Aijaz Hussain Malik filed an RTI application before PIO, PHE, I&FC Department Civil Secretariat on 27-09-2011 seeking certain information . The PIO had to pass an order under section 7 on or before 26-10-2011. As no such order was passed, the complainant filed the complaint before SIC .
The order passed by SIC on August 29th 2013 reads " The PIO Public Health Engineering , Irrigation & Flood Control (PHE I& FC) department Civil Secretariat Sheraz Ahmad who was recently appointed as Under Secretary submitted before the commission (SIC) that he joined PHE Department on March, 2nd 2013 after completion of probationary period. He further submitted that till the issue of notice by the registry of this commission he was not informed by his office about receipt of RTI application. Immediately after receipt of notice of the commission dated 25-07-2013, the information was prepared and handed over to the complainant in the office chambers of the Chief Information Commissioner. The PIO has accordingly pleaded that there was no intention to delay the information. After hearing the PIO, it is held that there was reasonable cause for the PIO not to pass order on time. Hence, no action under section 17 of the Act is considered necessary".
The order further reads , the PIO is advised to hold his subordinate staff responsible for not putting up RTI application before him for disposal. Staff should be sensitized about prompt compliance with the provision of State RTI Act. The complainant has a right to file further appeal/complaint as provided under the Act in case he is satisfied that information so provided to him is incomplete or incorrect. |
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