Early Times Report
Jammu, Dec 29: The Block Development Office (BDO) Arnia has provided irrelevant information to an information seeker, who had sought names and addresses of the beneficiaries under Swatch Bharat Mission in the panchayat Treva. Moreover this irrelevant information was provided to the applicant after two months of delay that too after the applicant filed a first appeal before authority.
RTI applicant Deepak Bharti informed Early Times that on September 26, he had filed an RTI application before Public Information Officer (PIO) in BDO office, in which he had sought names, father name, ward number of the beneficiaries of Individual Household Latrines under SBA-R in panchayat Treva. The cost of toilet, plan layout and names and address of those beneficiaries of IHHL, against whom funds have been given, was also sought by him.
Against the fixed time of 35 days, the PIO at BDO office didn’t furnish the information and after prolonged wait, a first appeal was filed on December 6 to the BDO, who happens to be the First Appellate Authority. “A clerk from BDO office called on my personal phone and threatened to withdraw the first appeal”, Bharti said, adding that the clerk claimed that he was talking from Civil Secretariat and how he could filed second RTI, seeking same information. In a threatening tone, the clerk then directed me to visit BDO office and get the information as he has already directed them, Deepak Bharti claimed.
“When we enquired about the phone number, it came to be the phone number of a clerk posted at BDO office. The clerks at Arnia office, who were claiming that they would not furnish reply at any cost, started claiming that reply was already furnished to him on 21st of November”, Deepak Bharti said, adding that but same clerks were unable to respond queries as to whom they had sent the reply.
The RTI applicant further said that on 18th of December, the PIO at Arnia BDO, provide information but on the reply the date mentioned was 21st of November, vide office order number BDO/A/2019-20/599.
According to the reply furnished by PIO, only the names of beneficiaries have been given, while ward number or parentage of the beneficiary was not furnished. “How we will find a beneficiary, whose only name is given as for same name, there could be 5-7 persons in Panchayat Treva, which has five villages”, Bharti said, adding that it was still surprising, why they were hiding the simple information, which was signalling towards something fishy.
BDO Arnia Afsan Hamal said that as per her knowledge the information which was available to the office was also provided shared with the information seeker and even if he was not satisfied with the reply, he could again approach the office and got the information, which he sought.
On the question of a clerk asking the RTI seeker to take back first appeal, BDO said that she would look into the matter. |
