CIC raps Delhi official for 'mindless' transfer of RTI plea

The CIC has issued showcause notice to a Delhi government official for "mindlessly" transferring an RTI plea about water bodies in the national capital and rapped him for a laid-back and careless approach.
Information Commissioner Yashovardhan Azad issued the notice to Dilip Singh, Public Information Officer, Delhi Parks and Garden Society, for causing "deliberate obstruction" to the dissemination of information by transferring the plea to irrelevant officials without checking own records and website.
He has been asked to explain why a penalty of Rs 25,000 should not be imposed on him for dereliction of duty and violation of the RTI Act.

The RTI filed on June 16, 2016, and addressed to the office of the divisional commissioner, was forwarded to six officials one after the other.
"The above trail of transfers indicates a virtual collapse of the RTI regime and is a travesty of justice," Azad noted in his order.
From the details presented to him during the hearing, Azad pointed out that out of the 971 identified water-bodies in the national capital, only 250 are those which still have water and can come under the "clean category".

"Over 300 water-bodies are such which have completely dried up and 100 have been taken over by encroachments..." he said, adding around 100 water-bodies, mostly in villages, are on the brink of extinction due to the unmonitored and unhindered sewage flowing into them.

He said it was ironical that the information sought by the applicant was available on Singh's department website yet it was transferred to other departments.
"...the Commission is gravely concerned over the state of the RTI regime specially with respect to dissemination of information to the public on public interest issues like preservation of water bodies in the national capital," the Information Commissioner said.
He said it is regrettable to note the level of indifference of the PIO in handling and addressing such important issues as preservation of water-bodies.
Azad said the Commission is perturbed over the laid-back and careless approach of the public officials demonstrated in this case.

"Lack of application of mind, poor knowledge base and the reluctance to reach out on the part of officials, as characterised in the instant case, bodes ill for the RTI regime," he said.