Public information officer and first appellate authority summoned by SIC
15 Feb, 2013The Chief Viligance Officer had raided the office of Nakodar nagar council (NC) in Jalandhar on March 4, 2011 concerning a complaint filed against the nagar council for misuse of Rs. 2 crore grant released by the chief minister of Punjab.
The report of the vigilance officer indicted eleven officers of the nagar council (NC), sought cancellation of the resolution passed by the NC on December 2, 2011 that declared all works as satisfactory and also called for action against the executive officer of the council. To get a copy of action taken report on investigation conducted by vigilance team, an application was filed with the Director, local bodies, Chandigarh under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
As the public information officer (PIO) failed to provide information within stipulated 30 days, the applicant filed the first appeal. When the first appellate authority also failed to furnish the information, the appellant moved State Information Commission (SIC). The SIC has now summoned both the officials – the PIO and the first appellate authority of director local bodies – for denying the information. The Information Commissioner RS Negi has directed them to appear before him.