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Thread:Good news: TN Information Commission orders penalty of Rs 25000 to be deducted from Chennai Corp Exec Engr Victors salary & also orders Corp Comm to take disciplinary dept. action on Victor & Superintending Engr Vijaykumar for not furnishing info under RTI to Arappor
While we shd be happy that this will act as a deterrent to many public information officers who refuse info under RTI, the ordeal behind this order will show how diff people get together to protect the corrupt. I filed a RTI on 31/07/2018 seeking information on a road tender
This tender was awarded to SP Builders whos said to be close to Min.S.P.Velumani. Velumanis close aide firm KCP Engrs & SP Builders compete in 3 tenders of Busroute roads in 2015 of which 2 were won by KCP& 1 by SP. Theres clear collusion btn the 2 firms on pricing & many factors
This tender was also caught redhanded by CAG in its audit report clearly showing that Rs 34 lakhs of loss to the exchequer has been incurred bcaz the Corporation raised the camber correction amt for SP Builders after award of the tender. Such a blatant act of violation!
As we probe info into this tender, Corp refuses to give info in RTI citing its private info. Second appeal b4 info commission comes up after an year of wait in Oct2019. In d next hearing held on 5/11/19, Info Commissioner Mr G.Murugan orders PIO Victor to give d data by 19/11/19
The next hearing comes up on 10/12/2019 & PIO Victor still did not give any info citing that d tender is already being investigated by DVAC. I argue that it doesnt preclude to be furnished under RTI & Info Comm Mr Murugan asks PIO to give me the info by 4 Pm same day.
At 4 Pm, PIO Victor did not turn up and he sent another staff saying that he met with an accident & is in hospital. The Info Commissioner thereafter issues a show cause notice to PIO Victor and Appellate authority Vijaykumar for penalty & disciplinary action with 15 days time
PIO, Appellate authority & Corp Comm have all sent their replies b4 end of December again refusing to part with information.However,no order was passed by Info Commissioner thereafter.When I meet Mr Murugan in another second appeal,I ask him what happened to d order in this case.
He told me that order must hv been passed.I asked him for a copy.He tells that its a matter of communication btn Info commision & Corp & that I cant get d order.I became furious hearing this & told him that its in my appeal that this order is being passed & Im entitled to d order
He tells me that iam not entitled but still he will give me. 'Generous'!! However I dont receive any. By 14/02/20, I file a RTI with info commission seeking copy of the order. I again meet Mr Murugan in another second appeal case arnd late feb/early March.
As I enter,Mr Murugan tells me that d order has been mailed & that I shd get it anytime. Still there r no signs. I filed first appeal & then a second appeal seeking penalty on Info Commission by Info Commission. Info Commission instead of ensuring transparency was all out to hide
I receive a reply letter to my FA dated 10/06/20 but with seal 26/08/20 stating that I cant get copy of the order since its a matter of communication btn Corp and Commission. Info Commission stooped to such low level of brazen violation of d RTI act to reject a public document.
As I wait for d second appeal hearing to penalize Info Commission by Info Commission,I received an order last week which is dated 01/08/20 & seal date 16/12/20. d order finally penalizes the Corp Engineers. Mr Murugan passes order just b4 he retires out of Info Commission in Aug
So Info Comm has been trying to avoid d order itself for so long. d order was typed 8 months later & reaches me 1 yr after d show cause notice & 2.5 yrs after d RTI. This after filing second appeal on Info Comm itself to penalize themselves. Such abysmal functioning of Info Comm.
This case study shows how there were many players trying to protect d Corrupt. All the information we sought shd hv been on Corp website as per Section 4 of the RTI. Even thou its mixed feelings, such penalty & disciplinary action r important on PIOs
We hope this will be a lesson to many more PIOs who r refusing information. We need to get Prakash IAS to follow this order now. We also need to get Info Commission to work independently, act faster & protect the RTI act instead of the corrupt. Lets do it!
The video of this RTI story can be seen here
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