CIC: Divisional Commissioner to inform the public whether they have any policy for preventing the unauthorized constructions and what action is being taken - Disclose the policy with regard to properties having no proper layouts or safety norms, etc.
7 Mar, 2016Information sought:
1. Appellant through his RTI application had sought for information in relation to nonregularized colonies who had not been allotted plots because of technical reason, if any policies have been made in relation to this, its detail, details of any policies for making flats in such colonies without plan..etc
PIO response:
2. PIO stated that the information sought by the appellant was not available in the department.
Ground for First Appeal:
3. Nonfurnishing of complete information by PIO.
Ground For Second Appeal :
4. Nonfurnishing of information as per the RTI application by PIO.
Proceedings Before the Commission:
5. Both the parties made their submissions. The respondent authority submitted that they are concerned with only point No.4 on which they had furnished the information already to the appellant. The rest of the points are pertained to MCD, to whom they had transferred the RTI application under intimation to the appellant. The appellant has acknowledged the same. But his main request for information is that whether there is any policy on the part of the Government about the regularization of unauthorized colonies in Delhi; he wants a specific response from the respondent authority regarding the policy. The appellant has also submitted that in 2011, the respondent authority issued a notification constituting a Special Task Force (STF) under the chairmanship of the concerned SDM with the engineers from other departments as members to handle the unauthorized colony cases all over Delhi. The appellant wanted a certified copy of this notification. The appellant also submitted that this STF was disbanded and replaced by District Task Force in 2013, which the appellant came to know only in 2014. The appellant contended that when the respondent authority is issuing this kind of notifications regarding the unauthorized colonies, it cannot shift the responsibility of handling the unauthorized colonies to the MCD. He has approached through RTI all the departments, namely, MCD, Urban Development Ministry of Govt of India as well as Govt of Delhi and also PGC. But he could not get the desired information. On the other hand, the respondent officer submits that their department i.e. Revenue Department will come into picture, if there is any public nuisance with the regard to the unauthorized constructions and they will act on the police complaint. In this case, as there is no case of public nuisance, they passed on the case to the MCD, who have to take the necessary action.
6. The Commission having heard the submissions and perused the file thoroughly, directs the Divisional Commissioner, Revenue Department, GNCTD to inform the appellant, this Commission and the public, whether they have any policy for prevening the unauthorized constructions, if so, what action is being taken, what is their policy with regard to properties having no proper layouts or technically defective and does not any safety norms, etc. This information shall be furnished to the Commission within one month with a copy to the appellant. The appeal is disposed of.
(M.Sridhar Acharyulu)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Mr Rakesh Kumar v. SDM (HQ)II, GNCTD in Case No. CIC/SA/A/2014/001240