Information regarding utilization of leased land for commercial purpose - Department of Defence provided part information & transferred the RTI application to the PIO, DGDE who further forwarded it to PIO, Central Command - CIC: Complaint not established
22 Aug, 2022Information Sought
The complainant has sought the following information related to utilization of leased land for commercial purpose and renting it to bank:
1. Provide complete record of disposal of all his grievances pertaining to the said subject matter.
2. Whether the above stated deficiency was in the notice of the Defence Department? If so, provide the date from which it was in the notice of Deptt of Defence.
3. Provide designation of the official dealing with his grievance, for which he has provided a copy of the lease deed executed with the bank. Also provide copy of the guidelines for dealing with such complaints.
4. And other related information.
Grounds for filing Complaint
The CPIO did not provide any information.
Submissions made by Complainant and Respondent during Hearing:
The complainant submitted that till date no reply has been provided to him.
The CPIO submitted that submitted that an appropriate reply was given to the complainant on 19.07.2021. He also reiterated the contents of his written submissions dated 12.07.2022.
Observations:
From a perusal of the relevant case records, it is noted that a reply was given to the complainant on 19.07.2021 whereby on point (a), the desired information was given to the complainant. The rest of the points were transferred to the CPIO, DGDE.
On a query to the CPIO, DGDE as to whether any reply was given on the rest of the points by DGDE, he submitted that the RTI application was further forwarded to the CPIO, Central Command on 27.07.2021. However, no reply has been given till date. What is noted is that there is no fault on the part of the CPIO, DoD and CPIO, DGDE as they have correctly transferred the RTI application to the holder of the information. Hence, the complaint to that extent is not established as proper action was taken by both the CPIOs. However, as agreed by the CPIO, DGDE, he shall collect the relevant information from the Central Command and provide the same to the complainant.
As far as the delay in replying is concerned, the CPIO explained that due to Covid and the lockdown, the delay was totally unintentional and the delay is regretted.
Decision:
In view of the above, since proper action was taken by transferring the RTI application to the custodian of the information, the complaint is not established.
The appeals are disposed of accordingly.
Vanaja N. Sarna
Information Commissioner
Citation: Sham Sunder v. Department of Defence in File No. CIC/MODEF/C/2021/129495, Date of Decision: 21/07/2022