Seeking information about unauthorized construction in commercial properties through RTI
12 Jun, 2013Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) seeking details in respect of alleged unauthorized construction in about 500 Commercial properties in Azad market area in Delhi. The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed the appellant that the information sought did not pertain to Civil Line Zone. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) held that the queries sought by the appellant do not qualify to be “information” under section 2(f) “information” means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force; of the RTI Act and thus the same is not available on record with the public authority.
View of CIC
The Commission perused the contents of the RTI application and observed that the issue raised therein is a matter of larger public interest.The CIC directed the PIO to provide the current status of informationas held on record to the appellant.
Citation: Mr. BishanLal v. North Delhi Municipal Corporation in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2012/002532
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1356
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