Seeking payment of amount withheld by BSNL due to lack of work order
4 May, 2013Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) in which she submitted that her husband had carried on certain contractual work on behalf of BSNL on the verbal instructions from the concerned officers but the payment of Rs.7,00,000 /- was not released. Later, her husband got brain hemorrhage and lost his memory. She also submitted that her husband was the only earning member in her family and she wanted information in this context. The Public Information Officer (PIO) stated that the matter was very old and no work order has been issued for the job(s) undertaken by the appellant’s husband and the concerned officers have also been either transferred or retired and in the absence of the original work order(s)/valid document(s) it is not be possible to pay the claim. The appellant requested that an inspection of relevant records would be permitted.
View of CIC
The Central Information Commission (CIC) observed that RTI Act is not the proper law for redressal of grievances/disputes and there are other appropriate forum(s) for resolving such matters. The Commission however, directed the PIO to permit the appellant to inspect the relevant records and to take photocopies free of cost.
Citation: Mrs. Ratna Bhatterjee v. BSNL in File No. CIC/BS/A/2012/000182/2133
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1255
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