SIC orders Municipal Corporation to furnish payment details
9 Apr, 2013An application was filed with the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking information regarding the payment of contingent bills to some contractors without recording on measurement book. It also sought to know whether the bills during the financial year 2012-13 were disbursed in compliance with the seniority list. As the applicant didn’t get a reply in the stipulated time, he approached the first appellate authority. Failure to get a reply at this level too forced the appellant to file second appeal with the state information commission (SIC).
It is alleged that the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had issued contingent bills for contractors in 2012 without making recordings on the measurement book and that the payments were made without adhering to the seniority list, a gross violation of a 1999 High Court order. It has been claimed that the RTI query landed the corporation in dilemma as furnishing the information could establish violation of court’s order and withholding them might infuriate the information commission.
The SIC has now directed the appellate authority of the municipal corporation to file a detailed report with copies of the sought information.