Details of deductions made in appellant’s Provident fund and current balance was not provided - CIC advised the Railways to set up an information System, where an employee can access PF details for his entire career by entering a unique employee ID
3 May, 2016Date of Decision: 29.01.2016
ORDER
Facts:
1. The appellant filed an RTI application on 19.03.2015 seeking information on 6 points regarding deductions made and amount credited in his Provident fund and VPF and current balance of his PF account.
2. The CPIO responded on 21.04.2015. The appellant filed the first appeal with First Appellate Authority (FAA) on 14.05.2015. The FAA responded on 24.06.2015 and 26.06.2015. The appellant filed second appeal on 09.07.2015 with the Commission.
Hearing :
3. The appellant was not present in the hearing. The respondent was present.
4. The respondent further stated that they do not have a centralized information system for employees. The information is available on a zonal basis. Since the appellant joined railways, he had been a part of different zones.
5. The respondent further stated that the employees have passbooks for maintaining their PF accounts. Some officers follow the guidelines of recording entries in the passbook, but not all.
6. The passbook was issued to the respondent in year 2000. Information of the time – period before year 2000 was not incorporated in the passbook.
7. The respondent further stated that railways is coming up with a new information system called IPAS on a zonal level which will be consolidated and made a centralized information system.
Discussion/ observation:
8. Only a part of information sought in the application had been provided to the appellant. Information sought in Points 4 and 5 pertaining to year wise deduction of PF and VPF and interest accrued thereon and amount withdrawn by the appellant from the PF account was not provided.
9. The employees information system of the respondent was not centralized. Consolidated individual records were not maintained. It was difficult for the Railways to look for individual records.
Decision:
10. The respondent was directed to provide all information sought by the appellant in his application within 30 days of receipt of the order.
11. Railways are advised to set up an improved computerized information System, where an employee can access PF details for his entire career by entering a unique employee ID. A consolidated information system would not only help the employees in keeping track of their PF balances and withdrawals, but also save the time and efforts of Railways in compiling the records from different zones. It would also contribute to accuracy of records and save processing time. Most importantly this improved record keeping shall contribute to transparency, thereby fulfilling the basic objective of the RTI Act. Public Authority may be advised accordingly. The appeal is disposed of. Copy of the order be given to the parties free of cost.
(Radha Krishna Mathur)
Chief Information Commissioner
Citation: Harsh Kumar v. Northern Rly in Appeal No.CIC/VS/A/2015/001928