Details of promotion of BICL employees from the post of worker/Clerk to the post of Supervisor - PIO: Records are manual and compilation would take time - CIC directed to offer inspection of the relevant records at a mutually convenient date and time
16 Jul, 2021Information Sought:
The appellant in his second appeal has stated that he has not been provided information on point no. 1 and 3 of the RTI application, which are stated below:
1. Provide the details of promotion of BICL employees (CWM, NEWM and BIC Corporate Office) from the post of worker/Clerk to the post of Supervisor since 01/10/1989.
2. Provide the documents regarding pay scales of clerical/subordinate staff of BIC on the lines of scales applicable to staff of NTC.
Grounds for Second Appeal
The CPIO has not provided the desired information on point no. 1 and 3.
Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:
The appellant submitted that he is not satisfied with the reply of the CPIO or the FAA’s order as the desired information was not provided to him. The CPIO submitted that an appropriate reply was given to the appellant on 07.06.2019.
Observations:
From a perusal of the relevant case records, it is noted that a suitable reply was given to the appellant on points no. 2 & 3 on 07.06.2019. However, during the hearing the CPIO explained that he can give part information to the appellant on both of these points. The CPIO is therefore directed to provide an additional reply to the appellant giving such information to the appellant that can be disclosed under the provisions of the RTI Act.
For point no. 1, the CPIO in his reply had stated that the information is related to the records of the year 1989 & onwards. The records of the BICL during that period were prepared manually, hence to collect and compile the required information from NEWM Branch, Dhariwal, CWM Branch, Kanpur and BICL, Head Office the same will take time.
On a query to the CPIO as to whether any additional information was given to the appellant on this point, he submitted that no additional reply was given to the appellant, however, he was orally informed to inspect the relevant records. He also showed his willingness to provide one more opportunity of inspection to the appellant. Since no formal communication was sent to the appellant requesting him to inspect the documents, the CPIO is therefore directed to provide an opportunity of inspection to the appellant.
Decision:
In view of the above, the CPIO is directed to offer inspection of the relevant available records on point no. 1 of the RTI application to the appellant at a mutually convenient date and time, within 15 days from the date of receipt of this order. The appellant is directed to avail of the said offer within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of the letter of inspection from the respondent authority, failing which no further opportunity will be provided to him. The CPIO is also directed to provide the first ten pages free of cost to the appellant after which relevant photocopying charges can be demanded. For the other two points, the CPIO is directed to provide a revised reply to the appellant as per the discussions held during the hearing.
The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
Vanaja N. Sarna
Information Commissioner
Citation: Vijay Dhawan v. The British India Corporation Limited (BIC) in File no.: - CIC/BICRP/A/2019/137686, Date of Decision: 01/06/2021