Information about the new Village Level Entrepreneur - CIC: PIO should not have kept the RTI applications pending for more than a year - CIC cautions the PIO to be careful in future; Directed to send a suitable reply to the appellant explaining the delay
6 Dec, 2022Information Sought
The appellant has sought the following information:
1. Provide details of action taken on the complaint filed by Md. Aizaz Ahmed, Director, Common Service Centre (CSC), Ghatiyari, Chanderpura, Distt. Bokaro.
2. What is the basis for providing new Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE)?
3. Provide differences between old and new VLE.
4. Provide similarities between old and new VLE.
Grounds for filing Second Appeal
The CPIO did not provide any information.
Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:
The appellant was not present at the VC venue and the representative was not allowed to attend the hearing due to non-receipt of any authority letter. The CPIO submitted that a point-wise reply was sent vide letter dated 27.10.2022. On a query he explained that due to COVID the same was delayed.
Observations:
The CPIO should not have kept the RTI applications pending for more than a year. The offices started functioning normally and it was the duty of the CPIO to send a reply as soon as the offices were functional. Be that as it may, even after the second appeal on 09.08.2021 there was no reply sent. The reply dated 27.10.2022 is the result of the hearing notice of CIC and this shows that the RTI applications during and after COVID 19 were kept unattended.
Decision:
In view of the above observations, the Commission cautions the CPIO to be careful in future. He is hereby directed to send a suitable reply to the appellant explaining the delay within 7 days from the date of receipt of the order. As far as the information sought is concerned, the same is covered in the reply dated 27.10.2022.
The appeal is disposed of accordingly
Vanaja N. Sarna
Information Commissioner
Citation: Ms. Asha Kumari v. Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, File No. CIC/MOEIT/A/2021/131824, Date of Decision: 02/11/2022