Lease agreements of land executed between various organizations & Visakhapatnam Port Trust - PIO provided part information and offered inspection claiming that old records cannot be put in a CD or photocopied - CIC: stand upheld
15 Feb, 2014Information relating to lease agreements of land executed between various organizations and Visakhapatnam Port Trust was sought - PIO: part information was given, old records are such, that they cannot be put in a CD or even Xeroxed; option of inspection was given to the appellant - CIC: provide inspection & photocopies on payment of fees
ORDER
Information Sought:
The Appellant had sought information on various points relating to lease agreements of land executed between various organizations and Visakhapatnam Port Trust.
Relevant Facts emerging during Hearing:
The appellant stated that he filed an RTI application on January 12, 2013 asking for information on Lease agreement of land executed between various organizations such as Defence establishments etc. and VPT since 1933. While part information was given to him, some had been held back. The Respondent stated that some of the old records from 1933 onwards are such, that they cannot be put in a CD or even Xeroxed. The appellant was therefore, given time to come to the office, inspect the records and take copies of the specific ones required by him.
Decision:
The Commission is of the opinion that the Respondent while giving part information had presented the correct position to the appellant with respect to providing further information. The Respondent is directed to fix a mutually convenient time with the Appellant for inspection of the relevant records and give out photocopies of the specific documents etc. to him upon paying necessary fees.
(Yashovardhan Azad)
Information Commissioner
Citation: Shri Mantri Shyam Prasad v. Visakhapatnam Port Trust in File No. CIC/SS/A/2013/001415