Puneet Pal Singh Gill, Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, November 7. The SGPC is in the dock for delay in providing information under the Right to Information Act to a local resident. The Central Information Commission has issued a show-cause notice to SGPC’s Public Information Officer, asking as to why a penalty of Rs 25,000 should not be imposed on him.
The officer has been asked to file a written submission for the delay by November 25, failing which the case will be decided ex-parte and the penalty imposed on him.
Kuldeep Singh Khaira had on April 27 sought information on the steps taken by the SGPC for the implementation of RTI Act 2005. The SGPC was declared a public authority by the Central Information Commission in March this year.
“Section 4(1)(a) of the RTI Act mandates that each public authority shall maintain all the records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the Right to Information under the Act. We want transparency in the working of this body… but sadly the SGPC is not taking the RTI Act seriously. That is why, I was forced to approach the CIC,” Khaira said.
The CIC has advised Khaira to approach the commission again in case of non-compliance of orders.
