Post data on high-powered panels online: CIC

Gita Dewan Verma,a resident of Vasant Kunj,realised this the hard way. She had filed a Right To Information (RTI) application in 2007,asking the government to provide information on a multi-purpose housing committee,which was headed by former revenue minister Rajkumar Chauhan.

She had asked some simple questions regarding the constitution of the committee and frequency of its meetings,besides enquiring about the 10,000 flats being constructed in Kanjhawala and Bawana.

However,the government could not furnish an answer to her queries,with the officials maintaining that they do not have any record of such a committee. In March,the OSD to the Urban Development Minister stated in his letter that as per the records of his office,no meeting of the committee had been held under the chairmanship of Chauhan.

“In the journey of trying to get information about this committee,a tremendous amount of time and public resources have been wasted,and yet the commission does not feel that satisfactory information has been provided to the complainant,” CIC Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi noted.

The CIC has asked that a systematic approach needs to be developed to make sure that information on the formation and action taken by such committees is available to citizens. The commission directed the Chief Secretary to ensure that whenever a committee is formed,information about the committee and its constitution is put up on the website of the Administrative Reforms Department of GNCTD.

The order further said the government must ensure that each committee has a designated Public Information Officer,responsible for providing information on decisions taken by the committee.