Hyderabad: The Telangana State Information Commission has imposed penalties on two senior officials for negligence in implementing the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
RTI on Nagarjuna Sagar Project
An applicant named N Jangaiah submitted an RTI request on February 24, 2024, to the office of the Superintending Engineer (SE) of the Nagarjuna Sagar Project, seeking details related to various irrigation projects.
Though the information should have been furnished within 30 days, the department failed to provide a response even after more than a year, a report by Andhra Jyothi stated.
Following the delay, the applicant approached the State Information Commission. Acting on the complaint, the Commission issued a show-cause notice to Executive Engineer DEE Ramana Naik and instructed him to appear in person on September 22.
However, he failed to attend the hearing. Consequently, Information Commissioner PV Srinivasa Rao imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on him for non-compliance.
RTI related to Jagtial municipality
In another case, an individual named A Chandrasekhar from Jagtial had filed an RTI request in January 2022 seeking information related to the municipality. Despite several directives from the Commission, the concerned officials did not provide the requested data.
Taking note of the delay, the Commissioner ordered the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Jagtial Municipality to pay a compensation of Rs 2,000 to the applicant.
Commissioner Srinivasa Rao warned that officials showing negligence in RTI implementation would face strict action.
Notably, this is the first instance since the formation of Telangana that the State Information Commission has imposed a Rs 5,000 penalty on a government official for violating RTI norms.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by P N Sree Harsha | 
