Central Information Commission
Mr. S C Gupta vs Mcd, Gnct Delhi on 3 June, 2011
CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
Club Building (Near Post Office)
Old JNU Campus, New Delhi - 110067
Tel: +91-11-26161796
Decision No. CIC/SG/C/2010/001190/12272Adjunct
Complaint No. CIC/SG/C/2010/001190
Relevant Facts emerging from the Complaint:
Complainant : Mr. S. C. Gupta
335-A/ C-4 B, Janakpuri,
New Delhi - 110058
Respondent : Deputy Chief Accountant (Final Payment),
O/o CA cum FA,
Municipal Corporation of Delhi,
Pension Cell (HQ), Town Hall,
Katcha Bagh, Delhi- 110006
RTI application filed on : 12/08/2010
PIO replied : 31/08/2010
First appeal filed on : --------------
Notice of Hearing sent on : 05/04/2011
Hearing held on : 05/05/2011
Information sought:-
1) Kindly provide Zone wise and year wise details of pensioners whose pension has not been transferred to P.N.B./UCO Bank since 1997 to till date. (Including Head Quater)
2) Kindly provide mode of payment of pension to the pensioners whose Pension has not been transferred to the Bank so far, i.e. whether pension is being paid to them by way of cheque/cash.
3) Whether separate budget have been allocated to various zones for disbursing pension to pensioners? Kindly provide complete details.
4) Kindly provide Zone wise details of Budget allocation for disbursement of Pension to the pensioners, in respect of pensioners whose pension has not been transferred to Bank i.e. PNB/ Uco Bank,
5) Kindly provide P.P.O Nos. and details of pension, Gratuity and commutaion of Pension and Last Drawn Pay and Average pay of last 10 months of the following Officials of Chief Auditor's Office.
S No. Name & Designation of official Date of retirement
1 Sh. Sukhbir Singh, Dy.Ch. Auditor 30.04.2009
2 Sh. S K Mudgal , Dy. Ch. Auditor(C.D.S) 31.01.2009
3 Sh. Hari Dev , Dy.Ch. Auditor 30.06.2009
4 Sh. R C Gupta , Jr. Chief Auditor (Temp) 31.08.2009
5 Sh. Gurbax Singh , Jr. Chief Auditor (Temp) 31.12.2009
6 Sh. N K Nanda , Dy.Ch. Auditor (Ad- hoc) 31.03.2010
7 Sh. Sanni Lal , Sr. A.O / A.O 31.03.2010
8 Sh. Avtar Singh , Sr. A.O 31.04.2010
9 Sh. , Asst. Audit officer 30.04.2010
Kindly also provide Amount of Gratuity, Pension Commutation and Pension paid to the above mentioned officers alongwith date of payment and a copy of Forms No. 1, 3, 5, & 7 of Sh. Sukhbir Singh, R.C Gupta & Sh. Gurbax singh on the basis of which Terminal benefits were also to them. Kindly also Page 1 of 4 provide copy of Administrative Approval in respect of Sh. Sukhbir Singh, Sh. R.C.Gupta & Sh.Gurbax Singh
6) Kindly provide entitlement of pay and Allowances of Ad-hoc promotees who were retired without completing 10 months service in respect of above mentioned Deputy Chief Auditors/Jr Chief Auditors alongwith copy of the rules under which Pension of above mentioned Officers was fixed and paid to them.
7) Kindly provide entitlement of Pay and Allowance of official working in Pension Head Quarter and other offices on Current Duty Charge Basis and basis beyond one year without any extension and sanction of the competent authority i.e. Corporation/ UPSC.
PIO Reply:-
The appellant was provided with the following replies:-
In view to 1) Requisite information as regards to pension (HQ) is not readily available. However you may inspect the record of pension cell (HQ), with prior intimation, within next 15 days on any working day from 10.00 AM to 4.00 PM except lunch break. Photocopy of the required documents shall be supplied on deposit of requisite fee, as per provisions of RTI ACT @ Rs. 2/- per page in Municipal Treasury. In view to 2) As regards pension (HQ) the mode of payment is by cheque only. In view to 3) no seprate budget to various zone is allocated. In view to 4) As above In view to 5) Being IIIrd party information, letters have been written to concerned pensioners and in case the pensioner give positive consent, copy of relevant record will be provided on deposit of requisite fee @ Rs. 2 /- per page in Municipal Treasury and copy of its receipt is submitted to the office of Accounts Officer(Pension) Grounds of the First Appeal:
The appellant was not satisfied with the reply.
Submissions received from the PIO:
The record of the pensioners is being maintained in the office of the DCA(pension). Therefore, the information sought for by the applicant to be provided by the DCA(pension). A copy of the application is enclosed herewith for further necessary action. The incorporation may please be supplied directly to the applicant.
Relevant Facts emerging during Hearing held on May 5, 2011: The following were present:
Complainant: Mr. S. C. Gupta;
Respondent : Mr. R. R. Gupta, Public Information Officer & Sr. Audit Officer; Mr. Pushkar Raj, DCA(Final Payment);
"The information on query-1 has not been provided completely and the respondent states that the then DCA (Final Payment) Mr. Prem Rajan was responsible for providing the information. The PIO had transferred the query-7 to PIO CED. PIO CED has not provided information on query-7 to the complainant."
Decision dated May 5, 2011:
The complaint was allowed.Page 2 of 4
"The PIO CED is directed to provide the information on query-7 to the Complainant as per the available records before 30 May 2011.
The Commission also directs Mr. Pushkar Raj to provide the information on query-1 & 6 (pertaining to nine officers mentioned in the RTI application) as per available records to the Complainant before 30 May 2011.
The issue before the Commission is of not supplying the complete, required information by the then DCA (Final Payment) Mr. Prem Rajan within 30 days as required by the law.
From the facts before the Commission it appears that the then PIO is guilty of not furnishing information within the time specified under sub-section (1) of Section 7 by not replying within 30 days, as per the requirement of the RTI Act. It appears that the PIO's actions attract the penal provisions of Section 20 (1). A showcause notice is being issued to him, and he is directed give his reasons to the Commission to show cause why penalty should not be levied on him.
The then DCA (Final Payment) Mr. Prem Rajan will present himself before the Commission at the above address on 02 June 2011 at 2.30pm alongwith his written submissions showing cause why penalty should not be imposed on him as mandated under Section 20 (1). He will also submit proof of having given the information to the appellant.
If there are other persons responsible for the delay in providing the information to the Appellant the PIO is directed to inform such persons of the show cause hearing and direct them to appear before the Commission with him."
Relevant facts emerging at the show cause hearing held on June 2, 2011: The following were present:
Complainant: Mr. S. C. Gupta;
Respondent: Mr. Vinod Srivastava, B & FO.
On perusal of the written submissions received from Mr. Premarajan N., Dy. Chief Accountant (Health), the Commission noted that as regards query 1, the information sought was extremely voluminous and therefore, Mr. Premarajan N. had requested the Appellant vide letter dated 31/08/2010 to inspect the relevant documents within the time prescribed under the RTI Act. The Appellant admitted that he did not go for the inspection. The submissions of Mr. Premarajan N. appear to be reasonable and he appears to have acted in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act. In view of the same, show cause proceedings against Mr. Premarajan N., Dy. Chief Accountant (Health) are hereby dropped.
The Commission noted that pursuant to its order dated 05/05/2011, information as available on record has been provided by the PIO, CED, MCD on query 7 vide letter dated 26/05/2011. However, the information provided by the Dy. Chief Accountant (Final Payment) vide letter dated 13/05/2011 on queries 1 and 6 appears to be incomplete and unsatisfactory. The Commission observed that as regards query 1, the information sought was being collected from different zones and shall be provided to the Appellant in due course of time. In relation to query 6, the information provided does not appear to be specific and is unsatisfactory.
Adjunct Decision announced on June 3, 2011:
In view of the aforesaid, as regards query 1, the Dy. Chief Accountant (Final Payment) is hereby directed to collect the complete information from all the relevant zones and provide the same to the Appellant before July 15, 2011.Page 3 of 4
Further, as regards query 6, the Dy. Chief Accountant (Final Payment) is hereby directed to provide the complete, specific information to the Appellant before June 30, 2011 after seeking assistance from the concerned official under Section 5(4) of the RTI Act (if required).
This decision is announced in open chamber.
Notice of this decision be given free of cost to the parties. Any information in compliance with this Order will be provided free of cost as per Section 7(6) of RTI Act.
Shailesh Gandhi Information Commissioner June 3, 2011 (In any correspondence on this decision, mention the complete decision number.)(HA) Page 4 of 4