Central Information Commission
Samarendra Kumar vs Delhi Development Authority on 27 September, 2024
केन्द्रीय सूचना आयोग
Central Information Commission
बाबा गंगनाथ मागग, मुननरका
Baba Gangnath Marg, Munirka
नई निल्ली, New Delhi - 110067
File No : CIC/DDATY/A/2023/629131
Samarendra Kumar .....अपीलकर्ाग /Appellant
VERSUS
बनाम
PIO,
Assistant Director (LM), Delhi
Development Authority, Land
Management Department, North
Zone, LU Block Market,
Pitampura, Delhi - 110034 ....प्रनर्वािीगण /Respondent
Date of Hearing : 11.09.2024
Date of Decision : 26.09.2024
INFORMATION COMMISSIONER : Vinod Kumar Tiwari
Relevant facts emerging from appeal:
RTI application filed on : 25.01.2023
CPIO replied on : 17.02.2023
First appeal filed on : 12.04.2023
First Appellate Authority's order : 08.05.2023
2nd Appeal/Complaint dated : 14.06.2023
Information sought:
The Appellant filed an RTI application dated 25.01.2023 seeking the following information:Page 1 of 12
"a) As approved by Ministry of UD (Delhi Division), GOI vide letter no. K-
12011/23/2009-DDIB dated 08.03.2010 (in file no. F-.4 (5) 2006/MP/Part- II/ the Zonal Development Plan (Civil Line Zone) with silent features Dheerpur Phase-I Project covering an area 194.5 Ha. is proposed for a population of 40,000. As per MPD-2021, a non- hierarchical Commercial Centre has been proposed in Dheerpur Phase-I. (_) The Master Plan envisages the area to the West of Dheerpur Phase-I to be developed for partly Commercial (District Centre), residential, facility centers, recreational, local shopping Centre etc. It is proposed to develop this area on a comprehensive basis as per the uses proposed in MPD-2021. A large portion of this area is owned by Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and shall be developed as per recommendations for various uses jointly by DDA and DJB. () Besides the above District Centers and Community Centers, the following non-hierarchical commercial Centre shall be developed with specific scheme: 1. Non-Hierarchical Commercial Centre, Dheerpur ph.-I. () The other major green areas in the zone are Roshanara Garden, Qudesia Garden bullt in 18th Century, Chhatrasal Stadium, Police grounds, University Grounds, etc. In addition a number of district parks and green areas have been proposed in Dheerpur Scheme. The Bungalow area is other major green area of the zone. (_) Keeping in view, the norms of Master Plan-2021, the total power requirement for the entire zone shall be worked out. Existing 66 KV and above sub- stations and high tension line passing, through the zone are illustrated in detail. A 220 KV SubStation is a part of Dheerpur Scheme.
Want to know what the tasks/works are had already been done In Dheerpur Phase-I since year, 2010. Whether any time line has now been fixed to develop the entire Dheerpur Phase-I, Delhi-110009.
b) The Lands/Plots are allotted to how many societies and how many plots are remains to be allotted. Kindly provide the list of societies to whom plots are allotted with their respective addresses with respective phone numbers and plot numbers.
c) If any society who has been allotted a plot not started constructions, is there any provision to cancel the allotment of respective plots.
d) If there any litigation is pending qua the plots allotted to respective society. If yes kindly provide the case number and name of Hon'ble Judicial forums where matter is pending.
Page 2 of 12e) What are annual budget allocated for development of Dheerpur Phase-1 project like roads and electricity. You are requested to provide the details of budget allocated for the aforesaid respective purposes.
f) To accomplish the target of Green Delhi project, how many trees were planted adjacent to roads/streets since year, 2010 to till date?
g) Whether the concerned authority installed water and sewage facility for Dheerpur Phase-I Project. If not any fixed plan is there and if any tender has been floated then given the details of tender. Kindly provide the tender documents if given for last seven years.
h) The approach roads like from outer Ring Road and Dr. Mukherjee Nagar bandh is badly damaged, who is authority to look after the same. If it is in the knowledge, then how many days the authority will take to rectify it.
i) Who is the authority who look after the street lights installed at Dheerpur Phase-I, you are requested to kindly disclosed, how many street lights are their, the number of street lights are not in operation, what are average 19/ electricity consumed by these street lights. As per actual report street lights are not get switch on during evening and nigh and all the areas are in dark.
j) Who are the agencies deputed for daily cleaning & sweeping of roads and streets. The agencies are deputed to remove the solid wastes dumped at various posts."
The PIO-cum-Assistant, LM/DDA, vide letter dated 17.02.2023, transferred the RTI Application under Section 6 (3) of the RTI Act to PIO-cum-Executive Engineer, NMD-2.
Having not received any information from the transferee PIO, the appellant filed a First Appeal dated 12.04.2023. The FAA-cum-Deputy Director, Land Management vide letter dated 08.05.2023, transferred the RTI Appeal to FAA, NMD-2, DDA and FAA, Planning Co-ordination, DDA.
Shri Gambhir Singh, FAA-cum-Deputy Director, Planning Co-ordination, DDA, vide letter dated 12.05.2023, again transferred the RTI Appeal to FAA, Planning Zone-C, with a copy marked to the Appellant.
Page 3 of 12Shri Nakul Kumar Naya, PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Planning/Zone-C), vide letter dated 22.05.2023, informed the Appellant as under:
"Please refer the letter dated 12.05.2023 of FAA/PIg. Cordn. Unit forwarded to this unit alongwith letter dated 08.05.2023 of FAA/LM (NZ) & Your RTI appeal to LM/NZ to provide the information, if any available directly to applicant. In this regard following is stated:-
Para: a, e, f, g, h, l, j Information sought is regarding construction/development of services/facilities/amenities; pertains to Engg. Deptt (NMD-2), DDA.
Para:- b, c Information sought is regarding allotment; pertains to LD deptt., DDA Para:- d Information sought is regarding litigation; pertains to LM deptt., DDA योजना जोन-सी इकाई से संबंधित मामले में प्रथम अपीलीय अधिकारी है , श्री संजय कुजूर, उप. ननदे शक (योजना), जोन सी एवं जी, डीडीए, तीसरी मंजजल, ववकास मीनार, आई.पी. एस्टे ट, नई ददल्ली-110002। टे लीफोनः 011-23378288 (ववस्तार-482), ईमेल: [email protected]"
Shri Amit Choudhary, PIO (Coordination) LD, vide letter dated 29.05.2023, transferred the RTI Application to PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Co-operative Society/DDA), PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Group Housing/DDA), PIO-cum- Assistant Director (Commercial Land/DDA) and PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Institutional Land/DDA).
The PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Commercial Land/DDA), vide letter dated 31.05.2023, informed the Appellant as under:
"Sir/Madam, This office is in receipt of your RTI Application duly forwarded by Asstt. Director (Coordn./L.D.) vide letter dt. 29.05.2023 wherein Para B and C have been transferred for reply under RTI Act 2005.
In this regard, it is informed that this office deals with allotment of commercial plots and does not deal with societies. The plots to the societies are allotted by Co- operative Society Branch and Group Housing Branch therefore, the RTI Application is forwarded to them for taking necessary action at the earliest."Page 4 of 12
Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied, appellant approached the Commission with the instant Second Appeal.
Relevant Facts emerged during Hearing:
The following were present:-
Appellant: Advocate Sumit Chanchal, representative of the Appellant attended the hearing in person.
Respondent:
(1) Ms. Kamini, PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Group Housing/DDA). (2) Ms. Sushila Panwar, Assistant Director (LM/NZ). (3) Shri Nakul Kumar Nayan, PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Planning/Zone-C) (4) Shri Pankaj Kumar Singh, Junior Engineer (Civil/DDA-NMD-2) (5) Shri Aatish Gupta, Assistant Director/DDA, Vikas Sadan, attended the hearing.
The representative of the Appellant stated that the Respondents have not provided the relevant information as sought in the instant RTI Application till date.
Ms. Sushila Panwar, Assistant Director (LM/NZ), submitted that the information sought in the original RTI Application dated 25.01.2023, does not pertain to their office.
Shri Nakul Kumar Nayan, PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Planning/Zone-C), submitted that the information sought in the original RTI Application dated 25.01.2023, does not pertain to their office.
Shri Aatish Gupta, Assistant Director/DDA, Vikas Sadan, submitted that point No. (b) and (c) of the instant RTI Application pertain to their office and accordingly an adequate reply based on available records has been given to the Appellant vide letter dated 10.09.2024. The contents of the same is as under:
"This is with reference to your RTI application dated 25.01.2023 which was forwarded to this office by PIO/LD Coordination vide letter dated 29.05.2023 In this regard, the information sought under RTI Act, 2005 has been examined and point wise reply of the paras pertaining to this office is as under:
Point(b): The information sought is not available in compiled format. Hence, the same could not be provided. However, if applicant wishes to seek information regarding Page 5 of 12 any particular property/institution/society, the same may be provided under relevant provision of RTI Act, 2005.
Point (c): The information asked is contained in the officer order dated 29.08.2024 (copy enclosed), the contents of which are self-explanatory."
Ms. Kamini, PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Group Housing/DDA), submitted that the information sought in the original RTI Application dated 25.01.2023, does not pertain to their office. She added that the Appellant has raised additional grounds of information in his First Appeal and Second Appeal.
The Commission interjected and asked the answering Respondents that who is the Nodal PIO, they informed the bench that Shri Sunil Kumar, Deputy Director is Nodal PIO.
A written submission has been received from PIO-cum-AD, vide letter dated 06.09.2024, wherein the Commission has been apprised as under:
"a) The RTI application of Sh. Samarender Kumar dated 25.01.2023 was received in this office on 06.02.2023 after being transferred to Nodal CPIO, DDA. On examination it was found that the information required does not pertain to this office and Hence, it was transferred to PIO/EE (NMD)-2, DDA, vide letter no.
F5(18)2023/RTI/LM/NZ/150 dated 17.02.2023 to provide the information to the applicant as per the provisions of RTI Act, 2005 (Copy enclosed).
b) Subsequently, a first appeal was received in this office on 12.04.2023, which was also forwarded to FAA/EE (NMD)-2 and FAA/DD(PIg) Co-ordination vide letter no. F5(18)2023/RTI/LM/NZ/385 dated 08.05.2023 to process the RTI appeal as per the provisions of RTI Act, 2005 (Copy enclosed).
c) A letter from FAA/PIg (Co-ordination) was received on 15.05.2023, regarding transfer of RTI appeal to FAA/DD(Pig) Co-ordination (Copy enclosed).
d) Further, a letter dated 22.05.2023 from PIO/Plg Zone-C was received informing the transfer of RTI application to FAA/NMD-2 and CPIO/AD/LD (Co-ordination) (Copy enclosed).
e) Accordingly, the RTI application along with appeal was transferred to PIO/LD(Coordn) on 22.06.2023 by PIO/LM/NZ to provide the information as per RTI Act, 2005 (Copy enclosed)
f) Further, the Notice of Hearing regarding 2nd appeal with Hon'ble CIC was forwarded vide letter no F5(18)2023/RTI/LM/NZ/707 dated 02.09.2024 to all the above CPIOs and their concerned FAAs with request to attend the hearing (Copy enclosed).
Page 6 of 12g) Since, the information sought by the applicant does not fall within the jurisdiction of PIO/LM/NZ, the RTI application and the RTI appeal was transferred to other CPIOS/FAAS."
Decision:
At the outset, the Commission upon a perusal of records adversely viewed the conduct of the PIOs' of Respondent Public Authority in having transferred the RTI Application back and forth amongst their offices without providing complete material information except for point No. b and c of the RTI Application to the Appellant till date. This fact is evident from the record that the RTI Application received by the PIO-cum-Assistant, LM/DDA, who on 17.02.2023, transferred the same to PIO-cum-Executive Engineer, NMD-2 Under Section 6(3) of the RTI Act. Thereafter, FAA-cum-Deputy Director, Land Management vide letter dated 08.05.2023, transferred the RTI Appeal to FAA, NMD-2, DDA and FAA, Planning Co-ordination, DDA Further, Shri Gambhir Singh, FAA-cum-Deputy Director, Planning Co-
ordination, DDA, vide letter dated 12.05.2023, again transferred the RTI Appeal to FAA, Planning Zone-C by stating the RTI Appeal does not pertain to their office.
Thereafter, Shri Nakul Kumar Naya, PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Planning/Zone-C), vide letter dated 22.05.2023, informed the Appellant that point Nos. a, e, f, g, h, l, j of First Appeal is regarding construction/development of services/facilities/amenities; and accordingly, it pertains to Engg. Deptt (NMD-2), DDA and point No. (b) and (c) pertain to LD department., DDA and point No. (d) pertain to LM department.
It is further observed that Shri Amit Choudhary, PIO (Coordination) LD, vide letter dated 29.05.2023, transferred the RTI Application to PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Co-operative Society/DDA), PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Group Housing/DDA), PIO-cum-Assistant Director (Commercial Land/DDA) and PIO- cum-Assistant Director (Institutional Land/DDA). In addition to the above, the nodal PIO Shri Sunil Kumar, Deputy Director did not even take the pain to gather the requested information from their concerned branches, to facilitate relevant information to the Appellant nor has he appeared during hearing before the bench. Such casual conduct of the PIOs' Page 7 of 12 causes unwarranted obstruction to the free flow of information to the information seeker under the RTI Act. This conduct is not appreciated.
Now that considerable time has elapsed, the Commission directs Nodal PIO Shri Sunil Kumar, Deputy Director, to take all necessary steps to procure the available information as sought for in the RTI Application from the concerned record holders under Section 5(4) of the RTI Act and provide the same directly to the Appellant within four weeks from the date of receipt of this order.
The First Appellate Authority to ensure compliance of these directions.
Notwithstanding the above, the Commission expresses severe displeasure on the conduct of PIOs' for playing football of the RTI Application from one office to another resulting in providing no information to the Appellant till date, which also raised doubt that information has not been given to the Appellant with mala fide intent. The RTI Act has provisions of supplying information under Section 5 (4) precisely to address the situation like present one because the framers of law knew what kind of passing the buck in the office of various public authorities. The action of various PIOs' of the Respondent Public Authority has defeated the very purpose of these provisions and hence their conduct is despicable to say the least.
In view of the above, inaction on the part of the Respondents is prima facie established and therefore, the Commission deems it expedient to direct the Registry of this Bench to issue Show Cause Notice to concerned PIOs. The PIOs shall explain in writing as to why action should not be initiated against them under Section 20(1) and 20(2) of the RTI Act for the foregoing reasons, written explanation of the PIOs should reach the Commission within four weeks from the date of receipt of this order.
A copy of this order is marked to the FAA who shall ensure that a copy of this order is received by the erring PIOs. The FAA is further directed to ensure that under all circumstances, written submissions of the erring PIOs should reach the Commission within four weeks from the date of receipt of this order, failing which proceedings will be held ex-parte. The FAA shall inform the Commission the name/names of the PIOs at the relevant time who was/were supposed to give information to the Appellant. A copy of this order shall be served upon the erring officials by the FAA.
Page 8 of 12Be that as it may, such conduct of the PIOs' of Respondent Public Authority in having transferred the RTI Application back and forth amongst their offices without providing complete material information to the RTI Applicants, is seen often by the bench and this issue needs to be addressed to promote transparency and accountability in governance as enshrined in the RTI Act, 2005. In this regard, the Commission would like to refer an Office Memorandum dated 14.11.2007, bearing Ref. No. 1/32/2007-IR, issued by Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance & Pension, Government of India, regarding Creation of Central Point for receiving applications and designation of appellate authorities under the RTI Act, 2005, wherein following observations have been made which are as under:
"1.The undersigned is directed to say that the sub-section (1) of Section 5 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 mandates all public authorities to designate as many Public Information Officers as necessary to provide information under the Act. The Second Administrative Reforms Commission in its First Report (June 2006) has observed that where a public authority designates more than one Public Information Officer (PIO), an applicant is likely to face difficulty in approaching the appropriate Public Information Officer, and the applicants would also face problem in identifying the officer senior in rank to the PIO to whom an appeal under sub-section (1) of Section 19 of the Act can be made. (For convenience such an officer is termed as the First Appellate Authority). The Commission has, inter-alia, recommended that all Ministries/ Departments/Agencies/Offices, with more than one PIO, should designate a Nodal Officer with the authority to receive requests for information on behalf of all PIOs. The Commission has also recommended that all the public authorities should designate the First Appellate Authorities.
2. It is, therefore, requested that all public authorities with more than one PIO should create a central point within the organisation where all the RTI applications and the appeals addressed to the First Appellate Authorities may be received. An officer should be made responsible to ensure that all the RTI applications/appeals received at the central point are sent to the concerned Public Information Officers/Appellate Authorities, on the same day. For instance, the RTI applications/appeals may be received in the Receipt and Issue Section/ Central Registry Section of the Ministry/Department /Organsiation/Agency and distributed to the concerned PIOs/Appellate Authorities. The R&I/CR Section may maintain a separate register for the purpose. The Officer-in-Charge/Branch Officer of the Section may ensure that the applications/appeals received are distributed the same day."Page 9 of 12
The Commission would further like to refer an Office Memorandum dated 23.08.2024, bearing Ref. No. S-15/21/2021-(PG)-DARPG (e-7085), issued by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance & Pension, Government of India, regarding Comprehensive guidelines for handling the Public Grievance, wherein following similar directions have been issued by DoPT signifying the importance of having a Nodal Officer on such important matters:
"Subject: Comprehensive guidelines for handling the . . . . . . . .. xxx:
1. xxx
2. Appointment of Nodal Officer for Public Grievances Nodal Officer for Public Grievances plays a pivotal role in ensuring that grievances from citizens are addressed promptly, fairly, and efficiently. While appointing the Nodal officer for PG, the Ministries shall ensure that the nodal officer shall have enough experience, competency and authority to deal with the public complaints. He shall have the knowledge about the work flow and mapping of officers in each and every vertical in the Ministry/Department including attached/subordinate/autonomous bodies. In the Ministries/Departments where large number of Public Grievances are received, it is advised to appoint a dedicated Nodal officer with independent charge on sufficient rank so as to ensure timely and qualitative disposal of public grievances.
3. Role of Nodal Public Grievance officer An indicative list of activities to be performed by the Nodal Officer for PG is given as follows:
(1) Effective categorization: Performance of CPGRAMS is based on the effective categorization of complaints and their mapping with right authorities. Hence accurate and updated categorization is critical for grievances reaching the right authority in shortest possible time. Nodal PG officer, under the guidance of Secretary, shall undertake review of categorization once in a six months to ensure their relevance and effectiveness for citizen in filing of grievances.
(ii) Appointment of Nodal Technical GRO: Updating of Grievance Redressal Officers (GRO) on CPGRAMS along with their mobile number, ensuring that correct mapping of GROS with the corresponding categories in CPGRAMS etc. is at the heart of the faster grievance resolution process. It is suggested that Nodal GRO appoint a Nodal Technical GRO under him for enabling this process. Updation of Officers' information regarding his/her mobile number, transfer, retirement and all other technical information regarding CPGRAMS of the Ministry/Department needs to rest with the Nodal Technical GRO.
(iii) Monitoring pendency: It is the responsibility of the Nodal Officer to monitor grievances and check quality of disposal. It is the responsibility of Nodal GROS to Page 10 of 12 ensure that the grievances are handled with sensitivity and communication to citizens are polite and respectful.
(iv) Nodal PG officer can view the performance of other GROs in the nodal PG officer's dashboard in CPGRAMS. He is expected to utilize this facility to review the performance of other GROS in his Ministry.
(v) DARPG has created a portal for the feedback collected by BSNL on the grievances disposed by the GROS on CPGRAMS. The portal can be accessed on pgportal.gov.in/ccfeedback/The Nodal officer is expected to analyze the feedback and work on the areas of poor/low feedback.
(vi) Root Cause Analysis of Public Grievances to identify areas of concerns and address them through systemic reforms is one of the main objectives of the Public Grievance System. DARPG has set up Data Strategy Unit and developed analytics dashboards powered with Al for deeper analysis of grievances. The Nodal Officer can use the facility developed by DARPG to analyse the pain-points in their schemes/ programmes and address them on a sustainable basis.
(vii) DARPG is publishing monthly reports on CPGRAMS. The Reports contains relative performance of Ministry / Departments including the ranking of Ministries on the parameters of Grievance Redressal and Assessment Index (GRAI). Nodal Officer shall utilize the report for improving overall performance and ranking of their Ministries/Departments.
(viii) Nodal officer shall take note of the complaints appearing in the newspaper/ social media etc. and take suo moto action on the complaints.
(ix) At least one day in a month shall be utilized by Nodal GRO for having meetings with all Grievance Redressal Officers in his Ministry/Department regarding pendency, quality of redressal and complaints being received.
4. to 14. Xxx"
Advisory under Section 25 (5) of the RTI Act In view of above, an advisory, is issued to Shri Subhashish Panda, VC, DDA, to take note of the aberration of RTI Act being manifested in the Respondent public authority's office and look into the matter in larger public interest and sensitize Nodal PIO's dealing with the RTI matters in particular, regarding their role and responsibilities as a Nodal officer under the provisions of RTI Act by way of training workshops etc. and putting in place a coherent system of checks and balances. A Nodal Officer in the RTI framework plays crucial role in ensuring the smooth implementation of RTI Act and their primary responsibility is to facilitate the flow of information between a Public Authority and the RTI Applicants and sensitizing their Nodal PIO's will make certain that RTI Applications are processed within stipulated timeframe and are forwarded to the concerned PIO/APIO. This process will also be beneficial to the RTI Page 11 of 12 Applicants as it provides a single point of contact while filing RTI Applications. In pursuance of the aforesaid advisory, the PIO is also directed to place a copy of this order before their competent authority for taking appropriate action.
The appeal is disposed of accordingly.
Vinod Kumar Tiwari (विनोद कुमार वििारी) Information Commissioner (सूचना आयुक्त) Authenticated true copy (अनिप्रमानणर् सत्यानपर् प्रनर्) (S. Anantharaman) Dy. Registrar 011- 26181927 Date Copy To:
1.The FAA, Deputy Director, Delhi Development Authority, Land Management Department, North Zone, LU Block Market, Pitampura, Delhi - 110034
2. VC DDA B-Block, 1st Floor, INA, New Delhi-23 Page 12 of 12 Recomendation(s) to PA under section 25(5) of the RTI Act, 2005:-
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