Central Information Commission
Bollina Venkata Raja Chowdary vs National Highways Authority Of India ... on 27 August, 2021
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510
के ीय सूचना आयोग
Central Information Commission
बाबा गंगनाथ माग,मुिनरका
Baba Gangnath Marg, Munirka
नई द ली, New Delhi - 110067
ि तीय अपील सं या/ Second Appeal No. CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510
In the matter of:
Bollina Venkata Raja Chowdary ... अपीलकता/Appellant
VERSUS
बनाम
1. CPIO, ... ितवादीगण /Respondents
/Dy. General Manager (Tech)
National Highways Authority of
India, Office of the Regional
Officer, Andhra Pradesh Region,
Plot No 21, Teacher's Colony,
Gurunanak Nagar Road,
Vijayawada-520008
2. CPIO,
/Project Director, National
Highways Authority of India,
Project Implementation Unit,
NHAI Enclave, Km. 2/8,
Hanumanthavaka,
Visakhapatnam-530040
3.CPIO,
/Project Director, National
Highways Authority of India,
Project Implementation Unit, D.
No. 78-14-21, Shyamalanagar,
Rajahmundry-533103
Page 1 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510
4. CPIO,
/Project Director, National
Highways Authority of India,
Project Implementation Unit, Plot
No. 1, Ambedkar Nagar Colony
(1st Cross), Gurunanak Nagar
Colony, Vijayawada-520008
5. CPIO,
/Project Director, National
Highways Authority of India,
Project Implementation Unit,
Bypass Road Junction with Old
GNT Road, Vedayapalem,
Nellore-524004
6. CPIO,
/Project Director, National
Highways Authority of India,
Project Implementation Unit, H.
No. 25/684/150, 1st Floor,
Padmavathi Nagar, Near Indore
Stadium, Nandyal-518501
7. CPIO,
/Project Director, National
Highways Authority of India,
Project Implementation Unit, 6-4-
239, 3rd Cross, Maruthi Nagar,
Anantapur-515004
8. CPIO,
/Project Director, National
Highways Authority of India,
Project Implementation Unit, Dr.
136-A, 106 & 107, 1st Floor,
Vasanta Residency, Lakshmi
Narasimha Colony,
Mangalagiri-522503
Page 2 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510
9. CPIO,
/Project Director, National
Highways Authority of India,
Project Implementation Unit, D.
No. 23/3/39/501, 5th Floor,
Dhanalakshmi Nagar,
Vykuntapuram Road,
MR Palli, Tirupati-517501
Relevant dates emerging from the appeal:
RTI Application filed on : 06.05.2019
CPIO replied on : 13.05.2019
First Appeal filed on : 12.06.2019
First Appellate Authority order : 25.06.2019
Second Appeal received on : 21.08.2019
Date of Hearing : 03.08.2021
The following were present:
Appellant: Shri Bollina Venkata Raja Chowdary participated in the hearing upon
being contacted on his telephone.
Respondent: Shri D.V. Narayana, CPIO and General Manager (Tech.) and Project
Director, NHAI, PIU-Vijayawada; Shri P. Siva Sankar, CPIO and GM(T) and
Project Director, NHAI, PIU-Visakhapatnam; Shri D. Surendranath, CPIO and
Project Director, NHAI, PIU-Rajahmundry; Shri T. Govardhan, PIO and Project
Director, NHAI, PIU-Nellore; Shri Venkatesh, CPIO and Manager (Tech.), NHAI,
PIU-Tirupati; Shri Rishikesh, Personal Assistant to Project Director, NHAI, PIU-
Ananthapur and Dr. T. Srinivas, CPIO and Project Director, NHAI-PIU, Amaravati
participated in the hearing through video conferencing from NIC Krishna, NIC
Visakhapatnam, NIC East Godavari, NIC Nellore, NIC Kurnool, NIC Ananthapur
and NIC Guntur respectively.
Page 3 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510
ORDER
Information sought:
The Appellant filed an RTI Application dated 06.05.2019 seeking information on the following three points:
Shri N. Harikrishna, PIO/Dy. General Manager (Tech.) RO, Vijaywada vide letter dated 13.05.2019, transferred the instant RTI application to eight concerned officers/officials of NHAI and endorsed a copy of the same to the Appellant. Being dissatisfied, the Appellant filed a First Appeal dated 12.06.2019. The First Appellate Authority vide order dated 25.06.2019, informed as under:Page 4 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Page 5 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Grounds for Second Appeal:
The Appellant filed a Second Appeal u/s 19 of the Act on the ground of unsatisfactory reply furnished by the Respondent. He requested the Commission to direct the CPIO to provide complete information sought for.Page 6 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing: In order to ensure social distancing and prevent the spread of the pandemic, COVID-19, the instant hearing is being scheduled through audio conference after informing both the parties.
The Appellant stated that he has received part information only. Upon queried by the Commission to substantiate his averment, he explained that the information pertaining to mbooks and copies of GO has not been provided to him till date. Upon further queried by the Commission as to what particular information he is seeking from the Respondent, he clarified that he wants proper implementation of Section 4 of the RTI Act and that the same should also be reflected on the Respondent's website. Upon queried by the Commission as to whether he desires to inspect the relevant records as sought in the instant RTI Application, he expressed his inability owing to the issue number of PIUs as well as the factor of distance.
Shri D. Surendranath submitted that since the records are voluminous in nature, the Appellant was asked to inspect the relevant records pertaining to mbooks etc. as sought in the instant RTI Application which has not been availed by him till date. He further submitted that the copies of the GOs as available on record have been provided to the Appellant.
Shri Rishikesh submitted that PIU-Ananthapur deals with NH44 whereas the information sought by the Appellant in the instant RTI Application pertains to NH16.
The remaining Respondents categorically averred that available information has been provided to the Appellant. They further averred that few of the CPIOs have Page 7 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 also provided information to the Appellant in compact disc. They submitted that the order of the Commission will be holistically adhered to, if any in the instant matter.
A written submission has been received by the Commission from Dr. T. Srinivas, Project Director, PIU-Amaravati(AP) vide letter dated 23.07.2021, wherein he has enclosed the written submissions the PIO and Project Director, NHAI, PIU- Amaravati(AP), which states as under:Page 8 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Page 9 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Page 10 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Page 11 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 A written submission has been received by the Commission from Shri D.V. Narayana, General Manager (Tech.) and Project Director, NHAI, PIU-Vijayawada vide letter dated 26.07.2021, wherein he has stated as under:Page 12 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 A written submission has been received by the Commission from Shri G. Hari Krishna, Project Director, NHAI, PIU-Tirupati vide letter dated 26.07.2021, wherein the Commission has been apprised as under:Page 13 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 A written submission has been received by the Commission from Shri T. Govardhan, PIO and Project Director, NHAI, PIU-Nellore vide letter dated 23.07.2021, wherein he has informed the Commission as under:Page 14 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Page 15 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 A written submission has been received by the Commission from Shri J.L. Meena, DGM (Tech.) and Project Director, NHAI, PIU-Ananthapur vide letter dated 28.07.2021, wherein the Commission has been apprised as under:Page 16 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 A written submission has been received by the Commission from Shri T. Suresh Kumar, DGM (Tech.) and Project Director, NHAI, PIU-Kadapa vide letter dated 27.07.2021, wherein the Commission has been apprised as under:Page 17 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 A written submission has been received by the Commission from Shri P. Siva Sankar, PIO and Project Director, NHAI, PIU-Visakhapatnam (AP) vide letter dated 28.07.2021, wherein the Commission has been apprised as under:Page 18 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Page 19 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Page 20 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Page 21 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 A written submission has been received by the Commission from Smt. K.V.D. Ranjani, PIO and Dy. General Manager (Tech.), RO, NHAI, Vijayawada vide letter dated 30.07.2021, wherein the Commission has been apprised as under:Page 22 of 26
CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Decision:
Upon perusal of the facts on record as well as on the basis of the proceedings during the hearing, the Commission observes that available and relevant information has been provided to the Appellant by all the concerned PIUs in the instant matter. The Commission further observes that the information sought by the Appellant is voluminous in nature and not maintained in a centralized manner. Hence, the Respondent has provided an opportunity to inspect the relevant records by visiting the concerned Respondent's office. Since the Appellant has categorically denied the offer of inspection owing to the issue of distance, the Commission cannot attribute mala fide against the Respondent, as they have provided sufficient reply to the Appellant. In view of the above, the Commission upholds the reply provided by the answering Respondents and finds no further scope of intervention in the instant matter. With the above observations, the instant Second Appeal is disposed of. Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
The Appeal, hereby, stands disposed of.
Amita Pandove(अिमता पांडव) Information Commissioner(सूचना आयु ) दनांक / Date: 27.08.2021 Page 23 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510 Authenticated true copy (अिभ मािणत स यािपत ित) B. S. Kasana (बी. एस. कसाना) Dy. Registrar (उप-पंजीयक) 011-26105027 Addresses of the parties:
1. The First Appellate Authority (FAA) /Regional Officer, National Highways Authority of India, Office of the Regional Officer, Andhra Pradesh Region, Plot No 21, Teacher's Colony, Gurunanak Nagar Road, Vijayawada-520008
2. The Central Public Information Officer /Dy. General Manager (Tech) National Highways Authority of India, Office of the Regional Officer, Andhra Pradesh Region, Plot No 21, Teacher's Colony, Gurunanak Nagar Road, Vijayawada-520008
3. The Central Public Information Officer /Project Director, National Highways Authority of India, ProjectImplementation Unit, NHAI Enclave, Km. 2/8, Hanumanthavaka, Visakhapatnam-530040 Page 24 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510
4. The Central Public Information Officer /Project Director, National Highways Authority of India, Project Implementation Unit, D. No. 78-14-21, Shyamalanagar, Rajahmundry-533103
5. The Central Public Information Officer /Project Director, National Highways Authority of India, Project Implementation Unit, Plot No. 1, Ambedkar Nagar Colony (1st Cross), Gurunanak Nagar Colony, Vijayawada-520008
6. The Central Public Information Officer /Project Director, NHAI, PIU, Bypass Road Junction with Old GNT Road, Vedayapalem, Nellore-524004
7. The Central Public Information Officer /Project Director, NHAI, PIU, H. No. 25/684/150, 1st Floor, Padmavathi Nagar, Near Indore Stadium, Nandyal-518501
8. The Central Public Information Officer /Project Director, NHAI, PIU, 6-4-239, 3rd Cross, Maruthi Nagar, Anantapur-515004
9. The Central Public Information Officer /Project Director, NHAI, PIU Dr. 136-A, 106 & 107, 1st Floor, Vasanta Residency, Lakshmi Narasimha Colony, Mangalagiri-522503 Page 25 of 26 CIC/NHAIN/A/2019/140510
10. The Central Public Information Officer /Project Director, National Highways Authority of India, Project Implementation Unit, D. No. 23/3/39/501, 5th Floor, Dhanalakshmi Nagar, Vykuntapuram Road, MR Palli, Tirupati-517501
11. Mr. Bollina Venkata Raja Chowdary, Page 26 of 26