Ravi Kumar Soi vs Ministry Of Defence on 18 May, 2023

[Cites 3, Cited by 0]

Central Information Commission

Ravi Kumar Soi vs Ministry Of Defence on 18 May, 2023

Bench: Vanaja N Sarna

                           क य सुचना आयोग
                    CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION
                             बाबा गंगनाथ माग
                            Baba Gangnath Marg
                        मु नरका, नई द ल - 110067
                        Munirka, New Delhi-110067

                                             File no.: - CIC/DODEF/A/2022/146923
In the matter of
Ravi Kumar Soi
                                                                    ... Appellant
                                        VS
The CPIO,
Office of the Cantonment Board,
83, Jhoke Road, Ferozepur Cantt.,
Punjab-152001.
                                                                   ...Respondent

RTI application filed on            :   29/06/2022
CPIO replied on                     :   26/07/2022
First appeal filed on               :   01/08/2022
First Appellate Authority order     :   25/08/2022
Second Appeal Filed on              :   27/09/2022
Date of Hearing                     :   17/05/2023
Date of Decision                    :   17/05/2023

The following were present:
Appellant: Present over VC

Respondent: Satish Kumar, SDE and CPIO, present over VC Information Sought:

The appellant has sought the following information:

1. Provide copies of Agreements in respect of work orders /supply orders, copies of letter of acceptance of the contractor, for contracts / supplies having value of more than Rs.50,000 during the period from May, 2018 to Dec, 2020.

2. Provide copies of reports of CEO along with copies of action taken reports and reasons therefor for their emergency and immediate execution placed before the CB.

3. Provide copies of authority and report by the Section head on the basis of which the said payments were released.

Grounds for filing Second Appeal:

The CPIO did not provide the desired information. Submissions made by Appellant and Respondent during Hearing:

The appellant vide his written submissions dated NIL stated that the RTI application concerns the misutilisation of public funds and alleges a violation of various regulations, including the General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) guidelines, and the Cantonment Act 2006. Specifically, he claim that officers of the Cantonment Board Ferozepur have split works into smaller amounts to bring them under their jurisdiction for approval, and that the execution of agreements for works above Rs. 50,000 is mandatory but has not been carried out. The appellant also alleges that audits carried out by the officers of PCDA revealed that Cantonment Board Ferozepur executed works worth crores of rupees without any agreements. The appellant believes that the CPIO has not provided them with information due to the reasons mentioned above.

The CPIO submitted that the information sought is voluminous. On a query he agreed to provide inspection of relevant documents to the appellant.

Observations:

Based on a perusal of the record, it was noted that the CPIO vide letter dated 26.07.2022 replied to the appellant and stated that the information sought is voluminous in nature and hence, cannot be supplied.

The FAA vide order dated 25.08.2022 disposed of the first appeal and concurred with the CPIO's reply.

The Commission observed that information sought relates to government- funded projects or projects that have a significant impact on the public may be considered to be in the public interest, and therefore subject to disclosure under the RTI Act. To avoid disclosure of confidential and personal information of any third party, it is possible that certain information may be redacted u/s 10 of the RTI Act, while other parts may be disclosed. The CPIO was therefore asked to explain during the hearing, the possibility of inspection and possibility of Sec 10 applicability, to which he agreed to provide inspection.

Decision:

The CPIO is therefore directed to provide inspection to the appellant at a mutually convenient date and time within 30 days from the date of receipt of this order. The appellant shall be entitled to obtain the copies free of cost on identification of the documents.

The appeal is disposed of accordingly.





                                            Vanaja N. Sarna (वनजा एन. सरना)
                                    Information Commissioner (सूचना आयु!त)
Authenticated true copy
(अ भ मा णत स या पत          त)


A.K. Assija (ऐ.के. असीजा)
Dy. Registrar (उप-पंजीयक)
011- 26182594 /
 दनांक / Date




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