Central Information Commission
Akshay Kumar Malhotra vs Delhi Development Authority on 24 December, 2024
के ीय सूचना आयोग
Central Information Commission
बाबा गंगनाथ माग, मुिनरका
Baba Gangnath Marg, Munirka
नई िद ी, New Delhi - 110067
File No: CIC/DDATY/C/2022/157837
Akshay Kumar Malhotra ....िशकायतकता /Complainant
VERSUS
बनाम
PIO,
Office of the Executive
Engineer, DDA, Horticulture
Civil Division-VIII, B-2B,
Janakpuri, New Delhi - 110058 .... ितवादीगण /Respondent
Date of Hearing : 17.12.2024
Date of Decision : 24.12.2024
INFORMATION COMMISSIONER : Vinod Kumar Tiwari
Relevant facts emerging from complaint:
RTI application filed on : 04.08.2022
CPIO replied on : 05.09.2022
First appeal filed on : 06.10.2022
First Appellate Authority's order : 03.11.2022
2nd Appeal/Complaint dated : 12.12.2022
Information sought:
The Complainant filed an RTI application dated 04.08.2022 (offline) seeking the following information:
"The information in the present RTI Application is related to Civil Department in DDA, HCD-8 and / or any other division/circle of DDA, for getting information on various contract awarded for various Civil Page 1 of 12 construction / maintenance / facility creations etc in 2 numbers of DDA Distt park of Thakur Das Distt Park and Motey wala Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi and which is now under the jurisdiction of HCD-8.
IMPORTANT I understand that previously these two parks were under jurisdiction of HCD-5/DDA but sometimes back these were transferred to HCD-8/DDA and that's why I am filing this RTI on HCD-8/DDA.
Even though I am not obligated to mention this but still I am requesting that if the information requested by me in the present RTI Application comes under the jurisdiction of any other PIO, then this RTI is to be transferred / assisted upon by other public servants under Section 6(3) and / or Section 5(4) of RTI Act, 2005.
Intent of larger public interest Every year Civil Division DDA spend 10's/100's of crores of rupees of public money to maintain/new constructions etc. in various parks under their jurisdiction. Scope of work of contract issued to private contractors / amount spent / contracts given to private contractors for maintenance of such park etc etc (as there are various types of works which DDA carries out either under Legal contract or sometimes directly through private contractors, by themselves (DDA).
So, the public money paid to various contractors for creating new structure and / or for servicing/maintenance of existing infrastructure is a matter where larger public interest is involved in the form of proper and timely material / services given by the contractor, as per the terms of the agreement, so as to ensure that public money is spent judiciously and properly and to the best interest of the citizen of Delhi.
Important Facts about information not been made available suo-motu The information requested in the RTI Application should have been disseminated and put in public domain, by itself by the public authority, but it didn't do it and hence violation of Section 4 of RTI Act, 2005.
So, a citizen has to file a RTI Application, for an information, which otherwise should have been made available to the citizen, by putting it in public domain, by the Public Authority, in the normal course, so that Page 2 of 12 citizen could see that information at their own from the sites where this information is disseminated viz easily accessibility at the website of the public authority etc etc. Important Facts about how CPIO is making all attempts to be non- transparent
1. The information requested by me in my RTI Application is a Public information and not private information related to me and / or any private information and thus all the information requested in my RTI Application should have been disseminated and put in public domain suo-moto, by itself by the public authority, but it didn't do it and hence violation of Section 4 of RTI Act, 2005.
2. And now, I am filing RTI Application to get the same piece of public information.
Important Aspect related to present RTI
1. Information requested is for period 01.01.2022 till 10 days before the date(s) of reply(ies) by CPIO.
2. The information requested in present RTI Application is related to only two numbers of DDA parks i.e. i. Thakur Das Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi and ii. Motey wala Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi
3. The information requested is for various contract been / being awarded for various Civil construction / maintenance / facility creations etc in these 2 numbers of DDA Distt parks, in respect of i. New installation of Benches ii. New installation of Dustbins iii. New installation of Signboards inside parks iv. New installation of Signboards on main entrance gate of parks v. New installation of Mini SS Gates vi. New installation of Main Entrance SS Gates vii. New installation of Children Jhulas viii. New installation of exercise bars ix. New Construction of Cement Shelters inside Thakur Das Park x. Any other New installations xi. Repairs / Maintenance of the already existing facilities, as mentioned in (i to ix above) Page 3 of 12 Please inform me on following points:
1. Please inform me the exact date since when these two parks come into the jurisdiction of HCD-8 executives i.e. EE-HCD8 and his subordinates.
2. Please inform me the mandate and scope of work which is been assigned to / directed upon to EE-HCD8 and his subordinates, related to these two parks.
3. Please provide me copy of the OM/Memo through which the jurisdiction of these two parks is been given under EE-HCD8 and his subordinates.
4. Please inform me the contract details of the ALL the contracts awarded by HCD- 8/DDA and / or any other division/circle of DDA, to ALL the private contractors for these two parks in respect of:
Any nature of work been/being done in these 2 parks of Shalimar Bagh, Delhi:
a. Agreement number and Date b.Name of work C. Sub Head d. Contractor Complete details of names and addresses along with names of the partners/directors/proprietor and their contact details i.e. Mobile and telephone numbers.
e. Item Rate BOQ and the Price Schedule and / or Schedule of Works (by whatever name and nomenclature it is called) of the mentioned in point number 1(a) and (b) above, forming part of the contract(s) and agreement(s), giving details viz
(i) NIT No. and Date
(ii) S.No.
(iii) item description
(iv) Quantity
(v) Units
(vi)Basic Rate
(vii) Total Amount, without Taxes
(viii) Total Amount, in words, without Taxes
(ix)Stipulated date of start of contract
(x)Stipulated date of Completion of contract Actual date of start of contract (IX)
(xii) Actual date of Completion of contract Page 4 of 12
(xiii) Period of contract (mention dates)
(xiv) Estimated Cost of contract
(xv) Accepted Amount of contract (xvi) Performance guarantee amount (xvii) All the Details (including amount, name of bank, date of PG, PG in form of DD/BG etc etc) of irrevocable Performance Guarantee for the tendered amount.
(xviii) Please inform the Date of submission of Performance Guarantee. (xix) Please inform the last Date of validity of Performance Guarantee. (xx) Please inform the details of encashment and/or forfeiture of PG of Contractor.
(xxi) Please inform that is it 'Item Rate Tender and Contract awarded / Indent issued' or some other category and please inform the nomenclature if it is in others category.
(xxii) Please inform me the scope and schedule of the work under contract awarded / Indent issued.
(xxiii) Please inform me point wise description of work, its quantity, Unit of measurement and Rate of individual clause / work in Rupees and the total rate of the particular description of work, which is and shall be carried out under this Contract awarded / Indent issued, and also the total of all such point wise description of works which, on added together, arrives out at the accepted / tendered amount of the work awarded for the Maintenance Contract awarded / Indent issued. The amount referred here means the total amounts inclusive of all direct / indirect taxes.
(xxiv) Please inform me the 'Analysis of Rates' details showing therein a. detail(s) of cost and its basis of calculation to arrive out at the tendered amount b. Any taxes etc (showing all taxes separately with their %age and the actual amount) (xxv) Please inform me the 'Abstract' details showing all the works to be carried out under this contract awarded / Indent issued. (xxvi) Please inform me the Schedule of Quantities related to this contract awarded / Indent issued.
(xxvii) Please inform me all the details of the amount of Earnest Money deposit and its remittance / collection details actually collected from the said contract awarded / Indent issued for.
(xxviii) Please inform the Date of submission of EMD. (xxix) Please inform the status of the EMD as on a fortnight back to the reply by CPIO to present RTI Application.
(xxx) Please inform the details of encashment and/or forfeiture of EMD of Contractor.Page 5 of 12
(xxxi) Please inform me all the details of any other deposit, guarantee actually collected from the said contract awarded / Indent issued for. (xxxii) Please inform the details of encashment and/or forfeiture of Security Deposit of Contractor.
(xxxiii) Please inform the details of all the running / final bill for this Contract, in respect of each and every bill separately, for a. Bill Number and date of Bill b. Amount of Bill C. Date of preparation / Submission of bill by/to Public Authority d. Item / Sr. No. of BOQ Price Schedule claimed under the bill e. Deductions, if any, by the Public Authority from each of such bill f. Details of such deductions, made by public authority from the bills g. Amount paid to Contractor for such bill, separately for each bill h. Date of each such payment by Public Authority to Contractor i. Details of bills which are prepared / submitted by Contractor but are pending for processing with the public authority. j. Details of bills which are prepared / submitted by Contractor and are also processed by public authority but are pending for payment with the public authority.
k. Please provide me complete details of the penalties levied and recovered from contractor in the present contract. l. Please provide me complete details of the penalties levied and but not recovered from contractor in the present contract. m. Please inform me that who is the Engineer-in-charge for the said contract.
n. Please inform me the details of instructions issued by DDA officials to the Contractor from time to time about the delay / non-start of work / material not used as per specifications etc etc. (xxxiv) Please inform me individual parkise details of the Area of Floor in Sq Mtrs, in each of these park(s) where these laying of (a) rubberized flooring and (b) installation of Equipments in Open Gym in Thakur Das DDA Distt parks are been/being done in the contract.
5. Please inform me and provide me with the copies of all the approval and/or request letter(s) for awarding the other various contracts, which are submitted by HCD-8/DDA and / or any other division/circle of DDA, to PC-Horticulture or any other public servant in DDA, in respect of other various facilities viz Children Jhulas in Thalur Park, relaying of rubberized flooring in Gym area in Thakur Park etc etc, i.e. any other work which is being planned but for which tender is not issued and contract not awarded so far, but whole work regarding the same is in progress within DDA.
Page 6 of 126. Please inform me and provide me with the detailed Commercial terms and conditions in respect of various contracts issued during the period.
Information related to benches in these 2 parks Motey wala Park
7. Please inform me the numbers of new benches installed during 01.01.2022 till date, in Motey wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
8. Please inform me the Total numbers of benches actually available, as on date, in Motey wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
9. Please inform me the actual numbers of damaged benches, out of the Total numbers of benches actually available (as per 8 above) in Motey wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
10. Please inform me the actual numbers of usable benches, out of the Total numbers of benches actually available (as per 8 above) in Motey wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
Thakur Das wala Park
11. Please inform me the numbers of new benches installed during 01.01.2022 till date, in Thakur Das wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
12. Please inform me the Total numbers of benches actually available, as on date, in Thakur Das wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
13. Please inform me the actual numbers of damaged benches, out of the Total numbers of benches actually available (as per 12 above) in Thakur Das wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
14. Please inform me the actual numbers of usable benches, out of the Total numbers of benches actually available (as per 12 above) in Thakur Das wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
Information related to Dustbins in these 2 parks Motey wala Park
15. Please inform me the numbers of new Dustbins installed during 01.01.2022 till date, in Motey wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
Page 7 of 1216. Please inform me the Total numbers of Dustbins actually available, as on date, in Motey wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
17. Please inform me the actual numbers of damaged Dustbins, out of the Total numbers of Dustbins actually available (as per 16 above) in Motey wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
18. Please inform me the actual numbers of usable Dustbins, out of the Total numbers of Dustbins actually available (as per 16 above) in Motey wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
Thakur Das wala Park
19. Please inform me the numbers of new Dustbins installed during 01.01.2022 till date, in Thakur Das wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
20. Please inform me the Total numbers of Dustbins actually available, as on date, in Thakur Das wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
21. Please inform me the actual numbers of damaged Dustbins, out of the Total numbers of Dustbins actually available (as per 20 above) in Thakur Das wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
22. Please inform me the actual numbers of usable Dustbins, out of the Total numbers of Dustbins actually available (as per 20 above) in Thakur Das wala DDA Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
Information related to New Construction of Cement Shelters inside Thakur Das Park- As per the EM/DDA Circular No. PA/Dir(LS)/2009/807 Dated 24.11.2009, which had been sent to the all concerned offices of DDA vide letter no.
PA/Dir(LS)2006/245 Dated 03.05.2006, as this circular/OM says that 1 cement shelter is to be constructedfor every 3 acres of parks. Thakur Das Park is approx 20 acres and there is only one cement shelter in the said park. So, please give me following information:
23. Please inform me steps taken towards bridging the difference between Actual constructed Shelters in Thakur Das Wala park vis a vis with Shelters that should be constructed in park as per the EM/DDA Page 8 of 12 Circular No. PA/Dir(LS)/2009/807 Dated 24.11.2009 and installing more Shelters in the park.
Information related to New installation of Children Jhulas in Thakur Das Park-
Till date there is no facility for children recreation (Jhulas etc) in this 20 acres of DDA Distt park of Thakur Das in Shalimar bagh
24. Please inform me steps taken towards of Children recreation equipments / Jhulas in Thakur Das Wala park and provide me all the information as per point number 4 above(including all sub-points)."
The CPIO furnished a reply to the complainant on 05.09.2022 stating as under:
"Please refer to your online RTI application dated 4.8.2022 in which, you have sought information regarding the parks i.e. Thakur Das, District Park and Motey Wala Distt Park, Shalimar Bagh Delhi.
In this context, you are kindly requested to visit this office to see the concerned records as sought by you on any working day between 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM with the prior intimation & get the requisite documents at your own cost."
Being dissatisfied, the complainant filed a First Appeal dated 06.10.2022. The FAA vide its order dated 03.11.2022, held as under:
"The appellant did not attend the hearing. However, PIO/EE/HCD-8 has requested the appellant to visit his office for inspection of record on any working day with in 15 days between 104.M to 5PM."
Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied, complainant approached the Commission with the instant Complaint.
Relevant Facts emerged during Hearing:
The following were present:-
Complainant: Present in person.
Respondent: Shri Rakesh Kumar, EE/HCD-8/DDA present in person.
Written submissions of the Complainant are taken on record.Page 9 of 12
The Complainant, during the hearing, reiterated the contents of his RTI application and instant complaint and submitted that the Respondent with mala fide intention and the Respondent has wrongly asked him for inspection of records in their office. The Complainant further apprised the Commission that second appeal in the matter of identical RTI application has already been heard and adjudicated by the Commission in file No. CIC/DDATY/A/2022/153052 dated 03.04.2023.
The Respondent while defending their case inter-alia submitted that vide their letter dated 05.09.2022, they have categorically asked the Complainant for inspection of records in their office. There is no mala fide intention on their part for obstruction of information.
Decision:
The Commission based on a perusal of the facts on record observes that the core contention raised by the Complainant in the instant Complaint was non- satisfaction with the reply provided by the Respondent. In this regard, it was noteworthy that a reply by the Respondent has been provided vide letter dated 05.09.2022 as per the provisions of the RTI Act and within stipulated period as per the RTI Act.
It is further observed that second appeal in the matter of identical RTI application has already been heard and adjudicated by the Commission in file No. CIC/DDATY/A/2022/153052 dated 03.04.2023 where the Respondent has already given the explanation that as to why inspection of record was facilitated to the Complainant.
It was noteworthy that a reply by the Respondent has been provided vide letter dated 05.09.2022 as per the wisdom of the CPIO.
Now, being a Complaint under Section 18 of the RTI Act, the facts of the case do not warrant any action under Section 18(2) of the RTI Act against the CPIO as it does not bear any mala fides or an intention to deliberately obstruct the access to information as alleged by the Complainant. Here, it is relevant to quote a judgment of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the matter of Registrar of Page 10 of 12 Companies & Ors v. Dharmendra Kumar Garg & Anr. [W.P.(C) 11271/2009] dated 01.06.2012 wherein it was held:
" 61. It can happen that the PIO may genuinely and bonafidely entertain the belief and hold the view that the information sought by the querist cannot be provided for one or the other reasons. Merely because the CIC eventually finds that the view taken by the PIO was not correct, it cannot automatically lead to issuance of a show cause notice under Section 20 of the RTI Act and the imposition of penalty. The legislature has cautiously provided that only in cases of mala fides or unreasonable conduct, i.e., where the PIO, without reasonable cause refuses to receive the application, or provide the information, or knowingly gives incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroys the information, that the personal penalty on the PIO can be imposed...."
The Commission further observed that the Complainant has filed a complaint before the Commission under Section 18 of the RTI Act and the Commission, at this stage, cannot direct the Respondent to provide revised information at the stage of adjudicating the complaint. If the Complainant is not satisfied with the response/reply/information received by him after the directions of the Commission in second appeal, he could have filed non-compliance petition before the Commission.
In view of the above, the Commission is of the opinion that there is no mala fide intention of obstructing the information to the Complainant, hence no action is warranted under section 20 of the RTI Act.
The Complaint is disposed of accordingly.
Vinod Kumar Tiwari (िवनोद कु मार ितवारी) Information Commissioner (सूच ना आयु ) Authenticated true copy (अिभ मािणत स!ािपत ित) (S. Anantharaman) Dy. Registrar 011- 26181927 Date Page 11 of 12 Copy To:
The FAA, Office of the Executive Engineer, DDA, Horticulture Civil Division-VIII, B-2B, Janakpuri, New Delhi - 110058 Page 12 of 12 Recomendation(s) to PA under section 25(5) of the RTI Act, 2005:-
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