MAPUSA
Taking a serious view of the denial of information by the Mapusa Municipal Council, the Goa State Information Commission has imposed a penalty of Rs 25,000 on its Public Information Officer (PIO), Nilesh Lingudkar, and ordered a statewide overhaul of municipal record-keeping, making the cataloguing and indexing of official documents mandatory across all municipal councils in Goa.
In a strongly worded order, State Information Commissioner Atmaram Barve described the Mapusa case as a “classic example of a collective connivance” by the municipal administration to deny information to an applicant, highlighting what the Commission found to be prolonged delay, negligence and disregard for its directions.
The order goes beyond fixing responsibility in an individual RTI case. It directs the Directorate of Municipal Administration to ensure that all municipal councils catalogue and index records under their control, making information readily accessible to the public in accordance with Section 4 of the Right to Information Act, 2005.
The statewide exercise has to be completed by November 25, with the Directorate required to submit a compliance report to the Commission on December 8.
The Commission's intervention follows an RTI dispute in which applicant Sudesh Tivrekar alleged an inordinate delay of three years and the supply of insufficient and largely illegible information.
The Commission noted that, despite its earlier direction for physical inspection of the relevant documents on June 30, the present PIO had not furnished a compliance report.
It also observed that the submissions of Lingudkar suggested an attempt at “temporary eye wash” to demonstrate compliance with its directions.
Finding complete negligence on the part of the PIO in dealing with the RTI application within the prescribed timeframe, Barve held Lingudkar liable for denial of information and imposed a penalty of Rs 25,000.
The Commission has directed the competent drawing and disbursing authority at the Mapusa Municipal Council, or the Directorate of Municipal Administration, as applicable, to recover the amount from the officer's salary and allowances by November 16. Proof of recovery must be submitted to the Commission on December 8 at 11 am.
Non-compliance probe
The order also directs the Chief Officer of the Mapusa Municipal Council to initiate an inquiry against PIO Abhay Rane and complete it by November 27, submitting the inquiry report along with recommendations for appropriate action over non-compliance with the Commission's directions.
The direction to inquire into Rane's conduct is distinct from the ₹25,000 penalty imposed on Lingudkar.
The Commission's findings raise questions about the municipal administration's handling of public records and its compliance with statutory obligations to provide information to citizens.
Records must be accessible
In its most far-reaching direction, the Commission has ordered the Director of Municipal Administration to issue instructions to every municipal council in Goa to catalogue and index all relevant documents under its control.
The exercise is intended to bring municipal record management in line with Section 4 of the RTI Act, which provides for proactive disclosure of information by public authorities, reducing the need for citizens to file individual applications to obtain information that should be readily available.
The December 8 compliance hearing will require the authorities to account for both the recovery of the penalty and progress on the statewide record-indexing exercise.
The Commission has clarified that an aggrieved party may challenge the order through a writ petition, as the RTI Act provides no further appeal against the decision.
