Karnataka - Bellary   

Forest official issued show-cause notice

BELLARY: Information Commissioner K. Thippeswamy has issued a show-cause notice to Range Forest Officer of Bellary for not providing information sought by P. Babu, a resident of the city. Mr Babu had sought information with regard to the felling of 73 trees between Indira Circle and Satyanarayan Pet Railway Gate under Section 18 (1) of the Right to Information Act. The show-cause notice, a copy of which was released to the press here on Saturday, has said that based on material available, it was prima facie evident that the Range Forest Officer, also functioning as Public Information Officer, had delayed in providing information sought by the applicant without any valid reason. Mr. Babu had submitted the application to the RFO on August 28, 2007, seeking information on the felling of 73 trees among other details pertaining to tenders.

In his complaint to the Information Commission, he had said that the relevant information was not provided even after the expiry of the stipulated period of 30 days.

The notice stated that the hearing to record the oral/written submissions of the official would be held in Bangalore, on April 1, 2008. The notice also said that in case the information sought was not exempt from disclosure, the same had to be provided to the applicant immediately through registered post, with a copy marked to the commission.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Forest official issued show-cause notice

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu