The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : RTI penalises engineer

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Saturday, Oct 10, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

RTI penalises engineer

HYDERABAD: The AP State Information Commissioner has penalised M. Devender Reddy, Executive Engineer (central division), Andhra Pradesh Housing Board, Rs.10,000 for disobeying its orders and not honouring the Right to Information Act.

According to an official release, he directed Reddy to personally pay the penalty and also directed the officer to permit the appellant, Syed Hashim Adil, a journalist and RTI activist, to peruse the records within three weeks from the date of the order.

Adil had sought information from the APHB public information officer on September 26, 2007.

After not getting it, he had appealed to the State Information Commission, which ordered Reddy to provide the information and allow him to peruse the records at a mutually convenient time.

Hostile attitude

The applicant had made several visits but the officer never gave an appointment, leave alone the information. “This hostile and callous attitude of the officer continued for more than a year.”

He had also filed a review petition before the commission for contempt of the commissioner’s orders.

It took more than two years for Adil to get the information. ‘The information could have been provided within 30 days but the hostile attitude of the officer was responsible for the delays’, the release stated.

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Andhra Pradesh