RTI Commission directs Admin Dept to disclose information
Staff Reporter
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Commission (KPRTIC) on Thursday directed the Administration Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to proactively disclose information about the allotment of official accommodations and within the prescribed time provide the record sought by citizens in this regard.
The Commission also decided to issue show cause notice to the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Administration Department for not furnishing information in one such case and said that persistent denial of information hinted at serious irregularities in the allotment of official residences to the government employees.
The Commission had received 10 cases against the Administration Department amongst which six were related to allotment besides queries regarding ministers’ salaries, POL, repairing of vehicles and helicopter repairing etc. In all other cases record has swiftly been provided to the complainant (s) except the allotment of the official accommodations.
As per background of the case, a complainant had filed an application to the PIO of the Administration Department to provide him the data regarding the allotment of official accommodations of the government servants. However, the Department withheld the provision of the said information on the pretext of his being third party information which they believed could not be provided to the citizens under the KP RTI Act.
During the proceedings, the Commission took strong exception to the plea taken by the PIO of the Department attending the proceedings and observed that record of the allotment of the official accommodations, including waiting list, merit list, on-turn and out-of-turn allotment and expenditures on these accommodations do not fall in the category of third party information as provided in the RTI Act.
The Commission also directed the Administration Department’s PIO to provide all such data within three working days and disclose it proactively on the official website of the Department and any other platform so that the general public could access it without any hindrance.
Related Posts
Comments