Right to Information Act activist alleges Noida Authority flouting the act, even as Noida cops take steps to use the law
Right to Information Act activist alleges Noida Authority flouting the act, even as Noida cops take steps to use the law
Seems, the administration in Noida is playing hide and seek with the Right to Information Act. On one hand, the Noida Police invited RTI activist Commodore (Retd) Lokesh Batra to educate its officers about the law and to make its working more transparent. On the other hand, Commodore Batra alleges the Noida Authority is flouting the RTI Act openly.
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"The RTI is very affective and can empower an individual to question the government. Commodore Batra, being a senior RTI activist, educated us about the act and the process to file it. We want our officers to be aware of the methods of providing information through RTI. But the police force here lacks basic infrastructure which makes it hard to implement the act. Statistics are available with us but the unavailability of photocopying machine and stationery hinders the final output," said a senior Noida police official, wishing anonymity.
'But we won't learn'
Meanwhile, the 62-year-old RTI activist alleges the Noida Authority is flouting the act. "The Noida Authority has always been slow in replying to RTI queries. I have already complained about the tardiness to the Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission. Under the RTI Act, the first appeal of a query has to be heard by the appellate authority within 30 days. The time can be extended up to 45 days if supported by a proper reason. However, the Noida Authority takes more time," said Batra.
Batra alleged he had filed an RTI application with the Noida Authority regarding details of how many days it took to clear the first appeal for queries filed between January 1 and May 29. Interestingly, the answer to his RTI application arrived after 110 days. And the content of the reply was even more shocking. "I filed the application on May 29 and after complaining to the first appeal appellate, I finally got the information on September 23, a period of over 110 days (from the date of application). Also, the reply revealed that during the particular period, the Noida Authority had heard 94 first appeals. Of those 94, 73 were heard after the 45-day period. If this is the condition, how will it encourage the common man to seek information from the authority?" said Batra. But Batra has not lost hope. He plans to fight the Authority's apathy towards RTI with the act itself. "I will not choose any other method. I will keep asking questions and hope the Authority will understand the importance of the act," said Batra.
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