The state information commission recently approached the principal secretary of the home department for production of the Darhara block development officer before it for repeatedly defying its order.
Darhara block development officer (BDO)-cum-public information officer Ram Vilas Ram did not respond to a petition filed on July 30, 2010, under the Right to Information Act, challenging the use of JCB machines instead of engaging labourers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). Mahendra Prasad Sah, an advocate, had filed the petition.
When the state information commissioner Farzand Ahmed’s orders to the BDO to provide information and appear before it evoked no response, Ahmed urged the Munger district magistrate (DM) to force the BDO to provide information to Sah. The commissioner also told the DM to compel the BDO to appear before the commission if he did not provide the requisite information to Sah. But the DM also did not react, compelling the panel to knock on the home department’s door.
Earlier, a penalty of Rs 25,000 was imposed on the BDO under Section 20 (1). The DM was asked to realise the amount in five equal instalments from his salary and deposit it in the treasury under the relevant head. The DM was also asked to keep the state information commission updated about the action taken, but it did get any response.
After the BDO did not respond to the petition in the ninth hearing, the state information commissioner forwarded Sah’s petition and all the past orders to the principal secretary of rural development department as MNREGA was in its jurisdiction.
At the same time, Ahmed again urged the DM to have a look at the commission’s order passed 10 months ago and comply with it. A copy of the order, along with all the past orders, including the one that was marked to the DM, was sent to the principal secretary of the home department with a request to order the DM to ensure the appearance of the PIO-cum-BDO in the next hearing on November 29.
Ahmed said after the non-cooperation and defiance of the BDO, there was no option but to get him booked under Section 166 of the IPC.
