Dated 30-05-2007

Name of the Complainant:
Smti Bonti Devi, Tezpur.

Name of the Public Authority:
Member Secretary, Tezpur Development Authority and Deputy Director, Town & Country Planning Deptt., Tezpur.

The following were present:

1. Shri D. Bhuyan,
Deputy Director, Town & Country Planning, Tezpur.

2. Shri N. Bhattacharjee J.E., Tezpur Development Authority

3. Smti. Bonti Devi

4. Shri Biraj Chakravorty .

The complainant present. The Member-Secretary, Tezpur Development Authority & Deputy Director, Town & Country Planning Deptt., Tezpur along with his APIO present.

Brief of the case
Smti Bonti Devi of Tezpur faxed a petition on 18.4.07 to the State Asstt. Public Information Officer, office of the Town and Country Planning, Tezpur with a copy to the Chief Information Commissioner with a request to the C.LC to accept this as a complaint before the Assam Information Commission under Section 18 of the RTI Act, 2005 as the Assistant State Public Information Officer of the office of the Town and Country Planning, Tezpur did not furnish any information to her. The information sought for relates to illegal construction of a building by one Shri Gyanendra Sarkar and are as follows:

(i) Copy of the approved map of Shri Gyanendra Sarkar.

(ii) Whether Shri Sarkar has constructed the said building in accordance with the said approved map.

(iii) If the said construction is not in conformity with the said approved map, what steps have been taken by the Deptt. in this regard?

Submission of the parties

The complainant submitted a petition on 3.1.07 before the Chairman, Tezpur Development Authority. On 10.1.07, she wrote to the D.C., Sonitpur which was forwarded to the Town and Country Planning. On 11.1.07, she wrote to the Vice-Chairman of Tezpur Municipality Board or. the same subject. On 26.2.07, she went to the Tezpur Development Authority to submit his first petition under the RTI Act, 2005. But her petition was refused to be received by the LDA of the office of the Tezpur Development Authority. She sent the petition by Registered Post on the same day. He sent a reminder on 18.4.07 which was received by the Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning, Tezpur. The complainant received a reply in which it was stated that in normal circumstances, it is the document of the applicant and is produced before the appellate authority or designated court as per provision of the Town and Country Plainning Act, only. The APIO, however, informed her that there was some deviation from the approved plan.

The Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning, Tezpur as well as the ASPIO of his office submitted before the Commission that they were not aware of the submission of the petition and refusal of the office staff to receive the petition. However, ASPIO received the petition sent by the Registered Post on 27.2.07. On receipt of the petition, the Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning and the MemberSecretary of the Tezpur Development Authority deputed Shri Sonowal, Junior Engineer to ascertain the facts by a field visit.

The Member-Secretary submitted before the Commission that the RTI Act was new to him and he was not fully aware of the provisions of the said Act. He informed the Commission by showing the approved map that there were some deviations in the building plan and he ordered Shri Sarkar to demolish the portions constructed illegally by him. Both the officers apologized for the delay and for not understanding the provisions of the RTI Act.

Observations of the Commission
The Commission could not accept the contention of Shri Bhuyan, Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning & Member-Secretary of the Tezpur Development Authority that provisions of the Assam Town and Country Planning Act do not allow furnishing of the information to the complainant. The Commission observed that Section 22 of the RTI Act, 2005 clearly spells out that the provisions of the RTI Act shall prevail over any other law in force including the Officials Secrets Act, 1923 and hence the Public Authority and the APIO concerned cannot take shelter under the Assam Town & Country Planning Act. Moreover, the Commission found no provision in the said Act which prevents the Public Authority or the SPIO to furnish the information sought for by the complainant.

The Deputy Director clarified that there were deviations from the approved plan of the building of Shri Sarkar relating to whom the complaint had originated and that he had already issued notice to Shri Sarkar giving 20 days time to dismantle the portions of the building constructed illegally violating the building permission.

The Commission was informed that the Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning, Tezpur is also the Member-Secretary of the Tezpur Development Authority. However, in both the offices the State Public Information Officer had not been appropriately designated as required. under Section 5(1) of the RTI Act, 2005.

Decision of the Commission

The Commission directed the Deputy Director of the Town and Country Planning Department, Tezpur, Assam cum Member-Secretary of the Tezpur Development Authority to furnish the complete and correct information to the petitioner as requested by her after due spot verification jointly with the petitioner of the encroachment in the construction of house by Shri Gyanendra Sarkar. As the notice had been issued to Shri Sarkar for the demolition of the unauthorized construction within 20 days, the Commission refrained from imposing any penalty under Section 20(1) of RTI Act. It was also clear that there was no intention on the part of the Public Authority to deny information to the petitioner. The delay in furnishing the information which was incomplete and misleading was the outcome of ignorance of the RTI Act coupled with official indifference to public request. The Commission accepted the apology of the Public Authority for the lapses and warned that in future no leniency would be shown.

In the interest of better implementation of RTI Act, 2005 the Commission required under Section 19(8)(a)(ii) that the Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning and the Member-Secretary of the Tezpur Development Authority should be the State Public Information Officer both in the office of the Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning, Tezpur and in the Tezpur Development Authority. The First Appellate Authority under Section 19(1) of RTI Act, 2005 in respect of Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning, Tezpur should be the Director of Town and Country Planning, Assam and the Chairman of Tezpur Development Authority, Tezpur in respect of that office.

Sd/- (R.S. Mooshahary)
Chief Information Commissioner, Assam
Janata Bhawan, Dispur.

Sd- (Dr. B.K. Gohain)
State Information Commissioner, Assam
Janata Bhawan, Dispur.

Authenticated true copy

(Jiauddin Ahmed)
Secretary, State Information Commission, Assam
Janata Bhawan, Dispur.

Memo No SIC.113/2007/8 Dated May 30, 2007
CC:
1. Shri D. Bhuyan, Member-Secretary, Tezpur Development Authority and Deputy Director, Town and Country Planning, Sonitpur, Tezpur.
2. Smti Bonti Devi, w/o Lt. Gobinda Chakraborty, Bhairabnagar Tila, Ward No. 15, Tezpur-784001.
3.Director, Town & Country Planning, Govt. of Assam, Guwahati.
4. Chairman, Tezpur Development Authority, Tezpur, Assam.
5. MD, AMTRON, Bamunimaidan for website uploading
6. Office file

Secretary
State Information Commission, Assam