
SCI commissioner directs officials to provide RTI info on time
More than 12,000 applications are pending in the Belagavi division and approximately 3,000 applications in Belagavi district. Action should be taken to dispose of these. Instructions were given to the respective deputy commissioners under the jurisdiction of the Belagavi bench in this regard. Speaking while presiding over the Right To Information Act training programme for public information officers and First Appellate Authority officers held at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha on Thursday, Prasad said that a public information officer must provide information within the time limit to applicants who file applications seeking information under the Right to Information Act. If the information officer does not provide information without any reasonable cause or if he provides incorrect information with malicious intent, he will have to pay a fine and disciplinary action may be taken, he said. Deputy commissioner Mohammed Roshan said that a meeting will be organised every three months to dispose of pending RTI applications.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Bengali row: Noida hotel turns away New Town techie, son
Kolkata: A techie from New Town, along with his 14-year-old son, was on Tuesday allegedly denied stay at a hotel at Sector 44 in Noida, apparently for being a Bengali. The teenaged boy is a national-level skater, attending a championship in Noida. The father claimed the hotel receptionist cancelled his booking—he made reservations through OYO for two nights—claiming the local police station had instructed them not to allow anyone from Bangladesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir to stay at hotels till Aug 15 for security reasons. The man told TOI, "The receptionist said the local police instructed them not to allow any guest from Bangladesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. I was surprised. I said we were not Bangladeshis but were from West Bengal. But the receptionist said it was the same thing and that he wouldn't let us in," he said. The father said he made multiple calls to OYO. "The customer care executive finally took the call and said they would refund my amount in 7-10 days. I had no other option but to check into another hotel in Sector 49, far from the arena," he said, adding he had booked the earlier hotel in Sector 44 as it was near the skating rink, where registrations would begin early Wednesday. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Gold Rates Today in Kolkata | Silver Rates Today in Kolkata An OYO official issued an apology and stated the hotel —Meera Eternity—was removed from the booking platform on Tuesday itself and that an inquiry was initiated. "OYO has neither received or given any such guideline to hotels on its platform. OYO does not promote any form of discrimination..." OYO said in a statement. Noida DCP Yamuna Prasad told TOI there had been no official instruction from the Noida Police to hotels to deny entry to people from Bengal or any other state. "Hotels are told to check ID and visa documents of people from Bangladesh but there is no directive to disallow stay to even Bangladeshi residents if they have proper papers," said Prasad. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.


Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Indian Express
Open to review of RTI rules, says Karnataka Govt after legislators allege misuse
With several legislators cutting across party lines alleging misuse of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the Karnataka Government said on Tuesday that it was open to reviewing the rules under the Act to prevent harassment and blackmailing of officials. The discussion on the RTI Act followed a question raised in the legislature by Congress MLA Mahantesh Koujalagi, who sought to know whether the Government would initiate action against those misusing the legislation by targeting officials. Responding on behalf of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said the state government can amend rules framed under the Act. 'If we come to know about the misuse, we can take action. If harassment can be prevented by reviewing the rules and if it benefits the genuine RTI activists, we can discuss,' he said, noting that the Government would think about steps to limit the misuse of the RTI Act. Koujalagi suggested the Government hike RTI fees as a measure to curb the misuse, adding that RTI applications were being filed through proxies. 'Multiple applications are filed by some people just to harass officials. The cost per page is fixed at Rs 2. This is causing the problem. For BPL applicants, there is no fee for up to 100 pages. This is leading to a lot of misuse,' he said. Patil noted that the Government had blacklisted 26 RTI activists, apart from dismissing State Information Commissioner Ravindra Gurunath Dhakappa after the Lokayukta arrested him for allegedly taking a bribe from a blacklisted RTI applicant. BJP MLA Sunil Kumar alleged that some activists were not allowing any government work to be carried out. 'They collect the information and share it with the Lokayukta. Even public work is not happening because of these RTI activists. We should make some rules,' he said, suggesting a limit for the number of applications a person can file.


The Hindu
8 hours ago
- The Hindu
Karnataka High Court criticises conduct of officials of Nirmithi Kendra in denying information under RTI Act
The High Court of Karnataka has criticised the conduct of officials of the Nirmithi Kendra in attempting to suppress transparency by claiming that the Right to Information (RTI) Act is not applicable to the kendra, even though it is sponsored and controlled by the State government through the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department. The court has also imposed a cost of ₹50,000 on the Nirmithi Kendra, Chitradurga, for denying information under the RTI Act by claiming that it is not a public authority but a private society. Justice Suraj Govindaraj passed the order, while dismissing a petition filed by the project director of Nirmithi Kendra, Chitradurga, who had questioned the State Information Commission's 2017 direction for providing information sought by some persons under the RTI Act. The court noted that the government had set up Nirmithi Kendras for developing low-cost technology alternatives for rural housing, and its control and supervision is under many top officials of the zilla panchayats and the district administrations belonging to the cadre of the Indian Administrative Service and the Karnataka Administrative Service, Besides, these kendras are being funded by HUDCO, which is a government entity, and contracts are given to the kendra by the State government, and there is a preference for these kendras to carry out works of the government, the court pointed out. A perusal of Section 2(h) of the RTI Act would indicate that it is not only funding, but also control, which would have to be considered to determine whether it is a public authority or not, the court said, while pointing out that not only the funding for these kendras is provided by the government, but the works carried out by them are also considered government's works. 'The attempt made by the officers of Nirmithi Kendra to suppress such transparency leaves much to be desired and does not inspire confidence. By way of such conduct, the Nirmithi Kendra, Chitradurga, has successfully avoided disclosure of information and details,' the court said, while declaring that Nirmithi Kendras as public authorities under the provisions of the RTI Act.