Summary:
Bijnor: As many as 20 senior state officials were slapped with a fine of 25,000 each by state information commissioner (SIC) Hafiz Usman after they were found delaying replies to RTI queries by applicants in different state departments. Therefore, I have slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of the officers, who were showing reluctance in this connection. The officials include senior staffers from Bijnor, Muzaffarnagar, Sambhal, and Moradabad.In a statement, state information commissioner Hafiz Usman said, “There is a provision under the Right to Information Act to provide information within 30 days to the applicants. But they did not take an interest in sorting out the pending matter. But these 20 officials of UP violated the Act, ignoring applications.“When applicants complained against the officials concerned, I served notices on them last month and asked for an explanation for their pathetic attitude while instructing them to provide information in time..