The Pune District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (Consumer Court) has ordered an educational institution to pay compensation to an RTI applicant, a former employee of the institute, for delay in providing him information he had sought to buttress a case he had filed in the Bombay High Court.
The consumer forum ordered the Information Officer and the principal of Deccan Education Society’s Technical Institute to pay Rs.15,000 to Haribhau Kakade for not providing the information despite a state information commission order to do so. The institute argued that Kakade was not a ‘consumer’ as per the definition in the Consumer Protection Act. The Court panel of president of the forum Anjali Deshmukh and member S. K. Kapse disagreed and relied on a National Consumer Rights Commission order that stated, “In our view, therefore the State Commission was wrong while holding that once the complainant had availed the remedy against which appeal was provided, he could not maintain a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act.” The Consumer Court stated that although it cannot direct the institute to make the documents available to Kakade, it can order the institute to pay a compensation for mental and physical agony faced by him. The Court ordered the institute to pay Rs. 15,000 as compensation and Rs.1,000 as litigation cost. (As reported on 9-12-2011 in Indian Express)
- MMRDA for furnishing certain information
Information comes at a price, but Thane resident Omprakash Sharma learnt that the cost could be prohibitive when the information concerns public issues and is to be given by a public body like the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
The state-run agency has told Sharma to pay Rs. 50,000 for copies of a study report on transportation strategies in Thane and Raigad districts.
The Right to Information (RTI) Act activist had on November 14 filed an application with the MMRDA, inquiring if the agency had conducted any surveys on the monorail or metro in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) area. Sharma offered to pay for the study report.
MMRDA promptly replied to the query on November 26, stating that a comprehensive transportation study for the region was carried out by the agency along with M/s. Lea Associates, and the study report was ready by 2008. Another report, on the proposed master plan for a monorail in Thane and Raigad, was also prepared and is with the MMRDA.
However, Sharma was asked to pay up Rs.50,000 for securing these reports as they are said to be ‘priced reports’. “It shows how innovative they could be in keeping away citizens and activists who seek information using the RTI Act”, Sharma said.
He added that the report is now MMRDA property and ideally it should follow the RTI Rules, which state that the information seeker be charged Rs.2 for every copy which is photocopied.
“Alternatively, the agency could charge me Rs.50 for transmitting the report on a floppy or disc” Sharma said.
- Statement on RTI in Rajya Sabha:
Minister of personnel, public grievances and pensions, V. Narayanasamy replied in the affirmative on a query in the Rajya Sabha regarding concerns raised by Ministers on the RTI Act affecting the Government’s functioning.
When asked about bureaucrats expressing apprehension about putting their view on controversial issues because of the Act, the Minister said:
“Some concerns have been expressed that the improper use of RTI Act and indiscriminate and impracticable demands for disclosure of sundry information unrelated to transparency and accountability in the functioning of public authorities may adversely affect the efficiency of administration.”
On a separate question, he said the Central Information Commission has a pendency of 20,232 cases as on 1st September.
- Non-refund of deposits by the college:
In the elation of securing admission to a college of their choice, students often forget to check that the miscellaneous fees and deposits paid to the institution are actually refundable. These deposits are taken by the institute as cover in the event of any breakages or damage to the facility caused by the student. And these deposits are refundable after completion of the course, however a majority of students are unware that they are entitled to the refund. A former student of Ramniranjan Jhunjunwala (RJ) College in Ghatkoper approached the management to claim the refundable deposit. Surprisingly, his request to the college administrators was met with uncooperativeness. Fed up with the tactics of management, the ex-student who was made to run from pillar to post to recover his security deposit exposed the college through an RTI query.
In August this year, Singh sought information through an RTI, querying why the management is not refunding the student’s money. But the management refrained from giving him a reply. On 1st, October, Singh then appealed to a higher authority in the college. A week later, the college replied that the management had refunded money to all those students, who have asked for a refund. The authorities also presented a list of 14,000 students who had paid deposits to the college. However, more than 30% of the students did not receive their dues, which means that the college had pocketed approximately Rs.45 lakh in the last 10 years.
“It’s shocking and shameful for our educational system that the college is not interested in refunding the money. The college should be investigated and action should be taken against those guilty of misappropriation,” said Singh.
Following the RTI revelation, on 23rd November, Singh wrote (copy with MID DAY) to the Education Minister, State Education Minister, Governor and the Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai University to look into the matter.
