The state information commission (SIC) has awarded a compensation of a whopping Rs5 lakh to a right to information applicant. The compensation is to be paid by Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) to Ambernath resident, Nitin Desai for the harassment meted out to him while providing information to him. The amount is highest ever compensation given to an individual in the state as of now.
Earlier a compensation of rupees one lakh was given to a charitable trust by state chief information commission. In 2013, it became the highest ever compensation to be given till date. The Rs5 lakh compensation order was delivered on October 30 by state information commissioner (Konkan bench), Thanksi Thekkekara. The compensation was awarded after the applicant was first denied information and then given some misleading information.
Desai had sought information on transformer installed on his land. Around 300 sq ft of land was taken up to install the transformer and it could not be used. Desai sought information about the permission. The information was sought in 2012. However, MSEDCL's public information officer (PIO) did not provide any information. During the hearing, the PIO stated that verbal permission was taken from the applicant before using the land. The commissioner stated, as per rules, provision for verbal permission did not exist at all.
During the hearing, a show cause notice was served on the PIO asking why a compensation of Rs20 lakh should not be provided to the applicant. During the hearing, the commission was of the view that Rs5 lakh compensation should be provided by public authority from its expenses and a report of the same should be given to the commission by December 1, 2014. A fine of Rs25,000 was also imposed on the PIO.
When dna contacted Desai, he was not available for comment. "Awarding compensation is okay. But at the end of the day it is the tax payers money which will be used for paying it. The amount should be recovered from the employee concerned. Otherwise it will be recovered from us and will not affect him," said Vivek Velankar, an RTI activist.
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