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RTI exposes BMC's claims of misuse and extortion through RTI

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Say RTI and see BMC officials going all red.

Recently, the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) said there are a category of people called "professional complainants" who misuse RTI queries for extortion.

In fact, it said the P/North (Malad) ward even have a list of 77 people who file complaints in bulk to blackmail and extort money from those into unauthorised construction activities and from officials. RTI (Right to Information) activists immediately cried foul and called this as an attempt to stonewall queries.

But the BMC's claims prompted an activist, S K Nangia, to file an RTI. Nangia sought the list of persons filing bulk applications, BMC's in-house notes describing and detailing the 'misuse' RTIs, five serious complaints on which extortion bids were made, action taken by the ward office on such complaints, and letters exchanged between police stations and the corporation.

The BMC reply only proved it was speaking without any proof. It could not provide information to any of the queries raised by Nangia, who had to then approach the state information commission. He was, in fact, compensated Rs 5,000 for harassment.

A letter by Devendra Jain, assistant municipal commissioner (AMC) of P/ North ward (Malad), to the police is one proof that the BMC is more keen to discourage RTIs.

The letter demanded criminal cases registered against those who the corporation had shortlisted as "professional complainants". The letter alleged that these people file complaint and extort money from officials and those in unauthorised construction. It said such people also threatened officials that they would drag officials to the anti-corruption bureau, if their demands are not met.

"What the official (Jain) has done is the arbitrary use of authority to dissuade RTI applicants to seek information about unauthorised constructions," Nangia said.

"Tomorrow a person filing a complaint and diligently following it up with will be called a professional complainant," he said.

"Also, action initiated by P/ North is against the policy laid down by the municipal head office in the aftermath of an HC direction. The HC has asked the BMC to lay down a clear-cut policy on all unauthorised construction and its redressal system," he said.

The BMC gave Nangia documents that corporation should have given on its own. They include ones seeking details of occupation certificate, construction on plots owned by a person and permission on mobile towers. The occupation certificates of building and documents on construction on plots owned by an individual and complaints on mobile towers that the BMC provided Nangia are actually part of the reply to an RTI filed by a well-known activist Vihar Durve.

At that time, the public information officer (PIO) of the building and the factory department of the P/N had said those documents do not fall under the "misused" category.

"Not one complaint on misuse they could manage to give. Information like occupation certificates should be given by the BMC... Officers should file police complaints if there is any misuse or extortion, instead of threatening activists," said Bhaskar Prabhu, an RTI activist.

However, Jain still insists: "Actually, we have prepared a list of 77 professional complainants. We had sought information from the police about their records. That does not mean they all are extortionists. We have serious complaints that are misused and they are with me. I have information and can provide the same. It may not have been provided due to some lethargy by officers."

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