‘Missing files a common excuse’

RTI activists are not surprised by the recent disappearance of Adarsh documents from the urban development department. They claim that officials who are unwilling to part with information often deny it on the pretext that the particular file has gone missing.

Aftab Siddiqui, a resident of Khar, sought details of a property, which she claimed had come up illegally on Linking Road, in 2007. The BMC told her that the file on the building she sought details for was missing.

She then filed another RTI application seeking to know how many cases of lost files had occurred in H/West ward. “Former information commissioner Suresh Joshi ordered the building proposals department of the ward to restore the files by sourcing information from architects, the fire department, etc. Files were to be scanned. Nothing has happened,” said Siddiqui.