Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | CIC pulls up Delhi Government for not displaying details of MLAs' spending by Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

CIC pulls up Delhi Government for not displaying details of MLAs' spending by Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jun 10, 2011   modified Modified on Jun 10, 2011

Govt. wasted two deadlines, while MCD has already finished similar task

Commission extends deadline to June 25;

Chief Secretary to take stock of situation

Sign board telling expenditure under Local Area Development Fund of 70 MLAs to be installed

The Delhi Government, which often blames the Municipal Corporation of Delhi for the tardy pace of development, has been caught napping by the Central Information Commission in the matter of complying with its order of installing boards displaying information on the spending of all 70 Delhi legislators; this when the MCD has already completed the task pertaining to its 272 councillors.

Acting on a complaint filed by Anjali Bharadwaj of Satark Nagrik Sangathan and 317 other citizens, the Commission had on February 10 this year ordered that “a sign board of appropriate dimension shall be installed mentioning the details of expenditure of the current and the previous years of the Members of Legislative Assembly under the Local Area Development Fund of each respective constituency”. It had stated that this information be displayed in Hindi and installed at a location having maximum public view in each constituency. It had demanded that the order be complied with by March 15.

However, the Commission was urged by the Additional Secretary and Public Information Officer of the Urban Development Department of the Delhi Government to grant two more months for completion of “such a huge task”. The permission was granted and the compliance date was extended to May 25.

But even after the second deadline, the Delhi Government did not comply with the order. The Commission received a letter dated May 31 on June 6 from the Additional Secretary stating that another two months time was required.

Noting that the Commission had also issued similar directions to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to install sign boards mentioning the details of expenditure of the Councillor funds for all the 272 wards and that the Corporation had complied with the revised deadline of May 25, Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi took serious note of the lapse on the part of the Delhi Government.

He noted: “It is a serious matter that the Commission has to give directions repeatedly for compliance of the orders issued by it; the matter has been engaging the attention of the Commission for quite some time now. Everybody wants transparency and accountability but at the end of the day, we find that the progress is going on at a snail's pace. The anxiety of the Commission regarding the speed and efficiency of the implementation process adopted for its orders must be taken into account.”

Further, Mr. Gandhi said: “The Commission is disappointed that for a simple work such as this, the Government is unable to stick to a time line to which it had committed. Citizens are watching the Commission as well as the Government very closely and such delay in honouring commitments does not reflect well on the Government.”

In an adjunct decision on June 8, he then directed the Chief Secretary to personally take stock of the situation and expedite the process of implementation of the orders. “The boards shall be installed before July 25 as per the latest request of the Government,” he ordered.

The Information Commissioner also directed the Chief Secretary to send by July 30 a consolidated report of compliance of the orders which should include the locations of the boards along with photographs and web link (URL) where the locations have been published.

The Hindu, 11 June, 2011, http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/11/stories/2011061163140400.htm


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close