BJP president files complaints against 6 State deptts for denying information sought under RTI

GANGTOK, 16 Feb: Bharatiya Janta Party, Sikkim state president, Padam Bahadur Chettri filed complaints to the Office of the State Information Commissioner on 15 February against six State departments for not providing information sought by him through RTI.
Mr Chettri had sent RTI applications through registered post to all the concerned departments of the State and Central Governments seeking information related to the Sikkim Manipal University of Health, Medical and Technological Sciences and Central Referral Hospital, Tadong on 30 January this year.
Addressing a press conference today, Mr Chettri said that the denial of information regarding Sikkim Manipal University is an attempt by the State Public Information Officers [SPIO] to protect and defend the SMU who have violated the law.
“Either all these central and state departments should prove me wrong as I am ready to face any punishment for it but if they are right then they should show me the President’s assent or explain how the university can run without the President’s assent,” he expressed.
Alleging that the Sikkim Education Act 2004 has not received the assent of the President so far Mr Chettri demanded that if it has then it should be made known.
The six state departments that have not provided the information sought by Mr Chettri are Land Revenue, Home, Law, District Collectorate [East], DOP and Planning Economics Reforms and NEC Affairs.
He informed that in response to his RTI application regarding the Sikkim Manipal University, the SPIO, Land Revenue Department, Sikkim, returned his application stating ‘that it has been wrongly addressed to us. Your handwritten envelope is also enclosed for your reference”.
Similarly, the SPIO of Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Training of Sikkim also denied him information by stating that “The information sought does not fall under our purview”, Mr Chettri alleged.
His queries on divulging the names of the Vice-Chancellors of SMU who also served as Chief Secretaries of Sikkim, salary drawn by the VCs and Registrars since the University’s inception and others met with the response that they had “been forwarded to the concerned departments”, said Mr Chettri.
The BJP president further alleged that the SPIO of District Collectorate [East] had been directed to forward the application to the HRDD Secretary, which, said Mr Chettri, goes against the law as the SPIO is the supreme authority under the RTI Act and further demanded that a civil and criminal case be filed against the person who directed the SPIO to do so. He also demanded that the SPIO be immediately suspended and an enquiry started against him.
The RTI application addressed to the Law Department was transferred to the Health Department, which again indicates that even the Law Dept is not aware of the authority responsible for providing information under the RTI Act, Mr Chettri further alleged.