Corporation denies RTI activist info on approved building plan

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

Chennai Corporation is denying an RTI activist access to a file relating to approved building plan of 22^nd Canal Bank Road in Raja Annamalai Puram for more than a month after the State Information Commission passed an order to provide him with the information.

 RTI activists and a research scholar R Natarajan told Express that public information officer is withholding the information despite state information commission directing the public information officer through an order on May 30, 2012 to provide the information to the petitioner and report to the commission by June 20, 2012.

 Natarajan said that building plan and related matters are a public document and even the information commission ina separate order on August 12, 2011 has directed that these documents should be viewed as public document.

 Interestingly, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has shown more transparency than the city corporation and is providing the information on purchase of flats or re-sale of flats or approved layout free of cost. If a petitioner wants to inspect the file it is available for inspection during the working hours.

Natarajan said he had filed the petition after he had comes across some irregularities in registration of the building with a close acquaintance of his being cheated. “The object is to see that the flat buyers are not fooled by builders who pass on the flat which are constructed unauthorisedly and illegally.

Natarajan said that, “`Even the owner  V Lenina Lalitha has no objection to permit me to go through the building plan following a letter sent to the public information officer on May 19. I don’t know for a strange reason I am not able to inspect the file.”

“If they continue to deny me information despite the state information commission directing them to do so and the officials dilly-dallying over the issue, I will be forced to move the State information commission with a request to summon public information officer as well as the appellate authority for a personal enquiry and to pass suitable orders under the RTI act 2005,” said Natarajan.