From Our Correspondent
TURA, Aug 11: For more than two-and-half months, one Nilbath Ch Marak, a social activist and a resident of Dawa Gittingre of East Garo Hills, has been waiting for a response from the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) after he aired his grievances over denial of information under an RTI appeal.
In a battle with the PHE department over the denial of information under RTI over projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), Nilbath filed his petition to the CIC on May 24, more than 2.5 months ago seeking redressal of the issue after even the first appellate authority (the deputy commissioner) refused to intervene and provide information.
Surprisingly, no communication has been made to the appellant despite the passage of time putting serious questions on what exactly was taking place in the state.
The PHE has been accused of turning opaque with the question of information when it comes to projects under JJM denying providing even details about contractors, detailed project reports, or even the mode of allocation of projects. “I have been waiting for something to come from the CIC as the matter is very serious in nature and needs the Commission’s intervention. Everywhere in the Garo Hills region, information from the PHE has been half-baked and the department has been unwilling to share any information. Since they are handling public funds, their dealings have to be transparent. This is just not the case as they continue to take a stance of denial of information. Given the situation, the Meghalaya State Information Commission (MSIC) should have acted within a week but I have received nothing from them. This is completely frustrating for someone seeking transparency,” said Nilbath.
The activist has also filed another two cases after these departments too denied information under RTI. He awaits communication for both cases (one against the Horticulture department and another against the Director of Health and Family Welfare). These two petitions were filed in July.
“If the first one is taking so long to process, I am fearful that the other two may take the whole year to be acted upon. In this situation, what are we supposed to do? As activists we work to ensure a corruption-free state but if the highest appellate authority itself is sitting on such cases, where do we go to,” asked Nilbath.
He remarked that the court may be the only way out and that would be the last resort, albeit a very costly one.
When contacted on the matter, the office of the CIC informed that the matter was being looked into and necessary action was taken. No specifics, however, were provided on the matter.
“Necessary action was taken and we have communicated with the complainant but we have not received any response from him till date,” informed the office of the CIC.
The activist, however, maintained that no response, written or verbal, has been communicated to him from the office of the CIC.
The CIC later sent him a copy through WhatsApp (that was apparently sent through the normal post, which the activist has not received despite being sent on June 25), wherein Nilbath was directed to send a copy of the DC’s order dated February 9, 2024, on the matter.
“We approached the CIC because the DC refused to take any action and did not provide an order. This was communicated in the complaint itself. They are now asking to communicate this to the office. This is just going around in circles,” felt Nilbath.