Haryana has become the first state in the country to formulate and implement a mechanism for recovering penalties imposed on State Public Information Officers (SPIOs) directly from their salaries or pensions for failing to provide information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The move follows a series of orders passed by Haryana Lokayukta Justice Haripal Verma during a six-year hearing on a complaint filed by Samalkha-based RTI activist PP Kapoor. The Lokayukta has also sought an action taken report from the state government within three months.
Kapoor had filed the complaint before the Lokayukta on July 21, 2020, alleging that a large number of SPIOs neither provided information sought under the RTI Act nor deposited the penalties imposed on them by the State Information Commission.
In his petition, Kapoor demanded recovery of Rs 2.72 crore in penalties from 1,726 defaulting SPIOs across Haryana.
“Maximum SPIOs neither provided information nor deposited the penalty amount imposed upon them by the State Information Commission,” Kapoor alleged in his complaint.
According to Kapoor, the state government informed the Lokayukta that penalties amounting to Rs 2.94 crore are pending against officials belonging to 16 departments. The highest outstanding amount of Rs 1.34 crore pertains to the Panchayat and Development Department, followed by Rs 80.96 lakh against officials of the Urban Local Bodies Department. Officials of the Education Department owe Rs 22.72 lakh, while Rs 14.76 lakh is pending against Revenue Department officials.
Kapoor claimed that Haryana is the first state in the country to create such a recovery mechanism for defaulting SPIOs.
“With this mechanism, the government will not only recover the pending penalty amount but also crack down on defaulter SPIOs,” Kapoor said.
As per the mechanism finalised by the state government, details of defaulting SPIOs will be uploaded on the official website. The State Information Commission will provide a quarterly list of defaulters to the heads of the departments concerned. The outstanding penalty amount will be deducted periodically from the salaries or pensions of the erring SPIOs.
The government has also directed all administrative secretaries and departmental heads to ensure recovery of pending penalties and submit monthly compliance reports to the State Information Commission.
