There are no signboards in the Kanakadurga temple displaying the names, designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers which is mandatory under section 4 (1) a and b of the Right to Information Act, 2005, Andhra Pradesh Information Commissioner P. Vijaya Babu has said.
Mr. Vijaya Babu who visited the temple and administrative office of the temple Executive Officer on Saturday ordered the temple authorities to put up the boards within 10 days.
The Dasara Festival was round the corner and there was no information whatsoever for the public on which officer to approach for information, he said.
Appealing to all sections to make the best use of the Right to Information (RTI) Act Mr. Vijaya Babu said there was a lot of confusion about the translation of information provided under the Act.
Quoting replies to applicants by the Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi Mr. Vijaya Babu said that it was the duty of the PIO to provide the information irrespective of language.
An earlier order by Information Commissioner O. P. Kejariwal also directed that appellant should be supplied a copy of the original notes and he may get those translated on his own.
There was also confusion about the payment of fees for supply of information to below the poverty line (BPL) applicants.
Mr. Vijaya Babu said as per the Act there was exemption for BPL applicants only for application fee.
Refuting allegations that the RTI Act was not so friendly to the poor, he said, seeking information in bulk would be counter productive to the BPL applicant because it might be difficult to suddenly raise the amount at the rate of Rs. 2 a page that was mandatory under the Act.
There were cases where officials realising the disadvantages position of the BPL applicant had replied saying that the information ran into hundreds of pages and it would be made available on payment of the required fees.
To avoid such situations the BPL applicants should seek out the information in packages.
This was the suggestion given to applicants by seasoned RTI activists, Mr. Vijaya Babu said.
