Rajasthan transparency panel fines 5 govt officials of Rs 5,000 each for denying info

Five Rajasthan government officials have been fined Rs 5,000 each by the State Information Commission for denying information to people under the transparency act in five different cases.

The officials who were fined included a block education officer, an executive officer of a municipality and three tehsildars (revenue collection officers).

While imposing the fine on the officials, the transparency panel also asked the government to deduct the penalty amounts from their salaries.

Information Commissioner Narayan Bareth imposed the Rs 5,000 penalty on a block education officer of Sahara block in Bhilwara district over denial of information to local resident Babulal Sen. The panel fined the official while expressing displeasure over his attitude.

Sen had sought details of admission in a private school under the Right to Education Act but had been denied the information for almost two years. The official was also asked by the panel to provide the requisite information within 15 days.

In another case, Bareth imposed the fine on the executive officer of Uniara Municipality for denying the information to local resident Muzammil Ahmed.

The commission also imposed fines on three tehsildars – two of Udaipur district and one of Bundi.

Tehsildar Rishabhdev of Udaipur district had ignored G R Meena’s plea since 2019 for information under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution in a matter related to the land of the tribal community.

All tehsildars were ordered to provide the information within 15 days while also paying the fine.