1,965 SPIOs yet to pay Rs 3.06-cr fine: RTI reply
The Haryana State Information Commission has imposed a fine of Rs 5.90 crore on State Public Information Officers (SPIOs) in 4,043 cases till January 31 ever since its inception in 2005. However, a significant portion, totalling Rs 3.06 crore, remains unpaid by SPIOs in 1,965 cases, according to a response to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by Subhash, an RTI activist and the state convener of the Haryana Soochna Adhikar Manch.
“As per the RTI information, the commission issued show-cause notices under Section 20 (1) in 32,827 cases in the past 19 years, but fines were imposed only in 4,043 cases. The commission had received over 1 lakh appeals and complaints during the time-span,” said Subhash.
He said the RTI data revealed a breakdown of show-cause notices issued over the years. A total 25 notices were issued in 2006, 308 in 2007, 575 in 2008, 719 in 2009, 799 in 2010, 957 in 2011, 909 in 2012, 1,457 in 2013, 2,096 in 2014, 2,971 in 2015, 2,468 in 2016, 1,935 in 2017, 2,511 in 2018, 3,223 in 2019, 2,821 in 2020, 1,964 in 2021, 1,797 in 2022, 1,980 in 2023 and 3,159 notices in 2024. In addition, 153 notices were issued by January 31 this year, he added.
“There are several officials who were fined years ago but have not made the payment yet. Some have even approached the courts against the fines. Additionally, many officers have only paid fine partially, leaving the rest still pending,” Subhash said.
