Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh state information commission on Wednesday issued a show-cause notice to a senior official for failing to provide information regarding denial of ration to two elderly men, both of whom belong to the below poverty level (BPL) category, in Rewa district.
Information Commissioner Rahul Singh directed Food Controller-cum-Public Information Commissioner Rajendra Singh Thakur to submit an action taken report on the matter to both the commission and the appellant by 11am on Thursday. The report can be sent via fax, email or WhatsApp.
The action came within hours of Right to Information (RTI) activist Shivanand Dwivedi forwarding his complaint to Singh via Twitter and email on Wednesday around 11am.
Dwivedi said that under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act, information is offered in such cases within 48 hours.
"Denial of ration is connected to right to life and 48 hours had already lapsed. So I took cognisance of the complaint on social media and email and issued orders without any further waste of time,” Singh said. He has summoned the food controller for personal hearing at the commission on March 5.
Dwivedi had sought information on ration allotment to Khiladi Kol and Lalmani Yadav, both residents of Saraikala village in Gangev Janpad and eligible for ration under the BPL category. The two men also have multiple disabilities.
In his RTI plea, Dwivedi even mentioned that Kol is an aged man and has lost his wife, adding he might die of hunger if denied ration any longer.
Singh's prompt action is being lauded as the first instance in the state where an information commissioner has acted within five hours of receiving a complaint.
Singh also pulled up Additional Collector Ila Tiwari, who is the appellant authority, for slackness in offering information and denying receipt to Dwivedi. He has also instructed District Collector Basant Kurre to make sure all appellants receive their receipts from Public Information Officers (PIOs) and appellant officers.
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