In full swing: ‘Complaints addressed under RTI law’

Provincial Chief Information Commissioner said his department had received a total of 170 complaints.

ABBOTTABAD: Provincial Chief Information Commissioner Sahibzada Muhammad Khalid said his department had received a total of 170 complaints till last week and 51 of them have been addressed. Speaking to participants at a seminar on the Right to Information law on Wednesday, he said the hiring process for staff at the RTI Commission was in progress and delays in this regard were due to certain issues. He said the government could now keep no secrets from the public and people seeking information from official documents would hardly face any obstacles. He added a public information officer could face a fine of Rs25,000 for not providing the required information to an applicant. He added if the case was filed with a district judge, the fine could be increased to Rs60,000 and the official concerned could be imprisoned for two years.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2014.