BDA officials fined Rs 1.25 lakh over RTI violations

The Karnataka Information Commission has imposed a total penalty of Rs 1.25 lakh on two officials of the Bangalore Development Authority for failing to provide information sought under the Right to Information Act.

Umesh, Deputy Secretary-1 ofthe Bangalore Development Authority, has been fined Rs 1 lakh across four separate cases for ignoring RTI applications and failing to provide the requested information to applicants. In another case, BDA Secretary C L Shivakumar has been fined Rs 25,000 for not responding to an RTI request.

Under Section 4 of the RTI Act, all public authorities are required to proactively disclose information about their responsibilities and activities on their official websites and update it regularly. The Supreme Court of India has also previously directed authorities to strictly implement and update these provisions. Despite the RTI Act being in force for over 20 years, several public authorities have not properly implemented Section 4(1)(a) and 4(1)(b). Taking this lapse seriously, the Karnataka Information Commission imposed the penalties on the BDA officials. Four applicants—Takshak, Tanvita Gaur, Ashwija P, and Balachandra Rao—had filed separate RTI applications seeking details about the implementation of Section 4 in the Deputy Secretary-1’s office. When no information was provided, they filed appeals before the Information Commission.

During the hearing, the commission issued a show-cause notice to Umesh. However, he still failed to provide the requested information. Considering this negligence, the commission imposed a penalty of Rs 25,000 in each of the four cases, totaling Rs 1 lakh. The commission has also asked the government why disciplinary action should not be initiated against the officer.

In a separate case, Suresh Chandra Babu had sought a copy of a government order regarding the jurisdiction of BDA’s additional land acquisition officer through an RTI application addressed to Secretary Shivakumar. Since the information was not provided, the commission imposed a Rs 25,000 penalty on him as well.