Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Aug 5: Chief information commissioner of Karnataka Information Commission, Dr H N Krishna is in the city. He and state information commissioner, J S Virupakshaiah, will be receiving complaints and appeals from the general public at 11 am on Friday August 5 at the office of the district deputy commissioner here.
Speaking after scrutinizing applications received by the commission on Thursday August 4, Krishna clarified that the information commission is not an inquiry commission, and the aim of the commission is to provide information to those who seek it under the Rights to Information Act. He said that none of the institutions and organizations can function without the control of government, government aid, or legal sanctity. Hence, he opined that everything falls within the purview of public domain, and every organization is bound to provide information sought by the citizens.
After making queries about the complaints against Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ) and Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board in the district, he said that MSEZ is bound to provide information sought. As such, he clarified that if MSEZ fails to provide information, government bodies need not help it to acquire land or provide basic infrastructure like road, water, etc. Out of the 21 petitions received, he disposed off 14 applications. The complaints were relating to KSRTC, food and civil supplied department, police department, office of the deputy commissioner, health department of city corporation, RTO, Bantwal sub-registrar office, Bantwal College principal, etc.
He said that the educational institutions are not in order in refusing to provide information under various pretexts, and insisted that the institutions that have been registered under law will be wrong if they refuse to provide information sought for.
Noting that the commission had received 16,000 petitions during the last year, he said that the people can also complain to the commission by sending SMS to mobile No. 9212357123. Virupakshaiah said that the commissioners have planned to visit certain district headquarters to receive petitions, hear the petitioners, and dispose off the petitions on the spot. He said that the experiment of examining the petitions through video conferencing facility undertaken in Bellary and Raichur had proved successful.