Daily Times

The Deputy Commissioner Islamabad is directed to share the information about the funds received from the Federal Government for the Covid-19 and its utilization details, with the citizen within ten working days.

The Pakistan Information has also directed the Deputy Commissioner to share the same information on the website and designate a Public Information Officer to make sure timely provision of information to the citizen under the right of Access to Information Act 2017.

As per details, a citizen Nadeem Umer had approached the Deputy Commissioner to get information about the fund received from Federal Government, donor agencies, its utilization details, expenditure related to support of coronavirus effected individual / families placed in isolation by Government and details of the fine imposed during Covid-19 Pandemic.

In pursuance of the appeal filed by the citizen, the commission has issued notice to the DC and also conducted hearing of the case, but the DC office neither responded to the notice of the commission nor attended the hearing of the case.

The verdict authored by Chief Information Commissioner, Mohammad Azam, states that requested information belongs to the category of information which public bodies are legally bound to proactively disclose, through their web sites, under Section 5 (g) and Section 6 (b) of the Right of Access to Information Act 2017.

This commission is of the view that the wilful delay or denial of the requested information causes undue cost to citizens and the commission. Citizens have to approach this commission for the exercise of their fundamental constitutional right of access to information which involves cost both in terms of money and time, Order states.

The five pages verdict of the commission further states that if directions of the commission in this Order are not followed, it will be left with no option but to invoke Section 20 (f) of the Right of Access to Information Act 2017.

According to Section 20 (f) of the act, the commission has the power to impose fine on an official equivalent to his salary for one days, for a maximum of one hundred days, who has acted wilfully to obstruct any activity which is required to be undertaken by this act, including preventing or delaying the disclosure of information to an applicant. PIC also directed the DC Islamabad to notify Public Information Officer, (PIO), under Section 9 of the Act and put the notification and contact details of the PIO on its web site as required under the right of access to information act 2017.