Even as State Information Commissioner Darbara Singh Kahlon terms the Right to Information Act as the most powerful tool,the departments here seem to be giving it a deaf ear. A case in point is New Model Town resident Satish Kumar Dua who approached the State Commission for Information in Punjab after he was denied any by Powercom. Since February,Dua had been seeking information regarding the change in the name of an electricity connection in Jawahar Nagar,but Powercom authorities turned a deaf ear to his requests. The electricity connection of a shop in Jawahar Nagar was in my name for over 10 years and it was changed to someone elses without my approval. When I asked why the rules were flouted,I was denied information. Through RTI Act,I sought information from the public information officer (PIO) on April 19. It took me two hours to get my application submitted because no employee was ready to receive it, Dua said. Dua added: When no information was given,I approached the Appellate Authority (Chief Engineer) after 30 days seeking the same information,but even he did not give any reply. Thereafter,I sought justice from the State Information Commission. The problem does not end here as the office is yet to refund excess charges against the particular electricity connection. Dua said,When I asked as to why no information is being given to me,the staff said they have too much work and that it is not possible for them to locate a particular file. I am surprised at the lame excuses. This is ridiculous. Before submitting the RTI complaint,Dua had made atleast 50 visits to Model Town extension office of Powercom,but to no avail.
