Right to Information (RTI) Act came to help of over three dozen contractual employees of Power Department who reportedly get their dues on the intervention of State Information Commissioner Hafiz Usman.
Interestingly, initially the senior officials in the Power Department refused to comply with the SIC orders but after a direction was issued to Managing Director of the Corporation asking him to get the matter resolved, the officials concerned not just made the payment of the dues but also appraised the SIC about the compliance.
Giving details of the case here on Monday afternoon, SIC Hafiz Usman said that 38 contractual employees in the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation limited (UPPCl) in Saharanpur, after failing to get any financial benefit had filed an RTI seeking detail from the Department that who worked on contract in the UPPCl at Saharanpur between 2012-2014 and how much dues have been paid to them and how much is remaining to be paid. Usman said that after making several rounds to the UPPCl office, the contractual employees failed to get any relief so finding no other alternative they filed an appeal in this regard in his court.
Usman said that he issued notice to executive engineer in UPPCl at Saharanpur and asked him to immediately reply to the above query. SIC said that when even then, the officer concerned not made the payment, he issued notice to collect cash penalty of Rs 250 per day (for number of days for which the RTI will be delayed but the fine not to exceed from Rs 25,000).
According to Usman, when even then the officials not responded, he served an order to Managing Director of UPPCl directing him to make a probe into the matter and submit a report that who was responsible for making unnecessarily delay in filing reply. The move was made to punish the guilty. SIC said after his direction to the MD, the officials at Saharanpur swung into action and had not just apprised him that the Corporation had cleared the pending dues of Rs 10 lakh (pending against wages) and also Rs 2 lakh pending against GPF of 38 contractual employees who worked in the Department between the given period.
Usman said that after confirming that the payments have been cleared by the Department, he closed the matter but he issued warning that in the future, no such delay should be made.