After having made several petitions over the last three years to the Chief Minister and Chief Secretary to appoint one state information commissioner for South Goa district headquarters at Margao, advocate Ashok Desai has now sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The government of Goa has paid deaf ears, thereby failed and neglected to decentralise the powers of administration and caused injustice to the people of South Goa district,” said Adv Ashok in his letter.
He has requested that the PM directs the Chief Minister of Goa to depute one Goa state information commissioner for South Goa District.
Earlier, in his petition to the governor, advocate Ashok had enclosed the petitions which have been duly received by the office of CM and CS (four petitions) starting from March 2013, Adv Ashok pointed out that the government of Goa has appointed three commissioners for the Goa State Information Commission (RTI Commission).
In his petitions calling for administrative reforms, Adv Ashok has suggested that if full time appointment of one information commissioner for South Goa would be a burden on the exchequer, one visiting information commissioner can be deputed for South Goa district on visiting basis from Monday to Friday between 10 am to 1 pm with the official vehicle along with relevant file, one clerk, and one peon which will cost minimum expenditure to the state exchequer.
He pointed out that this demand has been made to relieve the problem presently faced by the people of South Goa due to the locations of the first appellate authority and the Goa State information commission in Panjm.
He gave the example of how people from Pollem village of Canacona taluka that is situated at a distance of about 93 kilometers from Panjim and similarly remote villages like Vichundrem and Netraralim of Sanguem taluka are at a distance of 85 kilometers from Panjim; all three villages based in South Goa
He further made a comparative analysis of locations and distances of the far end places of South Goa and North Goa district from Panjim to show how people of South Goa district are compelled to travel much more distances as compared to the people of North Goa to Panjim. He complained that due to the locations of the first appellate authority and second appellate authority and the Goa state Information commission in Panjim, the people of South Goa are considerably deprived of availing the use and benefits of the beneficial provisions of RTI Act 2005 and thereby deprived of their legal right to information.
He further pointed out that the scrutiny of the records of the appeals and complaints registered at the commission reveals that since inception till date about 75 percent of the appeals/complaints have been filed by information seekers from North Goa district and only about 25 percent of appeal/complaints have benefited by information seekers from South Goa district.
