SHILLONG, SEPT 8: The Meghalaya People’s United Front (MPUF) today filed a petition before the Appellate Authority against the failure of Transport department to provide information sought through RTI Act, 2005 over the installation of a weighbridge in the interior of West Jaintia Hills District.
“No comments” was the reply by the Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Transport department to some of the important queries raised in the RTI filed by the president of the MPUF-Laskein Circle Hamwar Bhoi with the department.
“Can the 7th Mile weighbridge located at the middle of the state? If so, provide details. Can 7th Mile weighbridge act as entry and exit points? Is there a need to install a weighbridge in every district? If not why the 7th Mile weighbridge need to be installed in the middle of the entry and exit points” – were some of the queries of the RTI filed on July 7, this year.
In his petition to the Commissioner of Transport PW Ingty, who is also the appellate authority, Bhoi however said that the response given by the PIO is not satisfactory as he has abstained from giving answer and response to the questions put forth and instead offered “no comments”.
“As per section 7 (1) r/w section 7 (3) (a) of the RTI, Act, 2005, the PIO is either to provide and grant the information sought for or to reject the application but in this instant the PIO is doing neither and such action of the PIO is deemed as refusal to provide information as per section 7 (2) of the Act hence the appeal,” he stated in the complaint.
Bhoi also appealed to the appellate authority to direct the PIO to provide satisfactory, correct and complete information to all the questions and queries put forth in the RTI application within 10 days’ time.
Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Bhoi said that the MPUF and the Hynniewtrep Students’ Union (HSU) along with other NGOs of the region have been demanding the state government to close down the weighbridge at 7th Mile as it is not logical for it to locate in the middle of the district.
“This is in view that the state government had set up a weighbridge at Umtyra village in East Jaintia Hills to act as entry and exit points for the trucks,” he said.
Bhoi also claimed that as per government rules, the weighbridge cannot be located in the middle of the state.
According to him, due to this, trucks have to be weighed in three places – Umtyra, 7th Mile and the weighbridge at Byrnihat, Ri Bhoi District causing unnecessary harassment to them besides leading to traffic jams along the National Highway.
He informed that the delegation had earlier also met the Transport Minister HDR Lyngdoh on the matter but there has been no action on the part of the government to close down the weighbridge at 7th Mile till date.
Bhoi also argued that if the government wants to keep the weighbridge at 7th Mile then what made it to install the Umtyra weighbridge, which is located near the inter-state border with Assam, in the first place.
On the other hand, the MPUF-LC president also alleged that the weighbridge at 7th Mile is also being located on the wrong side of the National Highway.
By Our Reporter
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