MP Man Receives RTI Reply of 40K Pages, Carries Bundles in SUV

Bhopal:h A man has received a 40,000-page reply to his query put under Right To Information (RTI) Act to get details regarding procurement of medicines, equipment and allied materials by the local administration in Indore during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A sports utility vehicle (SUV) was packed to the brim with the packets of papers while being ferried to his home by RTI activist Dharmendra Shukla.

“The SUV was fully packed when the bundles of RTI papers were loaded into it, leaving space only for the driver”, Mr Shukla said on Saturday.

However, much to his relief, the fee of Rs two per paper was waived for him by the authorities concerned since the reply did not come within the stipulated period of one month.

According to Mr Shukla, the RTI plea was submitted to the chief medical health officer (CMHO), Indore, seeking details on procurement of medicines, equipment and other materials related to Covid-19 pandemic.

He had later approached the first appellate officer Dr Sharad Gupta with his application when he did not receive the reply from the authorities concerned.

“Dr Gupta ordered the authorities concerned to reply to the RTI plea and write off the fee as per the RTI rule”, he said.

Sources said Dr Gupta has ordered the CMHO, Indore, to initiate action against the officers concerned for not giving the information in time, leading to loss of Rs 80,000 to the exchequer.