File goes missing in Mantralaya, RTI activist asks ‘just how?’

The file went missing from the third floor of the Mantralaya building. File Pic

According to the state's laws, the tenure of a government officer is three years, but the deputy chief engineer at Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA)-Mumbai will be completing five years soon. An RTI activist had filed a query, seeking to know who extended his term and why, but was told that the related file went missing in Mantralaya after it was sent for photocopy.

RTI activist Santosh Daundkar had submitted the Right to Information (RTI) application to the Housing Department of the state government in June, asking why R B Mitkar's tenure was extended. Mitkar joined as the deputy chief engineer at SRA, Mumbai, on January 15, 2017.

Daundkar received a response on July 12 from State Public Information Officer Prashant Rathod. "In order to give the requested information to Daundkar, the file related to Mitkar was sent to the third floor of Mantralaya for a photocopy, but it got lost. Therefore, this information cannot be provided to you at this time." The reply also mentioned that a letter has been sent to other departments to check if they received the file by mistake. "Whenever the lost file is found, its information will be made available to Daundkar," Rathod said in the written reply.

Daundkar told mid-day that as per the Maharashtra Government Servants Regulation of Transfers and Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act, 2005, the maximum tenure of an officer has to be three years. "It is strongly suspected that this file has been made to disappear so that the fraud in the matter of posting of Mitkar could be covered up," he said.

Rathod told mid-day, "When the file was sent for photocopy, it had gone to another table after being misplaced. We will again issue a notice to retrieve that file, and as soon as it is received, we will give the information to Daundkar." Daundkar has now demanded that police register an FIR in the matter.

Y P Singh, an advocate, said a file going missing from a government office is a serious matter, and police should register a case and investigate. "There is rigging in the SRA scheme, and if someone remains in the post for longer than their tenure, questions will arise," he added. When contacted, Mitkar told mid-day that he is not aware of the developments.

July
Month last year activist was informed file went missing