MP man gets 40,000-page answer to his RTI plea about pandemic

The Madhya Pradesh resident had to bring home the documents in an SUV

The sports utility vehicle of a man in Indore in Madhya Pradesh was completely packed with 40,000 pages he received as reply to his Right to Information Act plea connected to the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, Dharmendra Shukla also did not have pay the stipulated Rs 2 per page since his plea was not answered within one month.

“I had submitted an RTI plea with the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) of Indore seeking details of tenders and bill payments connected to procurement of medicines, equipment and allied materials during the COVID-19 pandemic period,” Shukla said on Saturday. Since he was not provided the information within one month, he approached the first appellate officer Dr Sharad Gupta, who accepted the plea and directed that he be given the information free of cost, Shukla added.

“I took my SUV to ferry the documents and the entire vehicle got packed. Only the driver’s seat remained free,” he said. When contacted, appellate officer and Regional Joint Director of the state health department Dr Sharad Gupta said he had ordered that the information be given free of cost. Gupta said he had directed the CMHO to take appropriate action against the personnel due to whom the state exchequer lost Rs 80,000 since the information was not given in time. 

Rs 2
Per-page fee for RTI pleas, which was waived off

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