Jorhat IS office mired in controversy over 'missing' RTI application

From a Correspondent

JORHAT, April 19: The Inspector of Schools (IS) office at Jorhat is again in the news after Assam State Chief Information Commissioner Himangshu Shekhar Das, after hearing an appeal case no JRT/8/2014/15 based upon a complaint filed by an RTI activist Gautom Borah, directed the SPIO, Hemen Das, in the office of the Inspector of Schools to file a written submission before the Commission in regard to an RTI application filed under the RTI Act of 2005 that went missing from the IS office even after being received by a Grade IV employee Junu Hatibarua with a sigture receipt on the origil application dated 26-08-2013.

Talking to this correspondent, Gautom Borah said, “A crimil modus operandi cannot be ruled out on the part of the IS office under the then Inspector of Schools Kamal Jyoti Gogoi because how can an RTI application duly received and acknowledged with sigture by a Grade IV employee remain missing for almost two years. The Grade IV employee has in her statement before the Commission confessed to have handed over the RTI application to the then IS Kamal Jyoti Gogoi. As per office records the RTI application was not docketed and apparently not acted upon.  I don’t have to persolly speak about the way of functioning of Kamal Jyoti Gogoi and his association with non-teaching staff of other schools who were attached to the IS office to help clean and clear office as well as RTI files during that period”.

The RTI activist further claimed, “The RTI application was aimed at finding anomalies and corruption prevalent in the IS office related to the education sector, the details of which I would not like to disclose right now but the big question is about the functioning of the office and some staff who are corrupt to the core and intentiolly lost my RTI application. Another question is about the RTI application being directed to the then IS instead of the SPIO Hemen Das to whom it was addressed. Any communication in this matter should have been done by the SPIO and not the IS.”

Meanwhile the present IS Hiren Gogoi, in his statement before the Commission, has stated inter alia, that after he joined as Inspector of Schools, Jorhat on 01-03-2014, he reviewed all pending matters including RTI petitions, but as per the Docket Register, Gautom Borah’s application dated 26-08-2013 was not found. The pending RTI application of Gautom Borah came to his notice only after receiving the Commission’s notice dated 16-03-2015. Thereafter the IS compiled the information and stated that he had already furnished the information to the appellant.