Power of a ₹10 RTI: Man Recovers ₹3.35 Lakh After 8-Year Wait

A remarkable case highlighting the power of the Right to Information Act has emerged from Panipat, where a woman finally received her long-stuck payment with interest after her relative filed a simple ₹10 RTI application. 

The Haryana Urban Development Authority Panipat (HSVP) was forced to return ₹3,35,396 including ₹98,390 interest on an original deposit of ₹2,37,006 that had been stuck for eight years. This dramatic turnaround occurred only after the State Information Commission stepped in following an RTI query. 

The Long-Standing Case

According to RTI activist P.P. Kapoor, his cousin sister Usha Vaid from Ramesh Nagar, Tehsil Camp Panipat, had deposited ₹2,37,006 with HSVP Panipat on July 18, 2017. She had paid this amount to obtain a plot under the Oustee quota after her agricultural land was acquired. For eight long years, HSVP kept giving her the runaround - no plot, no money back, nothing. Every time she asked, officials just looked the other way. Her money was just sitting there, trapped in government files gathering dust. 

How RTI Finally Got Things Moving 

Things finally started to move when Vaid lost her patience and marched down to the HSVP Panipat office, filed a written complaint on the Estate Officer's desk on March 22, 2024. After they tossed that aside too, she decided enough was enough. Her secret weapon? A plain old RTI application filed on May 1, 2024, basically asking them, "So what exactly have you done about my complaint anyway?" 

The information officer and Estate Officer completely blew off her RTI request. Even when she appealed to higher-ups at HSVP Rohtak, they pretended not to hear. Left with no choice, she took her case to the State Information Commission. 

Money Appeared Like Magic After Commission Stepped In

Dr. Kulbir Chhikara at the Information Commission didn't mess around. He sent a notice telling the Estate Officer to show up and explain themselves in Panchkula on March 5. 

Suddenly, these same officials who couldn't be bothered for years got real nervous. The Estate Officer scrambled to transfer ₹3,35,396 (with ₹98,390 interest) into her account on March 4 - literally the day before they had to face the Commission. = At the hearing, Dr. Chhikara still wasn't having it. He issued a notice asking why they shouldn't pay a ₹25,000 fine for stonewalling her information request.

Calls for Stronger Accountability

Kapoor stated that they won't stop at just recovering the money. "The guilty Estate Officer will not only face penalties from the State Information Commission but will also be dragged to the Lokayukta Court," he said.

He emphasized that departmental punitive action should be taken against such officials, and the interest amount paid from the government treasury should be recovered from the salaries of these guilty officers.