The Central Information Commission has directed the Public Works Department to furnish pending information related to the construction of the Jwala Puri hospital and to follow proactive disclosure norms for all construction projects. The order was passed by Information Commissioner Vinod Kumar Tiwari after hearing an appeal filed by Vijay Pal Bargujar.
Bargujar had approached the Commission after his RTI application, filed in November 2023, failed to yield any clear response. He had sought details about the alleged non-display of the mandatory project name board at the hospital construction site, actions taken on a related public grievance, and file notings connected to the case. According to him, the missing signage violated building laws, and his grievance filed on the PG portal in January 2023 had remained unattended for months.
During the hearing, the PWD’s Health Maintenance Electrical Division (South-West) stated that the information was not available in its records and that the relevant documents were actually held by the PWD (Health) Central division. The Commission noted this lapse and directed the concerned PIO to invoke Section 5(4) of the RTI Act to obtain the required information from the actual custodian and supply it to the appellant within the prescribed timeline.
While disposing of the appeal, the Commission issued a separate advisory under Section 25(5) of the RTI Act. It reminded the PWD that construction-related details such as project name, developer, layout, permissions, sanctions and timelines should be published online without waiting for RTI requests. The order cited recent CIC cases where agencies like the Delhi Development Authority had already begun disclosing tender documents, measurement books and payment data on their websites, and noted that such transparency helps reduce the burden of RTI applications.
The Commission also referred to directions of the Supreme Court in Kishan Chand Jain v. Union of India, which stressed the need for accessible public information. It asked the PWD’s First Appellate Authority to ensure compliance with the instructions.
Case Details : Vijay Pal Bargujar vs PIO, O/o. the Executive Engineer-(E), PWD, Health Maintenance Electrical Division, South West, DAP Line, Vikaspuri, New Delhi-110018.
