State Information Commission (SIC) office is becoming functional in the premises of Suvarna Vidhan Soudha from June 22 in Belagavi. It's the first government office to become functional from the State's second secretariat.
State Information Commissioner B V Geeta informed reporters that the commission, with the jurisdiction of seven districts from Belagavi Revenue Division, will commence the hearing of the pending 4000+ cases.
Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker Visveshwar Hegde-Kageri have made the office and court premises available, she added. There has been a demand to shift some of the government offices to the premises of Suvarna Vidhan Soudha for a while.
"State Information Commission office is the maiden office to be shifted and we expect more offices to shift to the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha premises in the coming days," she expressed.
Earlier, a private building had been identified for the Commission's office but it required Rs 1.20 crore for renovation and annual rent. Hence it was decided to establish the SIC office in the premises of Suvarna Vidhan Soudha, she said.
During the winter session of the state legislature, the commission will shift its working to jurisdictional districts by holding video conferences and conducting workshops, Geeta said.
It has come to the notice that many public information officers were unaware of their responsibilities and delegated powers to their juniors who did not provide information under the provisions of the Right To Information Act. Awareness workshops will stress on such flaws and make everyone aware of their responsibilities, she stated.
Many of the appeals with the commission were due to information not given according to the provisions of the act and the appellate too did not provide justice, she said.