Jalandhar, October 11
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has asked the sub-registrar-cum-tehsildar, Jalandhar-I, to appear in person on October 29 and show cause as to why he did not comply with the orders passed by the forum regarding the returning of the registered documents to a complainant.

In the orders passed by the forum on July 23, the president M.M. Bhalla had asked the tehsildar to return the registered documents to the complainant and drop his reference made to the collector for recovery of alleged enhanced stamp duty on the allegation of enhanced market price. The forum had even announced a compensation of Rs 5000 to the complainant and Rs 3000 as the costs of litigation.

The complainant, Jatinder Singh, a resident of Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar here, had said a plot (no.766) in Urban Estate-Phase-II had been allotted to him on March 21, 1985 for a consideration of Rs 38,250 payable in four installments. He had said all the installments had been paid by him and there was nothing due against him. “The sale price was fixed by the estate officer (EO) of PUDA but I had no role to play in the matter,” he said and alleged that after repeated requests, the EO executed the sale deed on August 4, 2005 in his favour on stamp paper purchased by him, payable on the sale price of Rs 38,250. The same was presented before the tehsildar on September 7, 2005.

Jatinder said while it was the duty of the EO to pay the stamp and registration expenses, he was compelled to pay it himself. “After the sale deed had been registered by the tehsildar and entered in the relevant register, it was his duty to deliver the sale deed to me. But the tehsildar failed to deliver the deed despite repeated requests” he said adding that due to non-delivery of the sale deed, he had to suffer a huge financial loss as he could not deal with the plot. He (the plaintiff) demanded delivery of the sale deed number 4994 and a compensation of Rs 10,000.

The opposition parties, including the tehsildar and EO, in their reply, had held the complainant guilty of paying improper stamp duty and registration fee and said he was liable to pay the deficiency amount of stamp fee and registration fee. They said he was informed that the sale deed was under-valued and he was required to pay stamp duty and registration expenses.

The forum took cognizance of various related cases in different courts. It observed that not returning the documents after registration was a deficiency of service and making reference to the collector after many days of registration of documents was another inadequacy. The forum had thus allowed the complaint.

Jalandhar, October 11
The State Information Commission, Punjab, will be completing two years tomorrow. Displaying efficiency, the commission disposed off 2,561 cases out of 3,101 cases received between December, 2005, and September, 2007. With the commission having such a record, some people still feel the Right to Information (RTI) Act is not being properly implemented.

Talking to The Tribune, state information commissioner P.P.S. Gill said, “The Right to Information Act has helped the people a lot to get information.” However, he did admit that there were some problems in the implementation of the act. He said, “There are some provisions in the act which are still to be implemented by the state government. The provisions include creating awareness among the people.” It should be noted that according to the act, all provisions should have been implemented within 120 days after the act came into force. However, he said the information officers should try not to delay in giving information.

Advocate K.C. Malhotra, who has used the act frequently for his various consumer cases, feels that the improper implementation of the act is the only lacuna. The act is no doubt a strong instrument but the way it is being implemented is little disturbing.

He said, “The information officers are not properly trained due to which RTI applicants have to suffer. In fact in many departments no description of how to use the act has been displayed on notice boards, forcing people to depend on officials’ advice.”

Besides, the proper protocol to be followed for submitting application is also not mentioned on the display boards in all government offices. He certainly feels efforts are required to create awareness among masses about the act.

Agreeing to advocate Malhotra is Madan Lal Aneja, who sorted information using the act. Aneja submitted an application under the RTI Act and his case is still going on in the Haryana State Information Commission.

He said, “The act is indeed a help as it makes it mandatory for the officials to provide information. But the improper implementation of the act is a drawback. Sometimes, information officers provide incomplete information and that too not in time.”

He said most of the information commissioners were retired IAS officers and had a soft corner for public authorities. So their bureaucratic attitude acted as hindrance in the development of cases resulting in the delay in their resolution.

However, opting a neutral view, advocate Arvind Sharda said, “From the day of its enforcement, the act has always helped people, though there may be some negligible cases where people have been dissatisfied.”

Kapurthala, October 11
Classical music aficionados will be treated to three days of bliss at the forthcoming Baba Jassa Singh Kapurthala Heritage to be held here against the backdrop of the majestic Jagatjit Place from October 18. On the concluding day of the three-day festival, noted sufi and folk singer Hans Raj Hans will perform. Unveiling the programme, deputy commissioner J. M. Balamurugan, said the sixth edition of the event would further add to the glory of the festival that has drawn tremendous response from the people in the past five years.

This year too the festival would be held under the aegis of Kapurthala Heritage Trust and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), he added.

He said Kapurthala state, known as the Paris of the Orient, has a rich classical past with eminent singers of yore flourishing under the patronage of its rulers. The present effort was aimed at reviving the rich past, especially for the youth who are unaware of our legacy, he said.

The DC said Bhai Mohinder Singh would perform kirtan on the opening day followed by recital of Thumri and Sufiana Kalam by Shafaqat Ali Khan from Pakistan who is an exponent of the Sham Chaurasi Gharana. On the second day renowned classical vocal singer Shuba Mudgal will regale the audience followed by a performance by Manjari Chaturvedi.