Did Chennai corporation leak personal details of RTI activists to builders?

After an RTI was filed for a building plan in Chrompet, activists say personal information was leaked.
Did Chennai corporation leak personal details of RTI activists to builders?
Did Chennai corporation leak personal details of RTI activists to builders?
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Right to Information activists from Chennai alleged that the Pallavaram municipality corporation divulged personal information about the activists who filed RTIs asking for the plan of a building being constructed in Chrompet.

David Manohar, an RTI activist told The News Minute, “The buildings on the GST road in Chrompet are only allowed to build a stilt and two floors above that. This particular building on the GST road built a stilt and then later a Reliance Fresh store was opened instead of the parking space and all the vehicles are parked on the roads,” he said.

He filed an RTI about a year ago asking for the building plan, but he never received a response. “Then in March, I again filed an RTI but did not get a response in 25 days so I asked my two friends who are also RTI activists and two other locals of the area to file RTIs. I got the response for the RTI April 25, 2017 but it was dated April 12, 2017,” he said.

But soon after that, one of his friends who had filed an RTI received a threatening call from the builder, he said. “The builder asked her why is she filing an RTI, she wants money or a job. The builder had sent people to the hostel where she lives and got her phone number from there. They got her address from the municipality officials, I’m very sure about that,” he said.

Image : The parking space which was given to Reliance Friesh

He noted that this is not the first time this has happened. “If I file an RTI about a road contract, they immediately leak the information to local councillor or political parties and then they question me. This time, without getting the information from the corporation, how did the builder get the address of the activist?” he asked.

Speaking about the response to his RTI, David said, “They replied by saying that no building plan has been sanctioned for the building but a notice has been issued against the building. But the response itself is contradictory. Once, they issue a building plan and if the builder deviates from it, then only they can issue a notice to the builder.”

He added that when he asked the officials if they had leaked the information, they denied it and asked him to speak to the commissioner.

The News Minute contacted the building officer of the municipal corporation, but he refused to comment on the issue.

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