A media official from the ministry said that the Information Officer has been temporarily relieved of duties, and a written caution has been issued advising such actions not be repeated.
Ministry of Housing, Land and Urban Infrastructure has said that they failed to attend a hearing scheduled by the Information Commissioner's Office (iCOM) due to the negligence of a staff member, who has since been taken action against.
In a statement, the Ministry said that it places high priority on disclosing information within set durations in response to Right to Information (RTI) requests submitted.
As iCOM levied fines against the Ministry, and this was a result of the employee's negligence, action has now been taken against the individual in accordance with Civil Service regulations, the statement said.
A media official from the ministry said that the Information Officer has been temporarily relieved of duties, and a written caution has been issued advising such actions not be repeated.
An individual lodged a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office stating they had not received any response to an RTI request submitted to the ministry. iCOM then scheduled a meeting with the ministry for November 7 to further look into the matter.
The Right to Information regulations state that if the ministry cannot attend the meeting for a justifiable reason, then they must notify the commission an hour before the meeting time at the latest.
Housing Ministry was fined by MVR 350 for failing to comply with this regulation.
This is the first time the the commission has taken such an action. Previously, the Commission has filed a complaint at the Prosecutor General's Office against the President's Office for not complying with their rulings.
The Ministry said that related policies are being reviewed to prevent having to face fines and other such measures.
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