Revised CMDA RTI Officer Nominations

What the document does

The revised orders issued by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority, Administration Division, update responsibility for handling petitions under the Right to Information Act, 2005. They partially modify Office Order No. 12/2022, dated 30 September 2022, based on G.O. (Ms.) No. 130 of the Housing and Urban Development (UD3(2)) Department, dated 15 July 2024.

The changes were required because the posts of Law Officer in the Legal Division and Personnel Managers in the Administration Division, Area Development Unit and Construction Wing were surrendered and will no longer exist. The current revised order number is not stated in the supplied text.

Revised officer nominations

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has assigned the following officers:

• Administration Division, Bills and Establishment: Superintendent as Public Information Officer, Administrative Officer as Appellate Authority.
• Area Development Unit, Bills and Establishment: Superintendent as Public Information Officer, Administrative Officer as Appellate Authority.
• Construction Wing, Bills and Establishment: Superintendent as Public Information Officer, Administrative Officer as Appellate Authority.
• Legal Division: Superintendent as Public Information Officer, Senior Law Officer as Appellate Authority.
• Right to Information and Appeal Division: Assistant Planner as Public Information Officer, Senior Planner as Appellate Authority.

How RTI petitions must be handled

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority requires all Right to Information petitions to be received by the Grievance Cell. The process is:

• The Grievance Cell must create the file and send it to the relevant division.
• The concerned Public Information Officer must send the reply to the petitioner.
• The file must then be returned to the Grievance Cell for maintenance.
• The Administrative Officer, Grievance, must monitor pending Right to Information petitions and their disposal.

Who is affected

The revised nominations directly affect Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority officers who receive, process, answer or hear appeals concerning Right to Information petitions. Members of the public seeking Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority records may be affected because their petitions and appeals will be handled by these nominated posts.

The document does not state any change to land ownership, planning permission, development controls or property charges. Other conditions and instructions in Office Order No. 12/2022 and the proceeding dated 26 March 2024 remain unchanged and must be followed. The revised nominations took immediate effect on 30 December 2024.