A Right to Information (RTI) request into the collapse of a wall at the PA Sangma Stadium in Tura has been partially denied due to the apparent “vagueness” of the questions.
The RTI was filed by Tura MDC and state vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bernard N Marak, with the office of the Deputy Commissioner of West Garo Hills.
The RTI request contained six points, two of which were forwarded for answers to the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs and Deputy Commissioner (Revenue). These concerned requests for the detailed project reports (DPRs) of all the projects within the PA Sangma Stadium. The other related to a question as to whether the land the stadium was built on had been requisitioned or acquired.
The parts of the RTI that were deemed vague and thus went unanswered related to Marak’s desire or copies of work orders, sanction letter, amounts sanctioned by central government, amounts withdrawn; status of each project in percentage terms and date to be completed; inquiry report into the collapse of the wall at the stadium and action taken; complete documentation regarding the collapsed wall.
Marak accused the DC’s office of violating the RTI Act by not answering his queries. “There is no transparency and the district administration is hiding the facts even to RTIs, which is a violation of the RTI Act,” Marak said, adding that the issue will be taken up with the central government as there was no action over the FIR filed earlier “when the wall collapsed the first time.” The present structures are causing “threat to the locality,” he stated.
As Marak mentioned, two wall collapses occured at the PA Sangma Stadium, which is part of the PA Sangma Sports Complex, within the space of 12 months. The first was a retaining wall at the football stadium in June 2023. This month, on June 2, an outer boundary wall near the sewage treatment plant and Indoor Hall 2 collapsed. It was only temporary as the plant and indoor hall are under construction.
Both wall collapses were blamed on heavy rainfall.
