Shillong, May 19: After revealing patterns of non-compliance, deliberate information obstruction, and potential maladministration, concerned citizen and advocate Napoleon S Mawphniang has lodged a formal complaint against the District Transport Office (DTO) of Ri-Bhoi District to the highest constitutional authorities in the country, including the President of India, Prime Minister, Governor of Meghalaya, and Chief Minister of Meghalaya.
The complaint lodged on May 17, details systematic evasion of statutory obligations under the RTI Act, 2005, absence of mandatory record-keeping, and critical failures in service delivery that create conditions ripe for corruption and malpractice.
“When public institutions resort to deliberate obfuscation rather than transparency, they betray the very citizens they exist to serve,” said Mawphniang. “The right to information isn’t merely a statutory provision-it’s the oxygen that keeps our democracy alive and breathing.”
The extensive investigation began with a detailed RTI application seeking information on various aspects of the DTO’s functioning. The response received revealed disturbing deficiencies including:
Non-maintenance of essential records required under the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
Systematic redirection to external websites instead of providing specific information
Admission of having no system for citizen feedback or quality metrics
Complete absence of provisions for differently-abled persons
No proactive disclosures under Section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act
No records of staff training on anti-corruption measures
“What we’ve uncovered is not simply administrative negligence, but a deliberate dismantling of accountability frameworks,” Mawphniang said. “When a public office admits to not maintaining records of rejected applications, detection of forged documents or resorting to illegal vehicle modifications, we must ask: what exactly are they hiding, and at what cost to public safety?”
The complaint comes at a critical time when the institutional vacuum created by the non-appointment of a Lokayukta in Meghalaya has deprived citizens of a crucial anti-corruption watchdog. Mawphniang stressed that this situation has forced direct appeals to higher authorities.
