LAHORE : The Punjab Information Commission (PIC) has stepped in and expressed concerns after three regional offices of the Irrigation Department demanded millions of rupees from a citizen seeking information about flood related expenditures and infrastructure damage under the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013, directing the department to reassess the requests and furnish the remaining information before the next hearing on Aug 10. The intervention came after the Zonal Public Information Officers (PIOs) of the Punjab Irrigation Department D.G. Khan, Bahawalpur and Multan zones issued unusually high fee notices for supplying substantially identical information relating to flood rescue operations, emergency breach closures, structural repairs and budget allocations.
Official correspondence available with Daily Jang shows that Executive Engineer (Operation) Amir Taimoor, acting as the Zonal Public Information Officer for the Chief Engineer Irrigation, D.G. Khan Zone, informed the department’s Public Information Office through a letter dated Aug 3 that the requested information would require photocopying records costing approximately Rs2.30 million.
The office informed the applicant that the requested documents were so voluminous that photocopying charges under the RTI Act must first be deposited. At the notified rate of Rs7 per page, the amount demanded points to an estimated 328,000 pages.
However, the RTI application itself sought only specified categories of information concerning flood management during the 2025-26 season. These included lists of structural damages sustained by embankments, dykes, canals and barrages under the Irrigation Department, total financial allocations utilised for flood rescue operations, emergency breach closures and structural repairs, copies of Form PW-27 prepared for flood-affected areas, and details of the budget allocated for flood rescue and structural repair works during the 2026-27 financial year.
Officials said the request sought only consolidated records and supporting documents, not complete files. The matter was taken up by the Punjab Information Commission on Aug 3, which questioned the department’s claim of voluminous records and directed the Irrigation Department to provide the remaining information by Aug 10.
Following the directive, Chief Public Information Officer Irrigation Department Hassan wrote to zonal officers, noting that the Rs2.30 million demand implied nearly 328,000 pages had been assessed, despite the applicant seeking only specific records related to structural damages, flood expenditures, Form PW-27 documents and budget allocations.
Referring to Section 2(f), which defines “information”, and Section 13 of the Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act, 2013, dealing with the provision of information, the Chief Public Information Officer directed the Zonal PIO to re-evaluate the request in accordance with the Act and the Punjab Information Commission’s guidelines and provide the requisite information before Aug 10.
A copy of the directive was also forwarded to the Additional Secretary (Administration), Irrigation Department, for information and necessary action. The correspondence shows that similar directions were issued to the Multan and Bahawalpur zones after comparable fee demands came to light.
The Multan Zone demanded approximately Rs650,000 for the same categories of information, estimating that the record comprised nearly 92,000 pages, while the Bahawalpur Zone sought around Rs800,000 after assessing the requested material at approximately 114,000 pages.
The Chief Public Information Officer directed zonal officers to reassess the page estimates and process the requests under Sections 2(f) and 13 of the RTI Act, noting that the nearly identical fee demands raised by three zones appeared disproportionate. Transparency advocates said such charges should not hinder citizens’ right to information. The Punjab Information Commission will review compliance on Aug 10.
