NEW BUILDING: UTTAR PRADESH INFORMATION COMMISSION

The new building of the State Information Commission, Uttar Pradesh is indicative of the
new era of changes that the public sector in India is going through. It is one of the first
government offices in India that is built according to what was known till now as the private
sector standard of infrastructure. The office was situated in 6 th Floor Indira Bhawan and has
now shifted to Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar.
The grey coloured building stands with a posh architecture and provides for all the modern
facilities along with lush greenery. The security of the building has been taken special care of.
There are prompt and attentive guards dressed in black. CCTV cameras are installed all
around the building including inside lifts. The building is equipped with an elaborate fire
safety system which includes smoke sensors and sprinklers. The building also has a parking
system that allows only pass bearers to park inside it thus strengthening the security of the
building. The general public has to park its vehicles outside the building. There are separate
Driver Room and Guard Room for the staff.
The building comprises of four floors and has two main entrances and exits, one on the front
government sector and has three lifts. There are courts on each floor that are accessible by the
general public from the front door and by the commissioners and his staff from the back door.
The courts are well furnished with a proper dias and seating arrangement for the general
public. There is an Electronic display board outside each court that is programmed to display
the cause list of each day, a printed copy of which is displayed on a soft board right below it.
The corridors of each floor serve as a waiting lounge. Metal benches have been put on each
floor to provide for the seating of the general public. The building seems to be divided into
two parts- the front portion that is accessible to both staff and general public and the back
portion which mainly comprises of all the offices and is accessible by the staff and only
selectively accessible to the general public.
The structure provides for basic amenities such as separate toilets for men and women, water
coolers and dustbins on each floor enabling good hygiene and sanitation. A fine of Rs. 500
will be charged if anyone is found spitting on the walls or dirtying the premises, which has
been mentioned at several places around the building including the stairs.
Each floor is slightly different from the other providing for the structural assistance in
carrying out the functions of the organisation.

FIRST FLOOR : The first floor is the most important floor as it holds two very important
departments of the office- the Registry department and the Enquiry department.
The Registry department deals with the receiving, sorting and registering of various documents
submitted to it. The documents are first received and sent for scrutiny. After that they are sent to
the registrar for approval and then are finally sorted into three categories- return, appeal and
complaint. Then they are dealt with according to their nature.

The enquiry section serves many purposes. People can enquire about any queries and regarding
the cause list or their cases next date. Apart from this it works as a Public Addressal Forum, i.e. it
can be used to make any kind of announcements.
Another important feature is the Storage and Copying Section. The storage section is very
advanced with shifting racks that are controlled by wheels. Each court has been provided one
section of the racks except for court S-7 which is currently vacant. A separate section of normal
almirahs right behind the racks has been devoted to the files of S-7.
The copying section is yet to be started. It will be helpful to people if they want copies of their
original documents made without having them to waste time outside.
This floor is also equipped with insinuators which is used to burn files which are no more in use.

SECOND FLOOR : The State Information Commission building consists of a plush

conference room with modern interior office design which facilitates video conferencing. It is
located on the Second floor.
Also, there are separate work stations for Commissioners staff equipped with latest working
facilities.

THIRD FLOOR : The third floor is more or less like the second floor with work stations
and courts. Its only differentiating feature is its guest room. The guests of the Information
Commissioners are seated here till the officers are occupied.

FOURTH FLOOR : This floor can also be known as the Administrative Floor as all the
administrative officers sit here including the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Finance Officer and
Chief Programmer. Apart from this, two rooms are provided to the Directorate of
Information.
Room no. 401 and 402 have been stacked with old files , whose final order will retained and
the rest of the documents will be burned for which insinuators have been installed in the
building.
The Server Room is also on this floor. There are two types of servers in the office- Database
server and the Electronic Board Server.
The Canteen is also situated on this floor, the purpose being that it is not unnecessarily
crowed during the day and is used only when needed.
Overall, the building is a wonderful and sophisticated piece of architecture which is a great
achievement in the field of Government Architecture. Some of the remarkable features like
shifting racks controlled by wheels , central air conditioning system and modern interior
design are first of their kind and have greatly aided in the proper and smooth functioning of
the office. The new building of the State Commission in Uttar Pradesh is a wonderful
example of sophisticated workplace and is a huge leap in the makeover of Government
Offices.

NEW WEBSITE

A new bilingual website has also been launched recently. The old
web site had various shortcomings which have been taken care of in the new version. The
new version states Article 4 (1) (b) which states all the information that can be asked for from
the government authorities and are not classified information, in 16 points. The new website
provides for the updation of the cause list. People can access it without having to run to the
office every now and then. The status of ones case can also be checked through the website
now. There is a Monthly Progress Report and an Annual Report highlighting the workings
and achievements of the commission.
Apart from all this the website also provides for the bare act of The Right To Information Act,
2005 and Rules. It also mentions all its Press Release/Media Report, Major Events and also
has an elaborate photo gallery.