Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils: Inside an RTI Battle Over Withheld Beneficiary Records

An in-depth look at how Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils became the subject of a nine-month RTI battle, detailing the struggles faced by local communities in their quest for transparency and accountability. This exploration delves into specific case numbers, key contacts involved in the process, and the varied outcomes that emerged from the intensive efforts of citizens advocating for their rights. The journey not only highlights the bureaucratic hurdles encountered but also underscores the resilience of individuals committed to securing just compensation and aid following the devastating floods.

Introduction (Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils)

Floods strike fast. So relief funds should move just as fast — reaching the people who need them, openly and without obstruction. But when a citizen of Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, tried to find out exactly who received Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils, he hit eight months of silence, missed deadlines, and incomplete disclosures instead. This is the story of RTI Case No. S05/A/0617/2026. It’s now pending before the Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission. And it shows how even a simple request for public spending records on Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils can turn into a long legal fight.

Overall, the case offers a useful roadmap for anyone navigating India’s RTI system. In fact, it touches nearly every stage the law provides: an original application, a first appeal, a second appeal, a Commission order, a compliance report, and now a dispute over whether that compliance report actually satisfies the order. Each stage, in turn, carries its own paperwork, timeline, and reference number. Therefore, tracking them accurately matters almost as much as the underlying information itself.

The Question That Started It All (Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils)

The applicant, Yogi M P Singh (Mahesh Pratap Singh), lives in Mohalla Surekapuram, Jabalpur Road, Mirzapur City. Specifically, he filed an RTI application on 08/12/2025. His target: information about Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils, particularly assistance disbursed in Village Panchayat Nibi Gaharwar, Development Block Chhanbey, Tehsil Sadar, District Mirzapur. In short, his seven-point query was simple in principle:

• How many applications for flood relief did the village submit?
• How many beneficiaries actually received assistance under Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils schemes?
• What are their names and their fathers’ names?
• Can the office provide certified copies of the beneficiary list?
• What government orders or circulars govern the distribution of this relief?
• Which government officials handled the disbursement?
• Does a public web link track this information regularly?

After all, the Right to Information Act, 2005, exists to make these kinds of questions easy to answer. Instead, the applicant’s journey through the system shows how procedural delay can quietly undermine transparency around Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils.

Timeline of the RTI Journey

Step One: The Original Application

To begin with, the original RTI application carries Registration Number DMOMR/R/2025/60361. The applicant filed it on 08/12/2025 through the UP RTI Online portal, addressing it to the Public Information Officer at the District Magistrate’s Office, Mirzapur. Under the law, Section 7(1) of the RTI Act requires the PIO to respond within 30 days. However, that deadline passed on 07/01/2026 without a word — the first sign that getting a clear picture of Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils would not be simple.

Step Two: The First Appeal

Consequently, the law calls this silence a “Deemed Refusal” under Section 7(2). As a result, the applicant escalated the matter with a First Appeal, Registration Number DMOMR/A/2026/60003, filed on 12/01/2026 before the First Appellate Authority (FAA) at the District Magistrate’s Office. At that point, the concerned appellate authority, Asha Ram Verma, was expected to direct the PIO to release the records on Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils. Yet again, that didn’t happen. In the end, the appeal drew no substantive resolution.

Step Three: The Second Appeal to the State Commission

Since both the original application and the first appeal had stalled, the applicant filed a Second Appeal with the Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission on 19/04/2026. Accordingly, the Commission formally registered this appeal as:

• Case Number: S05/A/0617/2026
• Appeal Registration Number: A-20260401822

Subsequently, the Commission assigned the matter to Hearing Room S-5, under presiding officer and State Information Commissioner Padum Narayan Dwivedi.

The June Order — And a Compliance Gap

First, the Commission issued its notice on 22/05/2026. Then it fixed a hearing for 04/06/2026 and directed both the PIO and the FAA to submit written statements in advance. However, neither party complied. Notably, the hearing record notes both sides were absent. Meanwhile, the Commission also found that the PIO had, by email, admitted the requested information on Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils still hadn’t reached the applicant.

As a result, the Commission’s order that day was direct. Specifically, it instructed the PIO to send the complete, point-wise information to the applicant by registered post within two weeks, file proof of dispatch, and appear at the next hearing. Otherwise, the alternative was a penalty of ₹250 per day, up to a maximum of ₹25,000, under Section 20(1) of the RTI Act for willful non-compliance. Ultimately, the Commission fixed the case for further hearing on 18/08/2026.

What the Public Authority Eventually Filed

More than two months after the deadline, the Tehsildar Sadar’s office finally issued a response. Specifically, Letter No. 87/RaLi0-JanSuchna/2026-27, dated 14/08/2026, went before the Commission as a compliance report on 17/08/2026. On paper, the letter answered all seven points. Notably, it included one striking disclosure about Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils: 199 beneficiaries received flood relief assistance in Nibi Gaharwar for the 2025–2026 year. In addition, the letter named Pavan Kumar Shukla, Lekhpal, as the responsible official, and pointed to www.rahat.nic.in as the official web portal for ongoing updates on relief disbursement.

However, the letter’s claims never turned into actual delivery. For instance, it stated that the beneficiary list, certified copies, and the relevant government order were “attached.” Yet none of it reached the applicant — not by the registered post the Commission had specifically ordered, and not to the applicant’s own registered email address either. Therefore, this raises a serious question under Section 7(6) of the Act: has information on Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils really been furnished, or only claimed to have been furnished?

Directory of Concerned Public Authorities

For reference, readers following this case, or filing similar RTI requests about Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils, can use these contact points and reference numbers on record.

Applicant / Appellant

• Name: Yogi M P Singh
• Mobile: 7379105911
• Email: yogimpsingh@gmail.com

Public Information Officer (PIO)

• Name: Vishal Kumar Sharma, Tehsildar Sadar, Mirzapur
• Office: Revenue Department, Sadar Tehsil, District Mirzapur, U.P. – 231001
• Mobile: 9454416823
• Email: teh-sadar.mi@up.gov.in

First Appellate Authority (FAA)

• Office: SDM Sadar, Revenue Department, Mirzapur Tehsil, U.P. – 231001
• Mobile: 9454416810

Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission

• Address: 7/7A, RTI Bhawan, Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow
• Hearing Room: S-5
• Presiding Officer: Padum Narayan Dwivedi, State Information Commissioner
• Hearing correspondence email: hearingcourts5.upic@up.gov.in
• Online portal: https://upsic.up.gov.in/

Application & Case Reference Numbers

• Original RTI Application: DMOMR/R/2025/60361 (filed 08/12/2025)
• First Appeal: DMOMR/A/2026/60003 (filed 12/01/2026)
• Second Appeal Case Number: S05/A/0617/2026
• Second Appeal Registration Number: A-20260401822
• Applicant’s KOF (04/06/2026): Diary No. D-040620260003
• PIO’s Compliance Report KOF (17/08/2026): Diary No. D-170820260103
• Applicant’s Follow-up Submission KOF (19/08/2026): Diary No. D-190820260022

Relevant Government Web Resource

• Flood relief disbursement tracking: www.rahat.nic.in

Why Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils Transparency Matters

On the surface, this looks like a dispute over a spreadsheet — a list of 199 names. But underneath, the issue goes to the heart of what the RTI Act protects: the public’s ability to verify that Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils actually reaches the people it’s meant for, rather than disappearing into unaccountable bureaucratic channels. After all, flood relief is time-sensitive. Moreover, officials often distribute it under pressure. As a result, it becomes especially vulnerable to errors, favoritism, or leakage — exactly what transparency is supposed to catch.

A Structural Compliance Problem

Indeed, the nine-month gap between the original application and a still-incomplete response points to a structural problem. Even when the RTI Act’s escalation ladder — PIO, First Appeal, Second Appeal, Commission order — works exactly as designed, enforcement still depends on public authorities actually complying with Commission directives. In other words, a written claim of “documents attached” that never reaches the applicant isn’t a technicality. Rather, it marks the real difference between transparency delivered and transparency merely promised, especially on a subject as sensitive as Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils.

A Lesson for Other RTI Applicants

Beyond this specific case, there’s also a broader lesson for other RTI applicants. Throughout the process, every stage generated its own diary number, registration number, or KOF (compliance report) reference. Meanwhile, the Commission’s online case-tracking system logs each filing separately, whether the citizen or the public authority submits it. Consequently, applicants who keep a careful record of these numbers stand in a much stronger position to flag gaps, delays, or partial compliance when they arise. For example, that’s exactly what happened here, when the difference between “submitted” and “approved and added to file” status became relevant to assessing whether the hearing officer had actually accepted a compliance report.

The Value of Persistence

Similarly, cases like this one show why persistence matters more than most first-time RTI applicants expect. Admittedly, it would have been easy to treat the PIO’s silence after the original December 2025 application as a dead end. Instead, each missed deadline became grounds for the next stage of appeal. Likewise, each hearing before the Commission added a new layer of documented pressure on the public authority to comply. Ultimately, that incremental, procedural persistence — appeal after appeal, submission after submission — often produces results on issues like Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils, even when it takes far longer than the law’s original 30-day timeline allows.

What Happens Next

For now, the case remains open, following the most recent hearing fixed for 18/08/2026. In response, the applicant has filed a fresh written submission (Diary No. D-190820260022). Specifically, it asks the Commission to treat the PIO’s compliance report as incomplete, to direct actual delivery of the beneficiary list by both registered post and email, and to proceed with the penalty and disciplinary action the June order first contemplated.

Meanwhile, readers can track the case directly. Simply search the appeal registration number, A-20260401822, on the UP State Information Commission’s public portal at https://upsic.up.gov.in/.

Frequently Asked Questions About Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils

Q: How many beneficiaries received flood relief in Mirzapur Tehsils for 2025–2026? A: According to the Tehsildar Sadar’s office, 199 beneficiaries received assistance in Village Panchayat Nibi Gaharwar for the 2025–2026 relief year.

Q: Which official handles flood relief in Nibi Gaharwar? A: Specifically, the PIO’s compliance letter, dated 14/08/2026, names Pavan Kumar Shukla, Lekhpal, as the responsible official.

Q: Where can I track official flood relief disbursement data in Uttar Pradesh? A: For this purpose, the state government maintains a tracking portal at www.rahat.nic.in.

Q: How can I follow this RTI case? A: Simply search Appeal Registration Number A-20260401822 on the UP State Information Commission’s portal at https://upsic.up.gov.in/.

Conclusion (Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils)

Ultimately, filing an RTI application often marks just the first step in a much longer process. Therefore, citizens seeking accountability on Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils — or any other public welfare spending — need persistence through appeals and a willingness to hold authorities to the letter of Commission orders. In the end, that effort frequently matters as much as the original request itself.bility on Flood Relief in Mirzapur Tehsils — or any other public welfare spending — need persistence through appeals and a willingness to hold authorities to the letter of Commission orders. That effort frequently matters as much as the original request itself.