RTI appeal for a copy of RoR parts 1 & 2
Romil Chhadva’s RTI application to the Auroville Foundation on 16th May 2023 stated, “I am a resident of Auroville and my Master List Number is Romel-4855” and requested a copy of Parts 1 & 2 of the Register of Residents (RoR).
Having not received any response from the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of Auroville Foundation for two months he appealed to the First Appellate Authority (FAA) who is the Secretary, Auroville Foundation on 19th July 2023. The CPIO then replied on 8th September 2023, “Please read the information provided in Section 8(5) of the Auroville Foundation Rules 1997”. FAA’s order on the appeal followed three weeks later 4th October 2023 stating, “Please follow the information provided in Section 8(5) of the Auroville Foundation Rules 1997 for your appeal in this regard”.
Aggrieved with the FAA’s Order, Romil Chhadva appealed to the Central Information Commission (CIC). A hearing on his appeal was held by the Central Information Commissioner Smt Anandi Ramalingam on 15th July 2024. “The appellant along with Representative Adv. Suchindran Baskar Narayan remained present through video conference and on behalf of the respondent Ms. Manjula, Dy. Secretary and CPIO attended the hearing through video conference.”
The Respondent tendered their written submissions to the Commission dated five days earlier on 10.07.2024 which, among other details, informed of the Auroville Foundation Rules 1997, Section 8(5)that stated, "The Register shall, at all reasonable times be open for inspection by the members of the Residents Assembly and any member of the Residents Assembly desirous of obtaining a copy of extracts from it, may apply to the Secretary showing the reasons for such application".
The CPIO further explained that “they are ready to provide the information if the Appellant asks the details of any particular resident, as providing the details of all the residents could amount to the disclosure of sensitive information which is against the norms of RTI act, 2005”.
After the hearing, the Commissioner issued the following order (excerpt), on 23rd July 2024 :
The Commission after adverting to the facts and circumstances of the case, hearing both parties and perusal of records, observes that the CPIO has provided an appropriate reply to the RTI Application during the hearing. The written submission of the Respondent is taken on record by the Commission. The Appellant is advised to seek specific information as discussed during the hearing. Additionally, the Commission sternly cautions the Respondent public authority that in future, they shall ensure that replies to the RTI Applications shall be provided within the mandated time frame.
RTI appeal for a copy of the ITSP contract
Romil Chhadva’s RTI application to the Auroville Foundation on 1st June 2023 requested for
- copies of the contracts and memorandum of understanding with ITSP for the works undertaken by the firm in Auroville
- the details of the tender process that led to the award of the contract to ITSP
- details of payments already made and due to be made to ITSP
- “details of who is ultimately paying for the services of ITSP”
- “Instructions, Scope of Work and information given to ITSP for work in Auroville by CPWD and the AVF”
- “Meeting minutes relating to work to be undertaken in Auroville by ITSP”
Having not received any response from the CPIO, Auroville Foundation for over a month, he appealed to the First Appellate Authority (FAA) who is the Secretary, Auroville Foundation on 19th July 2023. The CPIO replied on 8th September 2023 stating, “ITSP was identified by CPWD as per their norms and procedures”.”
Aggrieved with the non-receipt of any order from the FAA, Romil Chhadva appealed to the Central Information Commission (CIC). A hearing on his appeal was held by the Central Information Commissioner Smt Anandi Ramalingam on 15th July 2024. “The appellant along with Representative Adv. Suchindran Baskar Narayan remained present through video conference and on behalf of the respondent Ms. Manjula, Dy. Secretary and CPIO attended the hearing through video conference.”
After the hearing, the Commissioner issued the following order (excerpt) on 23rd July 2024 :
The Commission after adverting to the facts and circumstances of the case, hearing both parties and perusal of records, observes that as per the record no information has been provided by the CPWD and more than 1 year has passed from the date on which the RTI Application was made. Therefore, the Commission directs the CPIO to obtain relevant information on all the points of the RTI Application from the concerned custodian of the record, if required also by invoking Section 5 (4) of the RTI Act and provide a copy of updated reply to the Appellant, within 1 month from the date of receipt of this order, under intimation to the Commission. The CPIO is further directed that while complying with the directions of the Commission, all the personal information/identifying particulars of third parties, if any, should be adequately redacted/blackened out.
The Auroville Foundation Rules 1997, Section 8(5) ought to be dropped
To understand why the Commissioner sternly cautioned “the Respondent public authority that in future, they shall ensure that replies to the RTI Applications shall be provided within the mandated time frame”, it is relevant to note that Section 7 (1) of the RTI Act requires the CPIO to respond “within thirty days of the receipt of the request”.
The Auroville Foundation Rules 1997, Section 8(5) preventing the availability of the RoR in the public domain is misconceived, ill-formulated, and outdated and needs to be dropped. The list of all the current members of the RA along with their date of joining ought to be available publicly online as Auroville is not a secret organisation.
A report by The Hindu last year (see the reference below) noted that “the websites of most Central and State public authorities still don’t put up the information required under all 17 subsections of Section 4 [of the RTI Act]. Experts have said over and over again that if such information is proactively displayed, the number of RTI applications will fall by over 90%.” Auroville Foundation ought to break away from this bureaucratic inertia in the country and set an example in transparent governance by making available all information to the public proactively by the letter and spirit of the RTI Act which says, “It shall be a constant endeavour of every public authority… to provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including the internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information”.
The full CIC Orders on the above 2 RTI appeals are available at these links:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SjfZNTNeSOVLBMaJjE1LzSbSoguDZndT/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mYVPrf8pbPnc7S2g3zKiXqRR1PiKeFuU/view?usp=sharing
Previous articles on 11 RTIs filed in 2022 for which CIC orders were issued on appeal on 13th February 2024 and on 3 of the 7 RTIs filed in 2023 for which CIC orders were issued on appeal on 23rd July 2024 can be accessed from the earlier posts on this blog. The purpose and powers of the RTI Act are given in the first article (Parvesh Debuka) dated 26th July 2024.
Ref: Has the Right to Information…?- The Hindu, 2nd September 2023