Times of India: New Delhi: Monday, 28 July 2014.
Air Force
Sports Complex is a public authority under the Right to Information Act, a full
bench of the Central Information Commission has held rejecting its contention
that it was a private body.
AFSC had
argued that it was a private body which was not substantially financed by the
government and hence it was not liable to provide any response to RTI
applicants.
A full bench
comprising chief information commissioner Rajiv Mathur and information
commissioners Sharat Sabharwal and M Sridhar Acharyulu rejected the arguments
as it found that the government had given the complex substantial land which
was a kind of indirect funding.
Documents
supplied by the Defence Estate Officer showed that according to their records,
IAF authorities were in occupation of 126.948 acres of ministry of urban
development land at Air Force Station, Race Course. According to DEO, out of
100 acres allotted to defence ministry for construction of race course area,
52.80 acres was formally transferred to defence ministry on which the complex
is located. It also came to the notice of the commission that top defence
officers were in control of the AFSC management.
.JPG)
.JPG)
