Hindustan Times: Chandigarh: Saturday,
May 28, 2016.
Being
“powerful” in Punjab can even mean not paying power bills! Realty baron and
chief parliamentary secretary of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) NK Sharma
and his companies have together piled up over Rs 1 crore in power bills but the
department, which has decided to name and shame defaulters, is unwilling to
reveal the details under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The Zirakpur
division of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has invoked the
third-party clause of the RTI Act, 2005, which says trade secrets, intellectual
property or information that harms the competitive position of a third party is
exempt from disclosure under Section 8 (1)(d) unless the competent authority is
satisfied that larger public interest warrants disclosure of such information.
The RTI
application filed by Congress leader Manpreet Sandhu had sought information on
all categories of power consumers in Zirakpur whose pending bills are default
is above Rs 1 lakh.
In his reply,
Ashwini Kumar, public information officer (PIO)-cum-executive engineer of
PSPCL, Zirakpur division, has submitted a complete list of defaulters to the
Punjab RTI commission while adding that it is third party information and can’t
be disclosed.
Interestingly,
for not making the disclosure, the power department, as per the RTI rules,
should have given a written notice to Sharma and the latter should have replied
to it within 10 days orally or in writing on why the information must not be
disclosed.
According to
Sandhu, NK Sharma and his group of companies top the list of defaulters with
dues over Rs 1 crore. Claiming ignorance on the pending power bills, NK Sharma
says his younger brother manages the business.
“The power
bills of each housing project are to the tune of Rs 10 to 20 lakh. Outstanding
bills, if any, are paid along with penal interest,” he said.
The power
department’s “third-party” defence has been challenged by Sandhu. RTI
Commissioner Chandar Parkash in his May 24 order has asked both parties to file
their claims and counter claims on the next date of hearing on July 1.
Public
interest versus third party
RTI activists
and former commissioners say the third-party clause holds no water when a
larger public interest is served by providing the information. “Unlike a bank
and customer, there is no fiduciary relationship between power department and
its consumers. It’s is all about interpretation of the law. Unfortunately, in
Punjab, the government departments are subverting the RTI Act as the commission
is more pro-government than pro-people. Power distribution companies can be
pushed to bankruptcy if defaults run into crores of rupees. Revealing the list
of defaulters could act as a deterrent in larger public interest,” a former RTI
commissioner said, pleading anonymity.
RTI activist
Hemant Goswami says Sharma is a chief parliamentary secretary in the government
and the power department is just trying to save an influential politician.
“By invoking
the third-party clause, is the power department claiming that list of
defaulters should not be in the public domain? The department is only
protecting interest of the ruling party and its leaders. When the RTI
commission comprises only hand-picked political appointees of the government,
despite each of these appointments having a dissent note by the leader of
opposition, it raises a larger question if RTI Act itself is being subverted,”
Goswami adds.
Congress
leader Sandhu alleges the commission has given time to Sharma to clear his dues
by July.
“There is a
politician-builder nexus in Punjab and no penalty for default is imposed on the
politically influential. Power connections of common consumers are disconnected
if they fail to pay dues but the powerful can get away with defaults running
into crores,” he said.
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