New Delhi, April 21 (IBNS) Non-government organizations (NGOs) getting govt fund will come under the purview of the Right to Information Act( RTI) and will have to comply with the 'duty to publish', section 4(1)(b) , which has 17 manuals incorporating various kinds of information relating to their functioning and management.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday made these observations while passing an order on a petition filed by National Stock Exchange (NSE), challenging a Central Information Commission order which had directed it to disclose information under the Act.
RTI, the brainchild of activist Aruna Roy, has allowed NGOs to successfully expose bunglings in muster-rolls, maintained by the panchayati raj institutions making them more transparent. It is now the turn of NGOs , dealing with public fund and govt aid to be transparent and accountable themsleves.
According to Dr. RS Tolia, Chief Information Commissioner, Uttarakhand, as the state concern in various facets of rural and social development improved and expanded there was an unprecedented expansion of the NGO sector.
“In due course, it was but natural that the sector attracted those who were there simply to make a 'fast-buck', as an enterprise.”
To the extent the public funds they use and utilize, NGOs become amenable to public disclosure, just like any government department, informed Dr. Tolia.
(Reporting by Jayalakshmi Sengupta)
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