Anindo Dey, TNN, Feb 28, 2011,
JAIPUR: The first appellate authority and additional chief secretary BB Mohanty has turned down an appeal under RTI Act seeking details of property and income tax returns of all IAS and IPS officers in the state. The RTI application and the subsequent appeal was filed by one Dinesh Bothra from Jodhpur after the department of personnel had denied him information on the same.
Mohanty in his order has stated that the information sought by Bothra is not in public interest and concerns a third party. "Hence there is no need of any further action on it," he has said.
While Bothra is preparing to go for a second appeal to the state information commissioner, Mohanty's reply could turn out to be a pointer to a showdown between the legislature and the executive in the state on the issue. For, chief minister Ashok Gehlot has just a week before Mohanty's reply, indicated the intention of the state in making the assets of state officials public to bring in transparency.
"We have discussed the matter in the cabinet meeting. If all goes as planned, assets of IAS, IPS and other officers will be made public," Gehlot had said in January. This stand came after a decision was taken to put up details of assets and liabilities of all its ministers on the government website.
As per existing norms, bureaucrats belonging to all India services in the state file their property details with the department of personnel. But Bothra had sought details of all immovable property of officers belonging to the all-India services and working in Rajasthan, including IAS, IPS and IFS officers.
The RTI application also sought information from the DoP on what action the department has initiated against those all-India service officers who have not filed returns of their income by January 2010 as is mandated. Besides, it also sought information on whether any of these officers have received any gift worth more than Rs 5,000 last year, details of which are also supposed to be intimated to the DoP within a month of receiving the gift.
However, the DoP had denied information on the same citing reasons of the information being personal. It has also pointed out that the information sought by Bothra involved a third party and hence it cannot be disclosed.
"It's a sheer contradiction. After the chief minister took a decision to put such information on public domain, what is stopping the secretariat in giving me the same. Or is it that the executive does not see in line with the ministers' decision of the same ?" asks Bothra.
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