The Times of India; Apr 20, 2011,
NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has asked the Prime Minister's Office to provide details of expenditure incurred on the PM's relatives accompanying him on visits abroad, rejecting the argument by the PMO that it did not have such records.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and protocol division of the external affairs ministry have both said that they do no have these records with an RTI application shuttling between the two departments.
The issue was raised before the CIC which directed the PMO to collect details about the expenses incurred on the foreign travels undertaken by the relatives of the PM from different departments and provide it to the RTI applicant within 20 working days.
The applicant, Ayub Ali of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh, through his RTI application sought to know the details of foreign travels undertaken by the relatives of the PM and rules regarding their travel and expenses incurred on them.
The PMO in reply to the application said that foreign travel of the PM's relatives with the PM is as per convention and there are no specific rules regarding them. It gave only partial details and did not give expenses incurred on such visits, Ali claimed in his plea.
During the hearing by the transparency panel, the PMO told chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra that they do not have records of expenditure incurred on the foreign visits.
The officials said they had requested the MEA for the information but they had returned the application saying the information needs to be furnished by the PMO.
Mishra said, ``We think the appellant (Ayub Ali) had a right to get this information and, therefore, direct the central public information officer to obtain this information from whosoever holds it and provide it to the appellant within 20 working days.''
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