Calcutta Telegraph: New Delhi: Wednesday, May 16, 2012.
The Central Information Commission has directed the Prime Minister’s Office to display on its website the process of selecting the Haj goodwill delegation and the names of its members.
Information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi, using powers under the Right to Information Act, directed the PMO to display the information in line with the mandatory proactive disclosure clause of the transparency law.
The directive follows an RTI application filed by Abdul Rashid Hanjura of Jammu and Kashmir, who had sought to know why he was not selected for the Haj goodwill delegation.
Hanjura claimed that he had a 30-year practice at the Bar and had been associated with social and voluntary causes but despite his application with the PMO and the external affairs ministry, he was not included.
The external affairs ministry, while replying to his RTI application, said it sends the goodwill delegation to Saudi Arabia during the Haj season.
“The delegation includes eminent Muslim personalities such as Union ministers, MPs, MLAs, etc. Many persons send recommendations for their inclusion in the delegation but the strength of the Haj goodwill delegation varies from 20 to 35,” the ministry said.
“Hence the number of delegates is limited. The composition and size of the goodwill delegation is determined at the highest level and with the approval of the Prime Minister, it is finalised,” it said.
Gandhi said the applicant was basically seeking to understand the criteria for selecting the delegation.
“This information should ideally be disclosed suo motu as per provisions of Section 4(1)(b)(xii) of the RTI Act,” he said.
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