RTI activists welcome CIC's latest decision: PMO told to disclose criteria for selection of Haj delegation.

The Hindu: Madurai: Saturday, May 19, 2012.

Right To Information activists here have welcomed the recent order of Central Information Commission (CIC) directing the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) to upload details of the criteria for selection of the annual Haj goodwill delegation to Saudi Arabia and names of the delegation members on its website forthwith and update them every year.

Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi had issued the direction to the Public Information Commissioner of the PMO while disposing of a second appeal filed by Abdul Rashid Hanjura, a lawyer-cum-social activist from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the criteria for selection should have been ideally disclosed suo motu under the Right To Information Act 2005.

Hailing the decision, RTI activist R. Sampath here said that the CIC's order would serve activists such as himself to insist that every government department must open up and begin disclosing information they were bound to provide suo motu without waiting for an RTI application. Many departments, he contended, were still withholding information that must be put up in the public domain. In the case of Mr. Hanjura, he wanted to know why he was not included in the annual Haj goodwill delegation despite specific requests made to many authorities.

He alleged that only those having political backing were included in the delegation ever since 1965 though it was projected to be a team comprising people from a cross section of the society.

Replying to his RTI application, the Union Ministry of External Affairs said that the delegation sent to Saudi Arabia in the years since 1965 comprised, among others, eminent Muslim personalities such as Union Ministers, Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies. It was also stated that the Ministry received many recommendations for inclusion in the delegation. However, all of them could not be accommodated as the strength of the delegation was limited between 20 and 35 people. It was also said that the composition and size of the Haj goodwill delegation was determined at the highest level and finalised with the approval of the Prime Minister. During the enquiry conducted by the CIC too, the MEA's counsel said that information regarding criteria for selection was not available with it as the delegation was actually selected by the PMO. Hence, the CIC chose to invoke its powers under the RTI Act and issued the directions to the PIO at the PMO.