Economic
Times: New Delhi: Monday, 20 July 2015.
Indian Potash
Limited (IPL), the Rs 15,000-crore fertliser behemoth, is answerable to people
under the Right to Information Act, the full bench of Central Information
Commission has ordered, rejecting arguments that it was established under the
Companies Act, hence exempted from the transparency law.
The direction
by the Central Information Commission (CIC) bench will mean that IPL will have
to set up the RTI application processing body within six weeks with the
appointment of designated CPIOs and Appellate Authority within the company.
The company
has also been directed to put up on its website information about its working
as mandated by the disclosure clause of the Right to Information Act.
In its
submission, IPL had argued that it having been incorporated under the Companies
Act, 1956 was not a public authority as defined under Section 2(h) of the RTI
Act, 2005.
"Furthermore,
in context of the appointment of its Managing Director with the approval of
Central Government, the Respondent (IPL) has relied on the provisions of the
Sections 198, 269 and 309 of the Companies Act, 1956," the CIC noted.
IPL had also
showed two entities, namely Gujarat State Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd. (with
7.87 per cent holding) and Bihar State Cooperative Marketing Union Ltd. (0.42
per cent holding), as non public-authority shareholders.
"As a
result, the total non-governmental funding in IPL has risen to 62.71 per cent
in the tabular representation, from the earlier submission in affidavit...where
it stood at 53.76 per cent," it suggested.
Rejecting the
contention, the Bench said it is evident that the objective behind creation of
IPL still remains its core area of operation which is "rendering support
to the agricultural sector in fulfillment of the government's aims and the
development of the agrarian sector".
The bench,
comprising Information Commissioners Basant Seth, M A Khan Yusufi and
Yashovardhan Azad, said the website of the company gives credit to the
Government of India for structuring its share capital pattern which
acknowledges its allegiance to the government in "no uncertain
terms".
"The
company not only accredits the Government of India for structuring its share
capital sharing pattern but it is also a fact that IPL has been designed so as
to include the Public Sector Fertiliser Companies as its members, to ensure
enhanced reliability, accountability and transparency in the functioning of
IPL," the bench said.
It said it is
a known fact that no government official can hold the post of chairperson or
other board member of a company as controlling affairs of the company unless
the company is a government company.
"Thus it
is apparent that the government exercises its control over the Respondent
company through its officials, appointed as Board of Directors of the
Respondent company," the order said.
The
Commission said it is evident from the above figures as provided by IPL on
their own website, summation of 46.24 per cent of funds undisputedly received
directly or indirectly from the government coffers or is public money.
"It is
also not the Respondent's (IPL) case that the assistance granted to promote the
company was in terms of any general scheme floated by the government, leaving
no doubt that the Respondent was set up to act as the Government's vehicle to
support the nation's agriculture and the farming sector as a whole, with
complete involvement and support of the government," it said.
Directing IPL
to set up RTI processing mechanism in six weeks, the Commission said IPL comes
under the RTI Act as it is enjoying a monopoly status which is state conferred,
as one of the three STEs for import of Potash, besides its vision itself being
delivering a function for the benefit of the public, the farmers to be precise
and thus taking the character of government function or "function...of
public importance and closely related to governmental function..."
"The
Commission holds that the Respondent viz. IPL is a Public Authority," it
said.
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