Indian
Express: Mumbai: Saturday, 26 September 2015.
In a landmark
ruling, the Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra, Ratnakar Gaikwad,
has brought the offices of all ministers and ministers of state under the ambit
of the Right to Information Act.
Gaikwad, in
an order dated September 24, has directed the Maharashtra government to appoint
RTI officials and an appeals authority in the office of each minister. He has
issued the order on a complaint filed by a journalist Govind Tupe. Tupe had
complained that the Social Justice Department had in July this year denied him
information pertaining to the purchase of a house in London, where Dr BR
Ambedkar had stayed for two years in 1918.
During the
hearing, the commission stated, “Offices of ministers have been set up by
government... these perform several duties receiving files from various
departments, applications from people and complaints from the public, and
correspond with various authorities/offices...”
Gaikwad has
maintained that no government office can deny information under RTI. In other
words, his order has brought the ministers’ actions and behaviour under public
scrutiny.
Anil Galgali,
an RTI activist, has welcomed Gaikwad’s order. “It will help bring transparency
in government functioning. It is sad that activists still need to rush to
higher authorities to get the government to work,” he said. With the
Commission’s order, letters written by ministers, the recommendations they
make, and other details such as their daily schedule, are expected to be made
available through RTI requests.
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