The Hindu: Bangalore: Sunday,
September 11, 2016.
It took an
RTI activist almost a year and an appeal to the President of India’s office to
get details about Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala’s flight
expenditure. When T. Narasimhamurthy finally got the information, he learned
that in the last 20 months, the governor had spent nearly Rs 2.89 crore.
The activist
had filed an RTI application on August 21, 2015, seeking information about the
air travel expenditure that the Governor had incurred.
“They did not
give me the information within 30 days as is mandated by the RTI Act. I filed
an appeal with the First Appellate Authority and was called for a hearing on
November 9, 2015,” Mr. Narasimhamurthy said.
The Authority
dismissed the appeal stating that a special leave petition was pending before
the Supreme Court of India.
He filed a
fresh application on June 17, 2016, and simultaneously filed an RTI with the
President of India seeking details about Karnataka Governor’s air travels.
The
governor’s office sent a reply on July 4 citing the same special leave petition
on whether the governor’s office comes under the purview of RTI.
Meanwhile,
the President of India’s office also sent a reply saying that the papers were
transferred to Karnataka Chief Secretary. “I received all the details from the
Karnataka government on August 29,” Mr. Narasmihamurthy said.
In the last
20 months, the Governor had spent nearly Rs. 2.89 crore on air travel
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