CIC directs ministry and SAI to put up roster of events on their websites

Times of India: New Delhi: Wednesday, August 23, 2017.

The refusal to share a schedule of sporting events in the country has got the Ministry of Sports into trouble with the CIC. The apex information commission came down hard on the sports ministry as well as the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for not providing the information to the RTI applicant, Deepak Sandhu.

Information commissioner Sridhar Acharyulu while directing the ministry and SAI to provide the information has also directed them to proactively put up the roster of events on their websites. Acharyulu added that such a "proactive disclosure" was mandatory under the Right to Information Act.

The order came on an RTI application by Sandhu, who had sought certified copies of roster of various sporting events, that come under the ministry, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and their subordinate authorities, conducted in a year. However, public information officer of the sports ministry had said the information would be provided by SAI, but failed to transfer the application to SAI with the instruction to furnish the information within a month.

Coming down on the sports ministry as well as the Sports Authority of India, Acharyulu in his order noted, "If the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports says that it does not know what is the schedule or roster of sports of the year in the nation, there is nothing more embarrassing than this." He said the ministry is expected to have at least the schedule of various sporting events for the year.

"At least the Sports Authority of India should have supplied this information. It was the duty of the CPIO of the ministry to collect the schedule and keep it as part of its record and supplied the same to the applicant," Acharyulu said.

Acharyulu's order goes on to say, "Whether Ministry wants the sports lovers to file an RTI to them? Information sought was very simple. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is expected to have at least the roster or schedule of various sports for the year."

The Commission also directed the ministry and the SAI to update their official websites with the roster and schedules "to avoid the sports lovers from filing RTI requests for such routine information and report compliance to this commission before September 15".

He had also sought sports calendar for 2015-16.