The Wire: New Delhi: Thursday, February 01, 2018.
The
Department of Telecommunications had admitted to a Rs 29,000 crore revenue loss
caused by six telecos before the Supreme Court.
Why should
the Narendra Modi government withhold information on a loss of Rs 12,000 crore
to the exchequer during the UPA government due to an alleged understating of
accounts by six telecom companies between FY 2006-07 and FY 2009-10? With the
Department of Telecommunications refusing to act on a query in the matter, the
Central Information Commission (CIC) has now issued a show cause notice to its
central public information officer (CPIO) demanding to know why action should
not be taken against him for denying this information by not attending the
hearing.
DoT
refuses to part with information on recovery notice, reply of companies
The query had
been filed by Harinder Dhingra on June 12, 2017 in which he had sought “a copy
of the recovery notice and the reply sent by each telecom companies regarding
the demand notice that was issued to six telecom companies (namely Bharti
Airtel Ltd., Vodafone India Ltd., Airtel Ltd., Reliance Communication Ltd.,
Tata Teleservices Ltd. and Idea Cellular Ltd.) for understating their accounts
from FY 2006-07 to FY 2009-10, which caused revenue loss of approx. Rs. 12,000
crores,” chief information commissioner R.K. Mathur recorded in his order.
As the
department had claimed exemption from disclosure, Dhingra had filed his second
appeal before the commission on September 23 on the grounds that information
should be provided to him. In the subsequent hearing, while Dhingra was
present, the DoT CPIO was not. The appellant submitted that the department had
“wrongly denied him the sought for information” by relying on an office
memorandum of the Department of Personnel and Training. The RTI applicant
submitted that the DoT should have quoted specific provisions of the RTI Act
under which they had claimed exemption from disclosure.
‘DoT had
admitted to Rs 29,000 crore loss in Supreme Court’
He also told
the commission that the respondent in their written submission (affidavit)
before the Supreme Court had admitted to a loss of revenue to the tune of Rs
29,000 crore. “In addition, he stated that the disclosure is in larger public
interest, therefore, the respondent should supply him copy of the recovery
notice and the reply sent by these telecom companies,” Mathur recorded in his
order.
After going
through the submissions and arguments, the CIC said that the respondent should
be personally present before the commission on the next date of hearing along
with his written submissions for explaining the case. Adjourning the matter,
Mathur directed the deputy registrar to fix a hearing in the matter after 15
days.
Mathur also
issued a show cause notice to the CPIO concerned to explain why action should
not be taken against him for trying to deny information by not attending the
hearing.
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