The Statesman: Bhubaneswar: Wednesday, 16th
September 2026.
The Odisha government has spent over Rs 3.31 crore from the state exchequer on repair, renovation and construction works at two official quarters of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in Bhubaneswar, but has declined to disclose the administrative and technical approvals for the works, citing security concerns.
In its reply to an RTI
query filed by activist Pradip Kumar Pradhan, the General Administration and
Public Grievance Department said Rs 2,32,52,855 was incurred on works at
Government Quarter No. VIIDS-1 in Unit-V, while Rs 98,56,883 was spent at
Government Quarter No. B-1 in Unit-II during 2024-25 and 2025-26.
The department said Majhi is a Z+ protectee and the security of his official residence forms an integral part of the overall security architecture.
Disclosure of engineering and structural particulars, it said, could reasonably be expected to prejudicially affect the security of the protected premises and public safety.
It further said the administrative and technical approvals relating to the Chief Minister’s residence may contain detailed engineering, architectural and structural specifications and, therefore, could not be disclosed.
Pradhan, State Convener of the Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan (OSSA), a forum of RTI activists, has questioned the grounds for withholding the information.
He said he had sought details of the approvals under the RTI Act but was denied the information on security grounds. He also said the department had treated the information as the Chief Minister’s personal information.
Pradhan questioned how the administrative approval for repair and renovation of the quarters could attract the exemption under Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act, which covers information whose disclosure could prejudicially affect specified interests relating to the sovereignty, integrity or security of the country, among other protected interests.
He argued that the authorities had not adequately explained how the specific information sought fell within the statutory exemption and claimed that invoking such provisions to withhold information of public interest undermined the spirit of the transparency law.
The Odisha government has spent over Rs 3.31 crore from the state exchequer on repair, renovation and construction works at two official quarters of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi in Bhubaneswar, but has declined to disclose the administrative and technical approvals for the works, citing security concerns.
 |
| Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi |
The department said Majhi is a Z+ protectee and the security of his official residence forms an integral part of the overall security architecture.
Disclosure of engineering and structural particulars, it said, could reasonably be expected to prejudicially affect the security of the protected premises and public safety.
It further said the administrative and technical approvals relating to the Chief Minister’s residence may contain detailed engineering, architectural and structural specifications and, therefore, could not be disclosed.
Pradhan, State Convener of the Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan (OSSA), a forum of RTI activists, has questioned the grounds for withholding the information.
He said he had sought details of the approvals under the RTI Act but was denied the information on security grounds. He also said the department had treated the information as the Chief Minister’s personal information.
Pradhan questioned how the administrative approval for repair and renovation of the quarters could attract the exemption under Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act, which covers information whose disclosure could prejudicially affect specified interests relating to the sovereignty, integrity or security of the country, among other protected interests.
He argued that the authorities had not adequately explained how the specific information sought fell within the statutory exemption and claimed that invoking such provisions to withhold information of public interest undermined the spirit of the transparency law.
.JPG)
.JPG)
