PM Cares Fund-PIO Declines RTI

[siju]

Section 4 breached by PMO

Section 4(1)(b) mandates suo motu disclosure of information on various points including:

(iii) the procedure followed in the decision-making process, including channels of supervision and accountability…

(viii) a statement of the boards, councils, committees and other bodies consisting of two or more persons constituted as its part or for the purpose of its advice, and as to whether meetings of those boards, councils, committees and other bodies are open to the public, or the minutes of such meetings are accessible for public…

(xiii) particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations granted by it.

This mandates that the PMO give all information such as what the process was and how the decision to call for the lockdown was made, without waiting for some one to file an RTI request. Regarding PM CARES, it should disclose the donors, beneficiaries, decisions made and how they were made.
Section 4(2) says:

It shall be a constant endeavour of every public authority to take steps in accordance with the requirements of clause (b) of sub-section (1) to provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information.

Section 4(4) mandates that CPIO shall make such information:

“…available free or at such cost of the medium or the print cost price as may be prescribed”.

Section 4(1)(c) says public authority shall:

“…publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public.”

Section 4(1)(d) says public authority:

“…shall provide reasons for its administrative or quasi-judicial decisions to affected persons.”

If the PMO thinks it is an administrative decision, then also it must disclose complete details and reasons.

Ultimately, how can the PMO breach Section 6(3), which says where requested information is held by or is closely connected with functions of another public authority, CPIO shall transfer to that public authority?

The CPIO and his team should be sent to a training session to understand that Section 10 provided for separating those points of information which could be given from those which could not be given.

How can it be that the CPIO is ignorant of this simple doctrine of sever-ability and its own authority to separate and give information, as much as possible?

Instead the CPIO unethically depends on some anti-RTI paragraphs uttered by the CIC and Supreme Court to hide the information about funds of PM CARES. This is at least dishonesty, if not corruption.




https://thewire.in/rights/pm-cares-pmo- ... -memoranda