HC tells 2010 Games organising panel to answer RTI queries
Sidharth Misra
The 2010 Commonwealth Games are about prestige and status of the
country and the people have the right to know how its organising
committee is gearing up for the event, the Delhi High Court has said
while pulling up the panel for its refusal to answer RTI queries.
"Commonwealth is round the corner and the people have the right to
know how you are organising it," Justice G S Sistani said.
"The game is about prestige and status of the country. Even when
private players are given such project they would have to be
responsible to the citizens," he said when the Committee claimed it
was an autonomous body which is not directly answerable to public
under the RTI.
"If you are getting funds from the government for organising the game
then people need to know how you are spending it. We are not concerned
about the government but we are concerned about the people," the court
observed.
The Committee had contended that it was an autonomous body which could
not be forced to reveal information under RTI Act, a claim refuted by
the Centre in court.
"We are not responsible to people. We get loans from the governments
so we are responsible to them only and the government should be
responsible to the public," senior advocate B P Singh appearing for
the committee said while challenging Centre's move to declare it a
public authority.
"I would be answering the queries only after coming within the ambit
of the Act and otherwise I would not be able to devote attention
towards organising the game," he said.
The organising committee and the Centre have been at loggerheads ever
since the government declared it as a public authority, liable to
disclose information under the Right to Information Act.
"No financial grant is given by the government to meet the whole or
entire expenditure of the petitioner society. The money advanced to it
are on loan, returnable basis carrying interest. The financial
arrangement which it has with the Centre is purely a commercial
arrangement," the panel said.
"It has not been established or constituted as an institution of
self-governance or under the Constitution. It has not been created
under the law made either by Parliament or state legislature," it
further said.
The government, however, justified its action saying that almost the
whole budgetary support to the project is provided by it and the
Committee cannot take the plea that it is an independent body.
"The Centre is providing not only substantial upfront funds (around Rs
1,800 crore) but has also undertaken to meet the shortfall between its
revenue and expenditure," the government counsel said. (ST-23/12)