Sadbhavana expenditure details denied to RTI activist
Vadodara: Efforts to dig out information regarding expenses incurred during chief minister Narendra Modi's three-day Sadbhavana Mission in Ahmedabad last month by a city-based right to information (RTI) activist have not yielded any results. The applicant, Rohit Prajapati, alleged that the state government is deliberately avoiding giving any information by resorting to dilly-dallying tactics. The state home department in a recent reply to Prajapati has refused to provide most of the information sought by him.
Prajapati had filed an application under RTI on September 17 this year seeking information about the expenses incurred by the government in the event, who decided on holding such event, whether any resolution was moved in the cabinet and who had moved the resolution. He had also sought information about the meeting in which the decision was taken. "We had sent the application to the chief minister's office (CMO) but they forwarded it to the state home department after 20 days on October 7, 2011. We were informed that the home department will provide the information. However, on October 22, the home department replied that it doesn't have the information," Prajapati told TOI.
"The home department said in its reply that a number of departments including government, semi-government and board corporations were involved in the event and hence it does not have all the information. The department also cited a Centre's 2008 notification to refuse the information and said that the information doesn't exist and it will have to produce it," said Prajapati.
The home department has, however, stated that it will provide information that comes under its jurisdiction. The activist had also sought information on the number of police officials involved in the event apart from the areas from which they were summoned.
"The government doesn't want to part with the information related to expenses of the event. So it is resorting to delaying tactics and giving excuses. The home department and CMO are supposed to have every bit of information regarding the event. We have also sought names of the departments that were involved in the event," Prajapati said.
Upset with the government's reply, Prajapati is now planning to approach the state information commissioner.
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