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Withdrawals of the Orders of CSIC:
State information commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad on 4th December withdrew an order issued last month that imposed certain qualifications on obtaining building plans approved by the BMC under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Gaikwad said the latest decision was taken “with a view to avoid confusion and practical difficulties in securing information about building plans”. Nonetheless, he urged that caution be exercised when demands for the plans of public utilities or buildings are made. “The authorities must consider if there may be some danger to national security or public safety if these plans are given.” If the answer is yes, the requests in such cases “should be declined as per the provisions of the RTI Act”.
This was the second time Gaikwad withdrew an order on the issue. Following criticism, an order dated 26th September was cancelled on 21st November and a new one issued. But that too met with disapproval. “The language and structure of both the orders perhaps made them look like blanket ban on disclosure of information relating to building plans, which was never the intention of the Commission and the Commission expresses regrets for it,” said Gaikwad.
While explaining the rationale behind the September order, Gaikwad said it was not taken suo motu. “Subhash Desai (Shiv Sena MLA) wrote to the Commission pointing out serious lapses committed by PIOs while furnishing information about building plans and violations of sections 8(a,d), 9 and 11 of the Act, which were dangerous for the country’s security.”
Desai enclosed news items that described how Maoists, through proxies, obtained information under RTI in Jharkhand and misused it for extortion, leading in some cases to the killing of contractors. The MLA requested the Commission not to provide information on public buildings. “Since the Commission was of the same opinion, an order was issued on 26th September.”
• Ms. Sushma Singh is appointed as chief central Information Commissioner w.e.f. 19-12-2013 Now the strength of the Commission is 9 memberschief CIC and 8 Information Commissioners as under:
• Shri Rajiv Mathur
• Shri Vijai Sharma
• Shri Basant Seth
• Shri Yasovardhan Azad
• Shri Sharat Sabharwal
• Mrs. Manjula Prasher
• Shri. M. A. Khan Yusufi
• Prof Madabhushanam Sridhar Acharyulu.
