Trusts getting government aid should have a PIO…..Ashutosh Shukla
The order on trusts from chief information commissioner widens that ambit of RTI
The order on trusts from chief information commissioner widens that ambit of RTI
Applicants seeking information about public trust/societies may not need to go to the charity commissioner for information any more if the trusts get government aid.
In a landmark order, the state chief information commissioner, Vilas Patil has asked Anekant Education Society (AES), a public trust based in Baramati to appoint public information officer and first appellate authority to give information to the applicant.
The decision is important as until now information about any trust was sought through the charity commissioners office. From now on, any trust receiving any form of aid/loan from government will have to come under RTI Act and provide information. In Mumbai, several trusts, including the ones running prominent hospitals are registered with the charity commissioner under the Bombay Public Trust Act.
The order comes after AES, a Jain minority organisation refused to give information to a member of the organisation under RTI. The applicant, Dr Hiralal Bahubali Shah had sought information on the information on the colleges run by the trust, the appointments made, salary structure, and information on the functioning and the constitution and formation of the trust.
The order is a step forward from the earlier orders on the trust because it widens the ambit of the RTI. In a previous order, former chief information commissioner had directed a trust with colleges in Vile Parle to provide information it had denied on a college it ran. The then-commissioner was of the opinion that the information was about students and hence not infringing on the trust.
In the present order, the commissioner counters arguments and court orders cited by the trust that the money received is not for itself but allocated to the principal of the college. The commission stated that since the colleges were formed by the said registered society/trust (AES is registered with charity commissioner and society), which received land, loan and was registered under the Societies Act it had a direct role and looking at it as a separate entity was illogical. It further added that any appointment, change in salary or the constitution could be done by the trust, so it was clear that it had a say and was doing it adhering the rules that helped the college get grants.