The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Directive to give details of MLAs’ assets

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Monday, Oct 06, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Directive to give details of MLAs’ assets

Special Correspondent

KOCHI: The State Information Commission has asked the Raj Bhavan to give the details of the filing of annual property statements by MLAs to a requester under the Right to Information Act.

The order, passed by Chief Information Commissioner Palat Mohandas, is on an appeal by RTI campaigner D.B. Binu of Kochi, who had over a year back requested for the information from the Raj Bhavan’s public information officer (PIO).

According to the Kerala Lok Ayukta Act 1999, all MLAs have to submit their property statement to the Lok Ayukta every two years by June 30. The Lok Ayukta, in turn, should send a report to the Governor every year on the filing of the statements and publish the names of the defaulters in three newspapers.

Mr. Binu had in July 2007 sought the details of defaulters and the action taken by the Lok Ayukta as well as a copy of the property statement of the then Public Works Minister T.U. Kuruvilla. The RTI Act insists that if the information sought by a citizen is not in the possession of the office concerned, it should be referred to the office which has it within five days of receipt of the request. The Raj Bhavan PIO took nine months to refer the request to the Lok Ayukta’s office.

The Information Commission had earlier imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 on the PIO for the default. However, the PIO has contested the penalty in the High Court.

The Chief Information Commissioner’s order noted that it was not the Lok Ayukta’s PIO who should have provided the information, but the Raj Bhavan PIO himself. “The State Public Information Officer, Raj Bhavan, is the person to furnish the information on the receipt of the information from MLAs ,” the order said.

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