Taking a strong view of non-disclosure of travel expenses by the officials of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Central Information Commission (CIC) on Sunday issued a show cause notice to the body asking why the maximum penalty should not be imposed on its officials for failure to furnish timely information. The CIC also directed the NGT to disclose travel and tour expenses incurred for its chairman.
CIC’s directive comes after an RTI application, filed by RK Jain, sought the details of expenses incurred by the NGT on travel, bills received from Balmer lawrie Corporate Travel and logistics Services, pending bills and travel proposals in relation to its chairman and other officials.
The NGT, however, had claimed that it does not have adequate infrastructure to handle the load of RTI applications. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had issued a directive to all public authorities on September 11, 2012, to suo motu place in the public domain the expenses incurred on official tours undertaken by any Ministers and officials.