Central Information Commission asks PMO for info on stash, graft

New Delhi: The Central Information Commission has directed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to disclose complaints of corruption received against Union ministers between 2014 and 2017 and action taken on them.

Chief Information Commissioner Radha Krishna Mathur, while deciding a plea of Indian Forest Service officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi, also directed the PMO to share information about the quantum and value of black money brought back from abroad during the tenure of the Narendra Modi dispensation, along with records of efforts made in this direction.

The order asked the PMO to disclose information related to deposits made by the government in bank accounts of Indian citizens from the black money brought from abroad. The PMO had termed the questions asked by Chaturvedi, in his RTI application related to black money, as not covered in the definition of “information” which can be accessed under the RTI, but the commissioner rejected the contention. 

Plea filed after unsatisfactory reply from PMO
In his Right To Information application, Chaturvedi had sought information on various schemes of the BJP government such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Swachh Bharat’ and ‘Smart City Project’ which were transferred to the ministry concerned by the PMO.

Not getting satisfactory response from the PMO, Chaturvedi filed an appeal before the Central Information Commission, the highest appellate body on RTI matters.