Central Information Commission
Ramesh Agrawal vs National Thermal Power Corporation ... on 22 August, 2019
के न्द्रीय सूचना आयोग
Central Information Commission
बाबा गंगनाथ मागग, मुननरका
Baba Gangnath Marg, Munirka
नई दिल्ली, New Delhi - 110067
नितीय अपील संख्या / Second Appeal No. CIC/NTPCO/A/2018/615171
Ramesh Agrawal ... अपीलकताग/Appellant
VERSUS
बनाम
CPIO, NTPC Limited ...प्रनतवािी /Respondent
Relevant dates emerging from the appeal:
RTI : 26.12.2017 FA : 22.01.2018 SA :26.03.2018
CPIO : 18.01.2018
(incorrectly mentioned as FAO : Not on Record Hearing : 30.07.2019
18.01.2017)
ORDER
1. The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), NTPC Limited, Raigarh seeking inspection of layout plan of the rail corridor from Talaipali to Lara and attested copy of requisite documents after inspection.
2. The appellant filed a second appeal before the Commission on the ground that the information is pertaining to a large area of forest and revenue land Page 1 of 5 involved in the rail corridor and is in the larger public interest. The appellant also submitted that the information was not provided within the stipulated period of 30 days and the first appeal was not responded to by the FAA. The appellant therefore requested the Commission to provide information free of cost at Raigarh Office of NTPC, to impose penal action against the CPIO and to reimburse him for the expenses incurred leading to the instant appeal.
Hearing:
3. The Appellant, Shri Ramesh Agrawal was present through video conferencing. The CPIO Shri Shantimoy Nandan, Addl. General Manager (CP), NTPC Limited New Delhi was present in person and was assisted by Shri Bhaskar Gupta, APIO and DGM (HR), NTPC Limited, Raipur through video conferencing.
4. The appellant as well as the respondent submitted their written submissions dated 24.07.2019 and Nil respectively and the same have been taken on record.
5. The appellant submitted that the respondent erroneously claimed exemption u/s 8 (1) (d) of the RTI Act, 2005 without giving justification/ reason for denying the information. The appellant further stated that it was his apprehension that the railway line was not constructed as per the layout plan and that the matter involved larger public interest since a large area of forest and revenue land was involved in the construction of the rail corridor. During the hearing, the appellant also submitted that his primary objective is to know the coordinates of forest land utilized for the project as per the layout plan which could be severed and provided to him in accordance with Section 10 of the RTI Act.
Page 2 of 56. The respondent submitted that inspection of layout plan of the rail corridor from Talaipali to Lara will cause harm to the commercial position of the public authority since substantial land acquisition is yet to be completed by them. It was explained that disclosure of information could cause hindrance/ disputes in the process of land acquisition as also result in volatility in the land price which can cause loss to government exchequer during land acquisition. The respondent further stated that the appellant's request to severe and provide coordinates of forest land on the ground that it would reveal the alignment of the rail corridor and hence result in acquisition of land by unscruplous elements and thereby escalate the land price which would not be in the commercial interest of NTPC. Subsequent to the hearing, the respondent (CPIO, NTPC, New Delhi) vide communication dated 02.08.2019 informed the Commission that he had received a communication from the APIO, Lara that land acquisition for Talaipalli rail corridor is not completed, till date and notification u/s 11 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 for 85 acres (approx.) of land is yet to be issued. Furthermore, 78.39 acres of land is under process under various sections of RFCTLARR Act, 2013.
Decision:
7. The Commission, after hearing the submission of both the parties and perusing the records, finds merit in the submission of the respondent that disclosure of layout plans would cause hindrance to the land acquisition process and consequently loss to the public exchequer. The Commission notes that the respondent for the reason, vide their written submission dated 02.08.2019, has Page 3 of 5 clarified that notification under Section 11 of the RFCTLARR Act has not yet been issued for 85 acres (approx.) of land. Therefore, the Commission observes that an appropriate response has been furnished to the appellant by the respondent. Hence, no further intervention of the Commission is required in the matter. However, the respondent is instructed to forward a copy of the written submission sent to the Commission dated 02.08.2019 to the appellant as well within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of this order, for his ready reference.
8. With the above observations, the appeal is disposed of.
9. Copy of the decision be provided free of cost to the parties.
Sd/-
Sudhir Bhargava (सुधीर भागगव) Chief Information Commissioner (मुख्य सूचना आयुक्त) दिनांक / Date 21.08.2019 Authenticated true copy (अनभप्रमानित सत्यानपत प्रनत) S.S.Rohilla (एस. एस. रोनिल्ला) Dy. Registrar (उप-पंजीयक) 011-26186535 / [email protected] Page 4 of 5 Addresses of the parties:
1. The First Appellate Authority (FAA), NTPC Limited, NTPC Bhawan Core-6, 6th Floor, SCOPE Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003
2. The Central Public Information Officer (CPIO), NTPC Limited, NTPC Bhawan Core-6, 6th Floor, SCOPE Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110003
3. Shri Ramesh Agrawal Page 5 of 5