Central Information Commission puts chemicals ministry on notice

MK Alagiri, Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers (MCF) may be part of the Group of Ministers (GoM) which met Saturday to give relief to victims of Bhopal gas tragedy.

But the ministry seemed to have other plans as it refused to furnish information under the RTI act to a Bhopal gas victim Hazra Bee. 

Bee wanted information about the government’s action on issues related to Bhopal gas tragedy. On the ministry’s refusal to do so, she filed an appeal before the RTI commissioner MM Ansari.

Enraged with the pathetic attitude of the Chemical & Fertilizer Ministry’s handling of relief operations in Bhopal Ansari issued a showcause notice to the ministry for not furnishing information and directed that reply be furnished immediately.

Bee, a resident of J P Nagar, Bhopal, under the RTI Act asked the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC) information regarding government’s action on issues related to Bhopal gas tragedy. She is a semi-illiterate and lives below poverty line.

However, the DCPC did not provide any information. Hazra Bee sent a representative who inspected the files at the department and identified the information. But DCPC even then did not provide the information and it was after this that Hazra approached the Central Information Commission (CIC).

“The CPIO (Central public Information Officer) and the Appellate Authority (of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals) have erred,” said Ansari in his order while observing that the case reflects DCPC’s lackadaisical attitude towards the concerns of the Bhopal gas disaster victims.

“There cannot be a more grave injustice than this that a poor person is denied information that is related to her sufferings, and the manner in which the respondents (DCPC) have sought to redress grievances of thousands of victims, towards whom the respondents are merely providing lip service or false assurances,” said Ansari.

Noting that information has been refused to Hazra Bee without any reasonable cause and for malafide reasons, Ansari issued a showcause notice to DCPC’s CPIO Bandana Banerjee asking why she should not be penalised of Rs25, 000. He also asked secretary MCF as to why a compensation of Rs1,00,000 should not be paid to Hazra Bee her for all the harassment she suffered. 
Ansari asked the DCPC and MCF secretary to reply to show cause notice by 31 March 2009 and provide informational within 10 days.

However, instead of following the CIC order, the government approached Delhi High Court, which in turn issued a stay on the penalty and compensation proceedings and asked DCPC to provide information asked within eight weeks. The matter is now listed for July 13.