On Monday, the State Information Commission (SIC) began to hear a matter which is the subject of a dna campaign. Is the RInfra-led Metro One a public utility, and should its operational details, therefore, be covered by the Right to Information act?
On Monday, the State Information Commission (SIC) began to hear a matter which is the subject of a dna campaign. Is the RInfra-led Metro One a public utility, and should its operational details, therefore, be covered by the Right to Information act?
On Monday, the SIC adjourned the matter until a future date.
The SIC was hearing a complaint made by the former information commissioner, Shailesh Gandhi. Gandhi had complained that Mumbai Metro One Private Limited (MMOPL) had not provided him with information he requested under the RTI act. MMOPL had asked Gandhi to go to the appropriate government authority, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for information. But MMRDA itself had gotten no information from Metro One, and was unable to satisfy Gandhi's query.
Gandhi had wanted a copy of the report about the Metro One given by the commissioner for metro rail safety.
Last year, dna had sought information pertaining to functioning of the service. The information sought was the ticketing revenue, number of passengers travelling on the metro, rentals earned from leasing out stalls at the stations, and a copy of the mandatory safety certificate needed before the metro opened for the public.
Since May last year, dna has been reporting how RInfra is not under RTI Act, but simultaneously pointing out reasons given by experts why it should be a part of the transparency and accountability legislation. MMOPL has constructed, operates and maintains 11.4-km long Versova-Andheri-Ghakopar metro rail.
The matter will now be heard on March 4, when it is likely that the SIC will pass a judgement whether RInfra-led MMOPL is a 'public authority' or not and if it is supposed to directly share information to citizens under the RTI Act. The upcoming Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar metro rail is a public-private partnership project with the government having 26% stake and the balance with private players including RInfra and Veolia Transport.
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