By IANS,
New Delhi : There are no pending monetary dues against any sitting or retired member of the Rajya Sabha, a Right to Information (RTI) applicant has found out.
“As on Aug 13, 2009, there are no outstanding dues of this secretariat on members of the Rajya Sabha, sitting or retired,” said the Rajya Sabha Secretariat in its reply to an application of RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal. He had sought information on pending dues to government departments, agencies, companies, bodies by former and existing parliamentarians, ministers or prime minister, past and present.
Agrawal had also asked about the steps taken to recover dues, including those taken after concern expressed by Delhi High Court over the issue.
According the reply, any valid dues brought to the secretariat’s notice are recovered from the salary of the sitting members of the Rajya Sabha, as per the provisions of the Salaries, Allowances and Pension of Members Parliament Act, 1954, and rules made under it.
“However, there is no provision of recovery of outstanding dues from retired members of the Rajya Sabha in the said act,” the Rajya Sabha secretariat said.
Agrawal said the rules should be amended to provide deduction of such dues owed by former parliamentarians from the pensions they receive. “The Delhi High Court has been repeatedly expressing its anguish on heavy outstanding owed to government agencies by former parliamentarians,” Agrawal told IANS.
He said the central public information officer (CPIO) at the Rajya Sabha deserves to be complimented for furnishing quick and detailed responses to RTI petitions, and should be taken as role-model by other public authorities to make the RTI Act effective as also a measure for reforms in the system.