By IANS,
New Delhi: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the railway ministry to furnish details of the domestic and foreign travel by former minister Mamata Banerjee at government’s expense between May 16, 2009 and June 29, 2010.
In response to a right to information (RTI) application, the commission directed the ministry to also give travel details of the then minister of state for railways E. Ahamed.
Travel details of Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa for the same period were also ordered to be given to RTI applicant Subhash Chandra Agarwal by July-end.
Information Commissioner Annapurna Dixit noted, in her June 14 order made available Tuesday, that “the commission finds no reason why information related to travel of only three railway ministers for a year cannot be furnished”.
Dixit said if “any part of the information sought is not available with the ministry” then it should transfer the query in the RTI application to the “custodian of the information in the cabinet secretariat”.
The order on Agarwal’s appeal came after the railways declined to furnish the information.
The railways took the plea that the “revelation of the past movement of high dignitaries could endanger their life and physical safety”.