CIC orders details of MLA & Councillor funds to be put up on boards in Hindi

In two landmark decisions on 10th February 2011, the Central Information Commission has ordered the Delhi Government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to install boards in every ward of Delhi displaying expenditure details of local area development funds of the MLA and Councillor of that area. As per the orders, details of the expenditure incurred in the current year and the previous year have to be provided on these boards in Hindi.

The Commission’s orders are in response to complaints filed by Satark Nagrik Sangathan. In the complaints filed to the CIC, Satark Nagrik Sangathan had highlighted the fact that every year in Delhi, over Rs. 400 crore is spent through the MLA & Councillor local area development funds and yet the government has not put in place adequate mechanisms to provide information on utilization of these funds to people.

The complaints were filed following a Delhi-wide public hearing organized by Satark Nagrik Sangathan in September 2010 wherein people had demanded that information on local area development funds of MLAs and Councillors be proactively provided by the government on boards in Hindi.

Taking a strict view of the violation of the RTI Act by the Delhi Government and the MCD, the CIC in its orders has observed that providing this information was a basic obligation of the government under Section 4 of the RTI Act and that this obligation should have been met by October 2005. Under Section 4 of the RTI Act, the government is required to proactively provide this kind of information in an easily accessible manner and in the local language to people. The CIC has directed the Chief Secretary of Delhi and the Commissioner of the MCD to put up boards displaying this information in Hindi in every ward of Delhi by the 15th of March 2011.

As per the orders of the CIC, boards have to be installed at public locations in every ward of Delhi, giving expenditure details of the current and the previous year of the MLA & Councillor funds in Hindi. Details of each project including total amount sanctioned, date of start of work, date of completion of work, name of contractor and actual expenditure on work have to be provided on the board. This information has to be maintained and updated every year.

The orders of the CIC, if implemented properly, will go a long way in ensuring that MLA & Councillor local area development funds are utilized in a transparent, consultative, participatory and accountable manner. Having access to information on these funds will also enable people to meaningfully engage with their MLAs & Councillors to ensure that funds are spent on their area’s most pressing development needs.

Click below to view some of the reports of these orders that appeared in the media.

Report in the Hindustan Times                        Report in The Times of India