Who holds the information about NRHM ?

The Appellant sought information about Audit of funds of the PHC. On second appeal before CIC, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) claimed that information sought by the Appellant is not held by them whereas expenditure related details with respect to the projects are held by the concerned State Government. The Andhra Pradesh Information Commission had communicated to the Appellant that his Second Appeal should be addressed to the CIC as NRHM falls under the jurisdiction of Central Government. The CIC observed that Health falls in the concurrent list of the Constitution. In view of the lack of clarity about the actual custodian of information, the CIC directed the NRHM to explain why no information is held by them and who is the actual custodian of information in this case. Further, the CIC directed to transfer the RTI Application if not done already, with a copy marked to the Appellant.

Comments

This case highlights the confusion about the holder of information regarding an important scheme such as NRHM. The second appeal could have been avoided had the respective PIOs acted diligently as per the provisions of the RTI Act and provided the information available at their ends.

Citation: Shri G. Venkataramana v. PIO, Dist. Audit Officer, State Audit, PIO, Dist. Audit Officer, State Audit, and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in Second Appeal No. CIC/DIROA/A/2017/175616/MH&FW, Date of Decision: 18.03.2021