Seeking detail of leasehold properties transferred by LIC of India under RTI
28 Jun, 2013Background
The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) seeking details of all the Leasehold properties that have been transferred by it in the last 10 years (including premium charged and Market Value thereof). The Public Information Officer (PIO) informed that the disclosure of the voluminous information sought would disproportionately divert the resources of the Public Authority hence it cannot be provided.
Proceedings
During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the PIO stated that the information sought by the appellant was not held in the format as sought by the information seeker and that compiling and collating of the requested information would disproportionately divert resources of the public authority without commensurate larger public interest being met. The appellant pleaded for the disclosure of the information on the grounds that the said properties belong to LIC of India which was a public authority and transparency should be the norm in such matters.
View of CIC
The appellant agreed to reduce the period for which information is sought from 10 years to 5 years and narrowed his request to seeking information only in respect of a building known as ‘Hindustan Cooperative Insurance Building’, Mumbai. The CIC directed the PIO to provide information regarding the number of properties which were transferred by the Corporation along with the tenure of transfer in respect of the above mentioned building during the past five years. The CIC also directed the PIO to provide the prescribed criteria for fixing premium for the transfer of the property. Further, the PIO was asked to ascertain if the total premium amount received for such transfers in respect of the above mentioned building for the past five years is available in material form without having to compile and collate the same at huge costs to the Corporation, then the same also to be provided to the appellant. The Commission accepted the assertion of the PIO that they did not hold information regarding the current market value of the properties.
Citation: Mr. Sanjay Munshi v. LIC of India in Appeal: No. CIC/DS/A/2012/001850
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2013/CIC/1402
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