CIC declares MGL a public authority

[sidmis]

CIC declares MGL a public authority
as reported by Rahul Mangaonkar, 22 Aug 2008, Rahul Mangaonkar,TNN

AHMEDABAD: Central Information Commission (CIC) has declared Mahanagar
Gas Ltd (MGL) as a public authority under the Right to Information
(RTI) Act. It has directed MGL to discharge its duties as a public
authority as mandated under RTI within 30 days of the order.

A bench of chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and
information commissioners MM Ansari and AN Tiwari held that MGL's
shareholding pattern, the control that the government exercised over
it, and nature of functions performed by it, undoubtedly made it a
public authority under RTI.

However, this decision of CIC and the victory that it has brought with
it comes a bit too late for septuagenarian RTI activist Kewal Semlani
who passed away on July 7.

For a year-and-a-half , Semlani had been pursuing the matter as MGL
had taken a stand that it was not a public authority and was outside
the purview of RTI.

MGL is a joint venture company of GAIL, a government of India
undertaking , British Gas and government of Maharashtra of which the
government shareholding worked out to be 50.25 per cent. The
government had also allowed MGL's pipelines to carry piped natural gas
on several hundred kms of public land in Greater Mumbai free of cost.

CIC observed that MGL, being a monopoly company for distribution of
natural gas to consumers in Greater Mumbai , performed functions of
public nature. Also, as more than 50 per cent of MGL share capital is
being held by the government it can't be regarded as a private
individual engaged in commercial activity.

A Supreme Court decision was cited by CIC, where it was observed that
"if the functions of the corporation are of public importance and
closely related to governmental functions , it would be a relevant
factor in classifying the corporation as an instrumentality or agency
of Government" .

In another decision Justice KK Mathew had said, "Institutions engaged
in matters of high public interest or performing public functions are
by virtue of the nature of the functions performed by government
agencies.

Activities which are too fundamental to the society are by definition
too important not to be considered government functions."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/A...ow/3391548.cms

[karira]

Please also see:

MGL (Maharashtra Gas Ltd.) is a Public Authority

[sidmis]

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