Information: Applicablity of `right to information act to `cooperative housing society

[IPIMINDIA]

Dear Sir,
I am facing problem my housing society and would like to know if the COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY ARE SUBJECT TO RTI ACT and can i ask certain information from my society under RTI ACT and if yes whome to approach and where to approach in Mumbai.

Thanks

Hemant

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[murgie]

Sponsorer

Dear Sir,
I am facing problem my housing society and would like to know if the COOPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY ARE SUBJECT TO RTI ACT and can i ask certain information from my society under RTI ACT and if yes whome to approach and where to approach in Mumbai.

Thanks

Hemant

The definition of a "public authority" under RTI generally will NOT include private co-op housing societies. But these societies do have to comply with rules requiring them to report to the appropriate regulatory body. That regulator is most certainly a public authority.

So the answer to your question is: depends on what you seek. If you can pose a question to the REGULATOR relating to your society, and where the answer would potentially include what you want to know, then you can use RTI.

It's worthwhile investing time to SEARCH through countless threads on this site relating to housing societies -- the keyword search facility is quite user-friendly -- to get some sense of strategies folks have used in the past. This site has many housing society veterans. If you indicate what you want to know more precisely, someone on this site will I am sure provide a more precise and useful answer. The DIRECTORY section on this site may also have some examples.

[abhi987]

Dear IPIMINDIA,

Yes, Co-operative Societies are covered under the RTI, Act. I have successfully filed RTI applications with the Deputy Registrar Co-operative Societies, and also filed first appeals and got hearings too from First Appellant Authorities Coop Sty's under the RTI, Act.

The office of Registrar of Co-operative Societies is located at 6th floor, Malhotra House, Opp. G.P.O, Mumbai 400 001.

The office is divided into a number of wards, and the ward applicable to you will depend upon the area in which your society is located, for example my society is located in Borivali and so the ward applicable to me is R Ward.

The Hierarchy in the office is as follows:

1) Deputy Registrar - XYZ Ward(Designated as PIO for the purpose of RTI Act)
2) Divisional Joint Registrar - Above Deputy Registrar's of all the wards (Designated as Appellant Authority for the purpose of RTI Act)

You can ask for information from your society by filing a RTI application with the Deputy Registrar, he will in turn forward your application to the Chairman/ Secretary of your society and subsequently provide the information recd from them to you.

The trick here is that your queries should be in the form of seeking information and not seeking an opinion or explaination.

For example I will put the same question in two different ways and try and explain:

1) Whether a particular activity is illegal? would be seeking an opinion.

2) Please provide me with a certified photocopy of the permission granted for this xxx activity. Would be the same question but in more appropriate form.

You will need to find out which ward is applicable to your society, download an RTI application form, demand all the information you require under the title in the RTI form Description of the Information required, paste a Rs.10/- court fee stamp, address it to the PIO / Deputy Registrar (XYZ) (replace XYZ by finding our which ward is applicable to you) Co-op Societies with the address mentioned above and mail it By Vichare Courier or Speed post with acknowlegment.

I have attached RTI application form valid for Maharashtra herewith.

[IPIMINDIA]

thanks for the help.
Hemant

[DARSHAN1659]

My society has executed development agreement in Majority and dose the society come under the rti act if the seceratary is being giving honarary service and the society is been registered in 1963 ?