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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | RBI Rejects RTI Request for Minutes of Demonetisation Decision -Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

RBI Rejects RTI Request for Minutes of Demonetisation Decision -Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

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published Published on Dec 26, 2016   modified Modified on Dec 26, 2016
-TheWire.in

The official line seems to be, ‘Show me your money but I won’t show you my records’.

New Delhi: While the Reserve Bank of India has been forthcoming in placing on its website the minutes of meetings of all committees that provide it with advice, an RTI activist has accused it of deliberately withholding information on the recent demonetisation exercise. Seen against the backdrop of a top finance ministry official – secretary, department of economic affairs, Shaktikanta Das – stating that there was no need to go into the process of decision-making regarding the November 8 demonetisation drive, many believe that in handling this issue the Narendra Modi government has deviated from its stated position on transparency and accountability.

RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative filed an RTI application with the DEA on November 14, within a week of the demonetisation announcement, seeking copies of the cabinet note that was approved by the Union cabinet regarding the decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 denomination.

Much to his disappointment, Nayak did not receive any reply from the chief public information officer, DEA even after 40 days. Since, no response within 30 days is treated as a refusal to disclose the requested information under Section 7(2) of the RTI Act, he has subsequently dispatched an appeal with the first appellate authority of the DEA.

Nayak said the lack of response from the CPIO at the DEA was not surprising as the “the decision to maintain undue secrecy about the demonetisation appears to be sanctioned at the highest level of the bureaucracy in that department”.

Eager to extract some information on the issue, Nayak had also filed a separate application with the Reserve Bank of India in which he had sought copies of the minutes of all board meetings of the RBI from the date on which the recommendation to demonetise the Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 currency notes was taken. He had also asked for all communication sent in this regard to the government, representations received from any person or organisation suggesting demonetisation and all file notings on this subject.

Nayak said that while some think tanks had recommended various ways of tackling the problem of black money, including demonetisation, the course of action the government eventually followed was not what they had recommended and this is what prompted him to file his application.

However, to his dismay, the RBI rejected access to its board meeting minutes and recommendations made to the government and related file notings citing Section 8(1)(a) of the RTI Act. As for representations received from the public, the CPIO has invoked Section 7(9) saying that the information cannot be provided as it would lead to disproportionate diversion of resources of the organisation.

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TheWire.in, 25 December, 2016, https://thewire.in/89487/modis-speech-transparency-rti-not-resonate-governments-action/


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