The Tamil Nadu Information Commission has come down heavily on the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies in the State for not appointing Public Information Officers (PIOs) for disseminating information to the people under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Despite several orders/circulars in the past stating that cooperative societies came under the purview of the Act, PIOs and First Appellate Authorities (FAAs) were not appointed to process RTI petitions, resulting in the denial of information warranting disclosure.
Expressing concern over one such case, where information sought by a petitioner was refused on the grounds that the Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies did not come under the purview of the Act, State Information Commission P. Dhanasekaran passed orders reminding the Registrar of Cooperative Societies of earlier orders and directed that PIOs/FAAs be appointed.
No response
The case relates to a petition filed by K.R. Manivannan, who moved the Commission stating that he served as the Director of the Kadugapattu Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Society, Kancheepuram, in different tenures but was not given access to information about the functions of the society. When he filed a petition under the RTI Act, seeking such information, he was removed from the post. There was no reply to his petition from the PIO or the FAA.
Even after an opportunity was given to the society officials to respond, the petitioner received a reply, a copy of which was marked to the Commission, which stated that since the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies did not come under the purview of the Act as a public authority, the information called for could not be shared.
Strongly condemning the denial of information taking stance on such grounds despite several court orders, the State Information Commissioner directed the authorities concerned to appoint PIOs/FAAs and also provide personal access to the information sought by the petitioner.
In an earlier order addressing the same issue, Mr. Dhanasekaran referred to various Court/Commission judgments that reiterated that the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies came under the purview of the Act and also to a circular dated January 8, 2014, issued by the then Joint Registrar of Cooperative Societies, confirming the same.
After raising funds from the people and receiving State Government’s support, the reluctance of the cooperative credit societies to come under the purview of the Act amounted to shirking responsibilities, he added.
