Goa sports associations to challenge their inclusion under RTI
29 Jan, 2013Vide a gazette notification, the Sports Authority of Goa (SAG) has included all sports associations under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. All the 27 state level associations are resisting the notification and are getting ready to challenge it in the Court. The Goa Olympic Association (GOA) is planning to raise money from its affiliates to fund the legal expenses. A meeting was held in Panaji which was chaired by GOA president and North Goa Member of Parliament (MP) Shripad Naik. The GOA Secretary Gurudatta Bhakta, who is also president of the Goa Judo Association, has informed that the Table Tennis association will file the legal application and all member associations will contribute towards the legal expenses.
In a separate letter to the SAG, the GOA has asked that the state associations should be kept away from the RTI Act claiming that it creates undue inconveniences and a lot of time, energy and money is wasted on matters which are sometimes frivolous.
It has been argued by the RTI activists that all State Level Sports Associations are covered under the definition of public authorities and hence under the ambit of the RTI Act. It has been pointed out that the sports bodies receive substantial funds from the SAG and perform functions of public nature. Should public money be used from getting out of the transparent working?