Chandigarh Golf Club is a “Public Authority” and is covered under the RTI Act

The Central Information Commission (CIC) had ruled that the Chandigarh Golf Club is a “Public Authority” as per Section 2 (h) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The CIC has directed the Chandigarh Golf Club authorities to set up a mechanism for the delivery of information to applicants and pro-active disclosure as per the provisions of the RTI Act for the citizens.

Hearing an appeal by the Brig (retd) Sukhdev Singh who had sought for the details of members granted out of turn membership by the club, the CIC held that the club is a public authority within the definition of Section 2 (h) of the RTI Act. The CIC upheld the contention of the appellant that:-

1.Three serving (UT) IAS officers are nominated members of managing committee of the club, and

2.These nominated members have full voting rights.

3.There is vast differential between the monthly rental being paid by the Golf Club and the commercial rent that the premises could fetch in the open market. Hence, the Golf Club is being indirectly financed and controlled by the Chandigarh administration.

Holding that with the mandatory presence of government officers in managing committee, the absence of governmental control over the functioning of Chandigarh Golf Club cannot be presumed, the CIC directed in favour of disclosure.

In Bhopal, the elite Arera club was declared as a public authority by the State Information Commission (SIC). The order of SIC was statyed by the High Court. Link - http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/state-information-commission-order-declaring-arera-1115