Expenses made by the BSNL on advertisement to be disclosed
5 Mar, 2012Background
The Appellant wanted the Xerox copy of the entire file, along with the file noting dealing with certain advertisements made by BSNL regarding the order for advertising on side and back panels of ST buses in Maharashtra for a specific period. He also wanted to know if any orders for advertising on ST buses in Maharashtra during the above period were ever cancelled on the grounds that the display vinyl is “not fixed firmly and about to come off” or is “badly mutilated”. The PIO declined to provide information regarding the above queries.
View of CIC
The Commission observed that BSNL is a PSU of the Central Government. The money spent on the advertisements is out of public funds and every citizen of the country has a right to know as to how the public money has been spent. Therefore, the order passed by the PIO was set aside by the Commission and the PIO was directed to disclose information.
Citation: Shri Praveen Srivastava v. BSNL in file no. CIC/LS/A/2011/002547
RTI Citation : RTIFI/2012/CIC/137
Click here to view original RTI order of Court / Information Commission