Information regarding construction of foot over bridge on NH- 1

Background        

The appellant sought certified copies of structural drawing, elevation drawing, section drawing, nomenclature and schedule of items, quantities of all planned Foot Over Bridge (FOB) in respect of National Highway (NH-1). The Public Information Officer (PIO) denied information under section 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; of the RTI Act. The First Appellate Authority (FAA upheld the PIO’s reply) citing the order of Delhi High Court relating to disclosure of Zamrudpur Metro Pillar design. He also stated that the sought information was related to trade secret and intellectual property of concessionaire.

Proceedings

During the hearing, the respondent submitted that six laning of NH-1 was being executed as BOT (Toll) Project on DBFO (design, build, Finance and Operate) Pattern, through the Concession Agreement between the Concessionaire and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Larger public interest is served through operational and maintenance of the Project facilities in accordance with Concession Agreement. The respondent also stated that the Geometric and Structural Designs of various Project facilities such as FOB, are developed strictly in accordance with standards and specifications laid down under IRC Guidelines as per the Concession Agreement and would not warrant its disclosure, as no larger public interest is involved.

View of CIC

The Central Information Commission (CIC) rejected the appeal observing that the information sought by the appellant is exempt under section 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; of the RTI Act and the disclosure would harm the competitive position of a third party.

Citation: Mr. Aseem Takyar v. National Highways Authority of India in Case No. CIC/SS/A/2012/000184