New Delhi: The Central Information Commission has directed the Department of Food and Public Distribution to provide agendas and minutes of the Inter-Ministerial Committee concerning the Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice schemes, if the decision on the matter has been taken and it is complete.
Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice were launched in 2023 and 2024, respectively, under the Open Market Sale Scheme (Domestic) to make wheat flour and rice available to general consumers at subsidised rates. The products are sold through Kendriya Bhandar, NAFED and NCCF.
The government keeps a close watch on the production, availability and prices of essential commodities through regular reviews by the Inter-Ministerial Committee, which reviews price trends and suggests measures to improve availability through increased domestic production and imports.
The RTI applicant had sought certified copies of the Bharat Atta and Bharat Rice schemes, standard operating procedures issued by the department for their sale, and "all the agendas and minutes" issued by the Inter-Ministerial Committee concerning the schemes.
The applicant had also sought certified copies of undertakings and utilisation certificates furnished by Kendriya Bhandar confirming that the full quantity of wheat for Bharat Atta and rice for Bharat Rice lifted since commencement of the schemes had been sold in accordance with the prescribed terms and conditions.
The CPIO had replied that the information sought did not pertain to the Policy-I Section of the department and "therefore treated as Nil".
During the hearing, the department's representative told the Commission that the initial reply had been provided by the then CPIO.
The Commission asked whether the decision on the information sought was complete and over, to which the respondent said the matter was completed but sought further time to obtain confirmation from the section that was the custodian of the information.
The Commission observed that an email submitted by the department on August 31 did not provide a concrete position on whether the decision had been completed.
The CIC said, "the respondent has not given any concrete stand as to whether the decision on the sought information is complete and over or not."
It directed the department to provide the information sought under point, relating to the agendas and minutes of the Inter-Ministerial Committee, "if the decision is taken and the matter is complete and over", after redacting third-party information such as officers' names and identities under Section 10 of the RTI Act.
"If the decision is not yet taken and the matter is not yet complete," the Commission directed, the department must state the same in its revised reply.
