The Tamil Nadu Information Commission has come down heavily on the Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies in the State for not appointing Public Information Officers (PIOs) for disseminating information to the people under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
Despite several orders/circulars in the past stating that cooperative societies came under the purview of the Act, PIOs and First Appellate Authorities (FAAs) were not appointed to process RTI petitions, resulting in the denial of information warranting disclosure.
Expressing concern over one such case, where information sought by a petitioner was refused on the grounds that the Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies did not come under the purview of the Act, State Information Commission P. Dhanasekaran passed orders reminding the Registrar of Cooperative Societies of earlier orders and directed that PIOs/FAAs be appointed.
