Electronics City Industrial Township Authority is a ‘public authority’, rules State Information Commission

The Karnataka State Information Commission has brought the Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) under the purview of the Right to Information Act by declaring it as a “public authority,” and has asked the authority to furnish information within a timeframe in future.

Stating that though ELCITA does not have an elected body, the commission has said that it has been set up by the government and had all the powers of a local body, including collection of tax. It had been set up under the Karnataka Municipalities Act, and was acting like a town municipality by being responsible for management, finances and development issues.

The commission has also ordered the ELCITA to appoint assistant public information officer and first appeal authority.

The recent order by Information Commissioner Rudranna Harthikote came on an appeal by Ganesh Kumar M., who said that the ELCITA was formed through a government gazette without which it cannot exist and questioned the tax collection power if it was a private entity. He had sought details about development works and the tendering process.

In its defence, the authority cited Supreme Court order in the Thalappalam Cooperative Bank v/s Kerala government and two cases settled by the Madras High Court and argued that it does not fall under the ambit of being a “public authority.”

However, the commission noted that Electronics City was developed by the Karnataka government-owned KEONICS in 1970 to promote electronic industries that was later transferred to Electronics City Industrial Association for managing the area in 1997.

The ELCITA was formed in 2013 under Karnataka Municipalities Act 1964 to manage public services such as roads, water supply and cleanliness. Of the total tax collected, which is a responsibility of the government, by the authority, 30% is shared with three village panchayats, it noted.

Mr. Harthikote has pointed out that any authority formed through a law passed by Parliament or the State legislature or the government order comes under the RTI Act as “public authority” and hence ELCITA also comes under the ambit of the RTI Act.

While any authority that secures financial aid directly or indirectly becomes a “public authority”, the ELCITA also has government nominees in its management. The order also cites a Madras High Court case in which Tiruppur Area Development Board was declared as “public authority” and brought under the purview of RTI Act. Similarly, the Noida Authority has been declared as a “public authority.”