Those spending beyond capacity for RTI may face I-T: Goa CM

Panaji: In a veiled warning to RTI activists in Goa, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said that cases where people are found spending money disproportionate to their known sources of earning, to procure information under the Act, shall be referred to Income Tax department.

"If anyone spends lakhs of rupees to source information under RTI in various departments without having the capacity to pay so much, then it is my responsibility to refer the matter to Income Tax," Parrikar told a gathering of small scale industrialists in Panaji on Friday. The CM had recently issued circular to all the government departments asking names of people who seek information under RTI. While Parrikar initially had claimed that he did so to know whether foreigners were given information under the Act, the RTI activists had alleged that the circular was to suppress the information. "RTI is a good act but the question mark is on the people who source the information under it," he said, adding that "there are many people who are negative in their thoughts with a design in mind." The Chief Minister at the same breath clarified that he does not say that all RTI applicants are doing it with malice. "There are many genuine people who seek information under the Act," he said. PTI