The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has once again been pulled up for withholding information from the public by the Central Information Commission (CIC). The CIC has further issued a show cause notice against two public information officers with the Ministry for violating Right to Information.

The Commission, on Friday, once again took up the case against the GEAC, which falls under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and called the committee out for making ‘excuses’ and being ‘unreasonable’.

The CIC had earlier ordered the committee to disclose all the relevant information, including the bio-safety data and detailed minutes of meetings, by April 30 this year. The Ministry, however, has only uploaded gist of the minutes of the meetings that have been held, and in this also the latest minutes has not been uploaded. The GEAC has repeatedly sought extension of deadline for uploading the data.

“Instead of furnishing information as ordered by April 30, 2016, the public authority requested for two more months. The public authority did not honour its own commitment to furnish in that time and on June 28, 2016, they sought another extension this time for 90 days. To furnish a copy of a report or to place the agenda and minutes of GEAC meeting, they need no time at all. They are just asking for time though they do not require it,” CIC noted.

A case was filed by anti-GM activist Kavitha Kuruganti against the Ministry after her application for the bio-safety dossier on GM mustard was rejected on the grounds that a final decision had not been taken, and the information could not be shared because it had intellectual property implications.

“The excuses forwarded by the respondents appear to be not based on any reasoning or exceptions under RTI Act,” the CIC order on Friday said.

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