NAFED covered under RTI: High Court

Expanding the over-arching ambit of the provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005, the Delhi High Court has declared in a recent decision that National Agricultural Cooperative Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED), the Krishak Bharti Co-operative Ltd. (KRIBHCO) and the National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF) are 'public authorities' within the meaning of the Act and thus are obliged to follow the provisions relating to dissemination and provision of information.

The High Court also inter alia ruefully noted that "the initial attempt by most organizations and entities is to avoid the obligations under the RTI Act. Since the culture of transparency has not fully set in, and old habits die hard, there is a resistance on the part of institutions and entities to avoid being declared a 'public authority'."

Have a look at the decision.