CIC slams UGC for lack of transparency

DEEMED UNIVERSITY CONTROVERSY
Himanshi Dhawan | TNN
New Delhi: In the wake of the deemed university controversy, Central Information Commission has slammed University Grants Commission (UGC) for lack of transparency in information related to deemed universities. Ruling that UGC appeared to act as if the RTI Act did not apply to it, the information watchdog has awarded a compensation of Rs 2,000 to an applicant and issued a showcause notice to UGC for not responding within the stipulated 30-day period.
Information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi ruled that UGC had no reasons for refusing the information. In his order, Gandhi said, “It is a very sad state of affairs that UGC appears to be operating without any understanding of what is happening. The commission has earlier also directed UGC to put up various information under its Section-4 obligations. UGC has failed to comply with these.”

The order added, “UGC appears to be operating with no respect for the rule of law and it is behaving as if the RTI Act does not apply to it. The commission takes a very dim view of such behaviour by UGC and recommends the chairman to ensure that its officers are trained in the RTI Act and learn how to respect the law.”

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