Odisha SIC Brings This Private University Under RTI Purview

Bhubaneswar: The State Information Commission (SIC) in Odisha has announced the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Training (KIIT), a deemed to be university, as a public authority which implies that the varsity will have to furnish information under the Right To Information Act.

The 92-page judgment from SIC observed that the university has received significant benefits from the Odisha government, sans which it could have struggled to run, and now it should respond to RTI queries.

It is the first time that a major private university in Odisha has been made a public authority under the RTI Act.

“The commission is of the considered view that the KIIT is a public authority within the meaning of Section 2(h)(d)(ii) of the RTI Act, 2005 and is directed to furnish the required information to the appellant, as per his application in Form-A, within 30 days from the date of receipt of this order,” State Chief Information Commissioner Sunil Kumar Misra was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

RTI activist Pradip Pradhan had knocked on the doors of the SIC after the institution denied him information in 2017.

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