New Delhi, Nov 9 (PTI) The Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying to pursue the correction of the Animal Welfare Board of India’s (AWBI) administrative details on the online RTI portal and designate information officers for its Animal Welfare Division, flagging shortcomings in the body’s mandatory disclosures under the transparency law.
The directions came while disposing of complaints filed by applicant Naresh Kadyan against the AWBI, which functions under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
Information Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar Jindal noted that the complainant’s primary grievance concerned the Board’s alleged failure to comply with the proactive disclosure requirements under Section 4 of the Right to Information Act.
The complainant submitted that the information uploaded on the Board’s website was outdated and that its administrative control continued to be incorrectly reflected under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on the online RTI portal.
The CIC also took note of the AWBI’s submission that steps were being taken to rectify the issue.
“The commission is of the view that shortcoming in the disclosure by the public authority is against the mandate of Sections 4(1)(a) and 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act, 2005, which cast a statutory obligation upon public authorities to maintain records properly and to ensure accurate and timely dissemination of information,” the order said.
The commission directed the Secretary and First Appellate Authority of AWBI to “undertake a comprehensive review of the board’s website and the records uploaded thereon” and ensure that “complete, accurate, and up-to-date proactive disclosures” mandated under Section 4 are published “in letter and spirit”.
It also directed the Joint Secretary (Animal Welfare Board) in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying to “proactively pursue” the matter with the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for the formal alignment of AWBI as a public authority under the department on the online RTI portal.
Further, the department was directed to designate Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) and First Appellate Authorities (FAAs) for its Animal Welfare Division in accordance with Section 5 of the RTI Act.
The order noted that the complainant had also raised the issue of the department not having designated a CPIO for the Animal Welfare Division, making it difficult for citizens to file RTI applications.
The commission observed that the AWBI had written to the DoPT on February 19, 2025, and May 2, 2026, but the necessary correction on the online RTI portal was yet to be effected. PTI MHS KSI
KSI
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