Info regarding public health insurance scheme denied citing trade secret section of RTI

MUMBAI: National Insurance Company, which has been appointed as the insurer for the Maharashtra government's flagship insurance scheme named Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Arogya Yojana, has denied to make public the information regarding settlements of health bills of citizens under RTI astonishingly citing commercial trade secret section of the RTI Act. The reason for denial, say RTI experts, is absolutely irrelevant, unjust and deliberate to keep citizens in the dark.

The RTI was sought in public interest by activist Jeetendra Ghadge and included basic queries regarding claims received, approved, and rejected of those common citizens across Maharashtra who had applied under the scheme upon their admission and treatment at private or government hospitals. The RTI application also included queries about the premium paid by the Maha Govt to the National Insurance Company towards settlements.

Senior RTI activist and expert SHailesh Gandhi said such replies were becoming rampant to avoid public reaction. "The rejection under Section 8 (1)(d) has been done frivolously and foolishly.

In fact this must be declared 'suo moto' under Section under section 4 (1)(b)(xii) and (xiii) of RTI ACT for its trial before the appellate. Such illegal denial of information is happening in many cases since the Information Commissions are taking one to two years to decide on the cases. This is an unfortunate constriction of citizen's fundamental right under Article 19 (1)(a) of the Constitution. In fact Section 4(1)(b) of RTI Act requires publishing '(xii) the manner of execution of subsidy programmes, including the amounts allocated and the details of beneficiaries of such and (xiii) particulars of recipients of concessions, permits or authorisations granted by it,'" said Gandhi.

"Unfortunately the public information officer Priyanka D Nawale in a blatant mockery of the RTI Act and complete lack of transparency, even after being a Public sector Insurance company, has rejected the information under Section 8(1)(d) in The Right To Information Act, 2005," Ghadge said while revealing the documents related to company's replices to his RTI queries. The said section 8(1)(d) of the ACT, said Ghadge, protects 'information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information,'"

Ghadge, who is the founder of 'The Young Whistleblowers Foundation', said " This basically means that a Public Sector Insurance company and a state government which is implementing a welfare scheme for its citizens is a matter of trade secret. There is no doubt that the PIO did not even bother to check the section under which she has rejected the information; it seems she has only copy-pasted the section with a clear intention to withhold the poor performance of the Insurance Scheme."

Another RTI activist Sanjay Shirodkar said in such sensitive public schemes which assume significance amid covid the agency should have by default disclosed an updated information regarding the applications and settlements on its website. "Denying the information on such irrelevant technical grounds is not acceptable. Basically this shows that the company and government are playing fraud upon citizens by hiding the information," he added.

Source: The Times of India