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RTI Commission orders release of Port City Agreement
View(s):The Right to Information Commission has ordered the release of the Tripartite Agreement signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the CHEC Port City Colombo and warned that the failure to release the information could result in the prosecution of the relevant officials.
The order came following two appeals by M.F.A. Mansoor from Puwakwatta Estate in Kotadeniyawa and the Center for Environmental Justice in Colombo.
The appeals were taken up before Commission Chairman retired Justice Upali Abeyrathne, and Commissioners retired Justice Rohini Walgama, Attorney-at-Law Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, Attorney-at-Law Jagath Liyana Arachchi and A.M Nahiya.
The two Appeals in issue were taken up together given the commonality of the information requests in question — the Tripartite Agreement – between the Megapolis Ministry, the Urban Development Authority and the CHEC Port City Colombo — signed on August 12, 2016, for the development of a new international financial city.
Apart from the agreement, the petitioners also sought the copies of all environmental monitoring reports as specified in the Proposed Colombo Port City Development Project Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessments of December 2015 and copies of all environmental monitoring reports as specified in the Supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment for the Off Shore Sand Extraction Project at Kerawelapitiya in December 2016.
The Information Officer (IO) had not responded to the substantive request, and therefore Mr Mansoor had lodged an appeal with the Designated Officer (DO) in December 2018. The DO responded on 21.12.2018 stating that the Tripartite Agreement could not be disclosed due to confidential clauses in the agreement, as informed by the Legal Services Director of the Urban Development Authority.
The UDA Director had stated the Tripartite Agreement contained confidentiality clauses exist and therefore the information is denied.
The Director also said the disclosure of the information would cause serious prejudice to the economy of Sri Lanka.
However, after several hearings, the RTI Commission determined that it was satisfied that the requested information were of public interest and keeping with the RTI Act.
Accordingly, the Commission decided that the Public Authority (Ministry of Urban Development and the Ministry of Investment promotion) should release the 2016 Port City Tripartite Agreement, before May 4, 2023 as requested by Mr Mansoor and the Center for Environmental Justice.
The Commission further decides that, if the Public Authority fails to comply with the said decision of the Commission before the said date, the Information Officer and the Public Authority shall be prosecuted before the relevant Magistrate’s Court under Section 39 of the Right to Information Act No.12 of 2016.
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