[list-milapchoraria-03] CORPORATE HOUSES SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE TO SHAREHOLDRS, UNDER RTI ACT

CORPORATE HOUSES SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE TO SHAREHOLDRS, UNDER RTI ACT

The allegations leveled by Shri Arvind Kejriwal against Ambani’s “Reliance” are not new.

In 1974, I was engaged for and on behalf of my Association for equitable distribution of Aluminium at fair prices and made a study based on the data then available from the balance sheets of INDAL & HINDALCO (subsequently Government amended the Companies Act to restrict disclosure of such data) and my large study was published by Mr. Samarjeet Ghosh, Special Correspondent of the Economic Times, after get examined it from Chairman of Institute of Cost Accountants of India, Kolkata, in its Delhi issue of 2^nd August, 1975, disclosing the facts that how HINDALCO was engaged in manipulations. Thereafter, HINDALCO given Large Size Political advertisements (copies are with me) for six days to all the Newspapers belongs to Times of India Group of Newspapers and said Mr. Ghosh was transferred to Pune and virtually I was blacklisted by the Times of India Group of Newspapers (although some news/article were published by mistake).

However, here issue is the Right to Know of the Citizenry about the direct or indirect cost of Production for the products they are purchasing/using. This disclosure cannot be exempted in the garb of the commercial competition. Because, Global policy of the open market is based on competition is in the interests of consumers, not in the interests of the Producers. Although, we are not demanding the disclosure of matters/facts regarding and concerned to Technical aspects. We are also not demanding that disclosure of such data should be opened for all citizens, like under Right to Information Act, 2005, rather we are demanding that disclosure of all data should be made open for all the Shareholders of Corporate Houses, being Public Limited Companies, having a particular amount of Share Capital and working in public utility services including productions which are directly or indirectly used for products for public utility services/products.  

Milap Choraria