Plan disclosure must under RERA, RTI

The details of a development plan must be disclosed if a person demands it from an information officer of a sanctioning authority. It cannot be resisted on the grounds of commercial confidence, trade secret or intellectual property rights. Even if the demand comes from a rival business firm, public interest overrides business considerations, especially in view of the provisions of the Real Estate Regulation Act, the Supreme Court stated in its judgment in the case, Ferani Hotels Ltd vs State Information Officer. In this case, a hotel had drawn up a plan to develop three plots belonging to a person. However, the parties fell out with each other and the property holder sought details of the development plan of the hotel from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai under the Right to Information Act. Though the request was earlier rejected on the ground that there was no public interest, the Bombay High Court found that there was indeed public interest as flat buyers might be interested in the information. The hotel’s appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Court. It said that the documents were with the corporation which was a public authority and there was public interest. The court emphasised that the information regarding the development must be displayed prominently in view of “the ground reality of rampant violations”. The whole case was a “legal misadventure”, said the court, while imposing ~250,000 on the hotel.