An RTI expose results in recovery of Rs 2640 crores for Maharashtra Government

The Right to Information Act, in short referred as RTI Act has resulted in recovery of lost dues for the state government. Due to an expose by RTI Activist Anil Galgali, the Anil Ambani led Reliance Energy had no option but to pay its arrears of tax dues to the state exchequer.

Anil Galgali has been leading an unrelentless crusade against the Big Fishes, Political persons and an ineffective bureaucracy by his exposes through RTI. The Electricity supply companies collect Power surcharge and Electricity Tax from its subscribers and are mandated to deposit the collection with the Electricity Inspector within one month of the collection.  But due to the complicity of the Electricity Inspector the dues of Reliance Energy started increasing from June 2017 onwards and led to a stop in paying of this dues by the Reliance Energy. After an RTI expose by Anil Galgali, it came to notice that a whopping Rs 1500 crores is due on account of Surcharge, Tax and Green Cess. In immediate steps Anil Galgali intimated the issue by writing a letter to CM Devendra Fadnavis apart from intimation through SMS. Inspite of the expose, the attraction of the Electricity Inspector with the Reliance Energy remained unabated. On learning that the Reliance Energy is being sold to Gautam Adani, Anil Galgali corresponded with the Maharashtra Electric Regulatory Commission and informed them of the dues, requesting them to protect and recover the govt dues from Reliance Energy. But the MERC too shamelessly informed Galgali that, the responsibility of  recovery of past dues lies with the government. In a follow up, Anil Galgali demanded that the Taxes collected from the subscribers by Reliance Energy should be immediately recovered from them and an criminal action be taken against Anil Ambani for evasion of tax dues, also the license should not be transferred to Adani, unless the dues are recovered by the government. The Govt's Power department facilitated the delay of further 15 months by their lacksaidal attitude towards the issue and to benefit the Reliance Energy. Finally for the purpose of transfer of the license to Adani, Reliance was forced to cough up and pay the dues of Rs 2640 crores, had the need for transfer not arisen, the dues was as good as a bad debt for the govt. 

Anil Galgali, who had been keeping a follow up on this issue has demanded from the CM Devendra Fadnavis that, action should be initiated against the authorities including the Electricity Inspector upto the Power Secretary who were either being negligent or were in complicity over the non recovery of the dues, due to which the money which should have long past been with the govt treasury was in the Reliance accounts resulting in loss of revenue of the govt. He further appealed that atleast now onwards the govt should rectify it's stand against the RTI and the Activists engaged in RTI movement, as it was RTI which was instrumental in bringing out the expose.