It follows from the reply that the Administration spent around Rs 17.8 lakh on the four European tours of the Home Secretary.

Perplexed at the obvious omission of the names and details of so many other officials who had been on tours abroad in the recent months, R K Garg, a local resident who had moved the application, has now again sought a reply from the Administration.

Garg had moved an application under the RTI on September 9 last year to know, among other things, how many UT officials had gone on foreign tours in the last two years, what was the total expense and what public interest did it serve?

In a reply dated September 27, 2007, the CPIO expressed his inability as he did not possess the information in the manner it was required. Garg again made the request on October 1, to which the CPIO on October 24 again expressed his inability. Garg then filed an appeal with the Appellate Authority which transferred the application to PIO Cash Branch to furnish the requisite information.

However, the two-page reply that Garg received on December 26, it says that only one officer — Home Secretary Krishna Mohan — has made a foreign visit in the last two years. The reply does not mention the name of any other official, whereas the Administration had sent a three-member team led by the Finance Secretary to Brussels in mid-2007, and Director Tourism too had toured Europe along with the Home Secretary.