Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1st Report - RTI
1st Report - RTI
1. Introduction
2. Official Secret Act and Other Laws
3. The Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules
4. Confidentiality Classification (CC)
5. Rights and Obligations
6. Issues of Implementation
7. Application of the Act to Legislative and Judiciary
Preface
SARC is constituted to prepare a detailed blueprint for revamping the public and system.
RTI is a paradigm shift in administration.
RTI is a path-breaking legislation which signals the march from darkness of secrecy to dawn of transparency.
RTI enables openness in the exercise of power. Means for fighting corruption.
Also, an environment of vigilance promoted participatory democracy (self-governance)
Official Secrets Act, 1923 (OSA) – convenient smokescreen to deny public access to information. Public
functioning has traditionally been shrouded in secrecy.
RTI enables participatory decision making process.
An instrument for improving citizen-admin interface. Results in friendly, caring, effective govt.
E-governance in Judiciary Systematic, classification, Standardization and categorization of records. (all
this is capacity building)
1) Introduction
Key in ushering people centric governance. Empowerment of people. Good governance (GG) – 4 elements –
transparency, accountability, predictability, participation.
Transparency availability of info about govt functioning in the public domain. For public scrutiny
Makes govt function more objectively (predictability) (accountability)
Enables people participation. RTI is the basic necessity of GG.
While right to information is implicitly guaranteed by the constitution, the RTI Act sets out the practical
regime for citizens to secure access to information on all matters of governance.
RTI Act – 2005 is very comprehensive, covers all matters of governance. Minimum exemptions.
There are bound to be implementation issues and problem areas, so for effective implementation of RTI Act,
some issues need to be addressed by legislative, Judiciary.
Shourie Committee – 1997 – On RTI and Transparency.
SARC followed this committee’s recom and recom of NCRWC (National Commission to Review the Working
of the Constitution)
a) Building Institutions:-
Govt. of India constituted the Central Information Commission (CIC) = 1 Chief Information Commissioner
and 4 Information Commissioners.
States constituted the State Information Commission (SIC) = 1 Chief Information Commissioner and 1
Information Commissioners.
CIC has been hearing the appeals. Selection of CIC and SIC – bipartisan process – involves leader of oppo.
As RTI covers Judiciary too, it is better to have Chief Justice in the selection committee = inc. public
confidence and enhance the quality of the selection.
Recoms RTI allows for dispersal (acc. to population density) of Info Commissions to provide easy
access to citizens. But no SIC or CIC has established offices in places other than capitals.
Info Commissions should represent diff. (to inspire people’s confidence) sections of society (acc. to RTI
Act). But there is preponderance of persons with civil service background – though one advantage is
insider knowledge about govt functioning.
Record Keeping -
Totally neglected in India – very poor – 10th fin. Comm.. recom. Special grants for states for improving
record keeping.
Land Records – very imp. – proof of title; dispute resolution; access to credit is usually dependent on
land ownership, whole administration hinges on the accuracy and reliability of land records.
So access to land records forms the bulk of requests under RTI – but very poor maintenance of land
records in the last 60 years. – no comprehensive land survey took place – many land records no longer
exist.
Digitalization of Records – so land records should be updated by land surveys – properly stored in
printed form and electronic form for proper retrieval.
Problems: - In many govt agencies (state and central) record keeping procedures do not exist, or not
updated for decades. Practice of Cataloging, Indexing and Orderly Storage is absent. Even when records
are kept, retrieval of info is virtually impossible. This results in tendency to give large amount of data
which is unprocessed and irrelevant whenever requested under RTI (no summaries)
Info should be easily retrievable and intelligible.
Measure – updated record keeping procedures, cataloging, indexing, storage.
-- correcting all info into intelligible, retrievable info modules.
Digitalization of Records - setting up of a permanent expert agency – Public Records Office (PRO) – at
central and state levels, by consolidating the existing record keeping agencies like State Archives etc. –
PRO will coordinate and supervise the record-keeping – should function under the supervision of CIC o
SIS.
Funding for recording keeping – one time investment.
PRO will design the procedures, infrastructure.
d) Monitoring Mechanism –
Supervising, detecting problems in implementation, rectifying them at several levels - within the public
authority, a group of authorities in a territory, for a whole state, the county.
For each department/agency, the head of the organization will be responsible for monitoring.
Some nodal dept or ministry or agency - at the apex of monitoring mechanism.
Nodal dept should logically be CIC or SIC.
CIC functions largely limited – they only hear complaints and appeals – and submit annual reports.
Recoms CIC should also be made the coordinating agency between all the SIC, which are currently
independent. Coordination required for uniform implementation of the Act, to avoid duplication of
efforts, replication of good practices from one state to another, minimization of litigation, for effective
functions of nationwide web based info dissemination system
6) Issues of Implementation
Implementation of RTI Act is an administrative challenge which has thrown up various structural,
procedural, logistical issues and problems.
Problems in filing application:-
a. Complicated system of accepting requests – often PIO office and account office are at diff.
places.
b. Insistence on demand drafts – Rs 35 bank charges for Rs 10 form
c. Difficulties in filling applications by post
d. Varying and often higher rates of application fee
e. Large no. of PIOs.
Recoms:- many modes of payment should be included under RTI – Uniform rates – Applications
should be allowed to be filed in any post office, post office should be authorized to act on behalf of PIO
office in accepting applications.
Inventory of Public Authorities:- A list of all public authorities (should include NGO – funded by Govt) in
the country is necessary. This list should be catalogued and indexed. This can be prepared by an
inverted tree method in which every authority will prepare a list of authorities immediately under it.
- Nodal agency for implementation of RTI Act at GOI level is Dept of Personnel and Training.
Single Window Agency (SWA) at distinct level:- All the departments and agencies of the State Govt are
represented at district level but they may geographically widely dispersed.
- Most of the times, applicant may be unaware of the location. So SWA (at district level) is
necessary to receive request and forward them to PIO.
Subordinate filed offices and public authorities:-
- Definition of it under RTI Act -> any authority or institute or body of Self government
established by constitution or by laws made by the parliament or state legislation, or by any
notification issued by govt, including institute substantially funded by the govt.
- All Pub Authorities should appoint PIO/APIO, under RT – but it has been observed that lower
tiers of the Government have neither been considered as Public Authorities nor have PIOs
been designated.
- Recoms -> Lowest office in any org which has decision making power or is a custodian of
records should be recognized as a public authority.
Application to NGO:-
- Under the Act, a non-governmental body needs to be substantially financed by govt to be
categorized as public authority under the Act.
- Gains importance because of outsourcing of functions of govt to NGO should be clearly
defined. Any org performing functions of public nature should come under the definition.
Time limit for Information beyond 20 years:-
- Under RTI, a request can be made for info of any matters happens in the last 20 years. Many
applicants may want to get info of an event beyond that. This needs to be taken care of. – like
land records which are of permanent nature.
Mechanism for Redressal of Public Grievances:-
- Citizens seek info mostly to redress their grievances – ‘Information is that starting point in a
citizen’s quest for justice and not an end in itself’.
- So states should set up independent public grievance redressal authorities to deal with
complaints of delays or corruption – These will work in coordination with SIC/Dist. Single
Window Agencies. -- Eg: Delhi Govt’s Public Grievances Commission (PGC) – 1997
Frivolous and Vexatious Requests:-
- Applicants need not furnish any reason behind the request or any personal details – this is so
to ensure that the there is no subjective evaluation of the request, or denial on specious
ground.
- Cases – Public Servants facing disciplinary charged have repeatedly attempted to use the Act
to intimidate, harass, and humiliate seniors with requests that have been vexations.
- Such frivolous requests may overwhelm the system; defeat the very purpose of the Act.
Terror of the administration may be paralyzed, seriously undermining delivery of services.
- Results in Breakdown of discipline, insubordination, disharmony in public institutions,
divergence of the resources to unproductive purposes.
- Recoms PIO should be given the power to deny (within 15 days of receiving) the requests
of they are patently (clearly) frivolous and vexatious - these refusals shall be examined by
CIC/SIC. = this will deter the PIO, from unwarrantably denying requests under the garb of
frivolous requests.
Conclusion
RTI effectiveness depends on 3 fundamental shifts – from culture of secrecy to culture of openness; from
personalized despotism to authority coupled with accountability; from unilateral decision making to
participative governance.
RTI can’t change everything. It is only a beginning.
Creation of new institution, changes in laws and procedures, changes in attitudes and traditions of people and
public servants, adequate people’s participation.
More needs to be done to achieve accountability. Protection of whistle blowers, decentralization of powers, etc
Redesigning the processes of governance.
by Shrey Rawat
Sources –
1) Amarkesh’s Hand-Written Notes available at
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzuxVwOA4U0YRjcwOWRjTXRJX2s&usp=sharing
2) Original ARC Reports.
I have used Amarkesh’s hand-written ARC Reports Notes to prepare this summary notes and also took
Reference from the original ARC Reports whenever there was a requirement to add further details.
So here you have the Summary of one of the ARC reports –> much properly formatted – spelling errors free
more detailed and editable, Enjoy.
I’ll share the summaries of rest of the reports too, once they’ll get finished. (Except 7th and 14th Reports)
*Requesting*: Someone please prepare and share a summary, similarly formatted, of the 7th and the 14th
Reports.