Right to information act 2005

Information sharing and transparency in government and Right To Information act 2005

Transparency and Accountability in administration as the sine qua non of participatory Democracy, gained recognition as the new commitments of the state towards its citizens. It is considered imperative to enlist the support and participation of citizens in management of public Services. Traditionally, participation in political and economic processes and the ability to make informed choices has been restricted to a small elite in India. Consultation on important policy matters, even when they directly concern the people was rarely the practice. Information-sharing being limited, the consultative process was severely undermined.

There is no denying the fact that information is the currency that every citizen requires to participate in the life and governance of Society. The greater the access of the citizen to information, the greater would be the responsiveness of government to community needs. Alternatively, the greater the restrictions that are placed on ‘access’, the greater the feelings of ‘powerlessness’ and alienation. Without information, people cannot adequately exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens or make informed choices.

Government information is a national resource. Neither the particular government of the day, nor public officials, creates information for their own benefit. This information is generated for the purposes related to the legitimate discharge of their duties of office, and for the service of public for whose benefit the institutions of government exist, and who ultimately (through one kind of import or another) fund the institutions of government and the salaries of officials. It follows that government and officials are ‘trustees’ of the information of the people.

Nonetheless, there are in theory at least, numerous ways in which information can be accessible to members of the public in a parliamentary system. The systemic devices promote the transfer of information from government to parliament and the legislatures, and from these to the people. Members of the public can seek information from their elected representatives. Annual reporting requirements, committee reports, publication of information and administrative law requirements also increase the flow of information from government to the citizen. Recent technological advances also help to reduce further the gap between the ‘information rich’ and the ‘information’.

However, in spite of India’s status as the world’s most populous democratic state, there was not until recently any obligation at village, district, state or national level to disclose information to the people – information was essentially protected by the colonial secrets Act 1923, which makes the disclosure of official information by public servants an offence. The colonial legacy of secrecy, distance and mystification.

of the Bureaucracy coupled with a long history of one party dominance proved to be a formidable challenge to transparency and effective government let alone an effective right to information secretive government is nearly always inefficient in that the free flow of information is essential if problems are to be identified and resolved.

Right to information has been seen as the key to strengthening participatory democracy and ushering in people centred governance. Access to information can empower the poor and the weaker sections of society to demand and get information about public policies and actions, thereby leading to their welfare. Without Good Governance, no amount of developmental schemes can bring improvements in the Quality Of Life of the citizens. Good governance has four Elements– transparency, accountability, predictability and participation. Transparency refers to availability of information to the general public and clarity about functioning of governmental institutions. Right to information opens up government’s records to public scrutiny, thereby arming citizens with a vital tool to inform them about what the government does and how effectively, thus making the government more accountable. Transparency in government organisations makes them function more objectively thereby enhancing predictability. Information about functioning of government also enables citizens to participate in the governance process effectively. In a fundamental sense, right to information is a basic necessity of good governance.

In recognition of the need for transparency in public affairs, the Indian Parliament enacted the Right to Information Act (hereinafter referred to as the RTI Act or the Act) in 2005. It is a path breaking legislation empowering people and promoting transparency. While right to information is implicitly guaranteed by the Constitution, the Act sets out the practical regime for citizens to secure access to information on all matters of governance.

Right to information : Challenges

The most contentious issue in the implementation of the Right to Information Act relates to official secrets. In a democracy, people are sovereign and the elected government and its functionaries are public servants. Therefore by the very nature of things, transparency should be the norm in all matters of governance. However it is well recognised that public interest is best served if certain sensitive matters affecting national security are kept out of public gaze. Similarly, the Collective Responsibility of the Cabinet demands uninhibited debate on public issues in the Council of Ministers, free from the pulls and pressures of day-to-day politics. People should have the unhindered right to know the decisions of the Cabinet and the reasons for these, but not what actually transpires within the confines of the ‘Cabinet room’. The Act recognizes these confidentiality requirements in matters of State and Section 8 of the Act exempts all such matters from disclosure.

The Official Secrets Act, 1923 (hereinafter referred to as OSA), enacted during the colonial era, governs all matters of secrecy and confidentiality in governance. The law largely deals with matters of security and provides a framework for dealing with espionage, sedition and other assaults on the unity and Integrity of the nation. However, given the colonial Climate of mistrust of people and the primacy of public officials in dealing with the citizens, OSA created a culture of secrecy. Confidentiality became the norm and disclosure the exception. While Section 5 of OSA was obviously intended to deal with potential breaches of national security, the wording of the law and the colonial times in which it was implemented made it into a catch-all legal provision converting practically every issue of governance into a confidential matter. This tendency was buttressed by the Civil Service Conduct Rules, 1964 which prohibit Communication of an official document to anyone without authorization. Not surprisingly, Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act, enacted in 1872, prohibits the giving of evidence from unpublished official records without the permission of the Head of the Department, who has abundant discretion in the matter. Needless to say even the instructions issued for Classification of documents for security purposes and the official procedures displayed this tendency of holding back information.

The Official Secrets Act, 1923 should be repealed, and substituted by a chapter in the National Security Act, containing provisions relating to official secrets.

Implementation of right to information act

In order to enforce the rights and fulfil the obligations under the Act, building of institutions, organization of information and creation of an enabling Environment are critical. Therefore, the Commission has as a first step reviewed the steps taken so far to implement the Act as follow:

Institutions

Information Commissions

Information Officers and Appellate Authorities.

Information and record keeping

Suo motu declaration under Section

Public Interest Disclosure.

Modernizing recordkeeping

Capacity building and awareness generation

Creation of monitoring mechanism

Capacity Building and Awareness Generation

Training programmes: The enactment of Right to Information Act is only the first step in promoting transparency in governance. The real challenge lies in ensuring that the information sought is provided expeditiously, and in an intelligible form. The mindset of the government functionaries, wherein secrecy is the norm and disclosure the exception, would require a revolutionary change. Such a change would also be required in the mindset of citizens who traditionaly have been reluctant to seek information. Bringing about this radical change would require sustained training and awareness generation programmes. The Commission’s own experience in seeking information from select public authorities reveals that even some PIOs are not conversant with the key provisions of the Act. The Information Commissioner’s Office in the United Kingdom has published an ‘Awareness Guidance’ series to assist public authorities and, in particular, staff who may not have access to specialist advice about some of the issues, especially exemption provisions. This practice may also be adopted in India.

Awareness generation: The enactment of the Right to Information Act has led to an intense debate in the media on various aspects of freedom of information. Despite this, enquiries reveal that level of awareness, particularly at the grass roots level, is surprisingly low. In order to achieve the objectives of the Act it would be necessary that citizens become aware of their entitlements and the processes required to use this right to improve the quality of governance. Awareness generation so far has been largely confined to government advertisement in print media. An effective awareness generation campaign should involve multi media efforts including street plays, television spots, radio jingles, and other mass communication techniques. These campaigns could be effectively implemented at low cost, once committed voluntary organizations and corporates with creativity, passion and professionalism are involved.

Issues in implementation

The implementation of the RTI Act is an administrative challenge which has thrown up various structural, procedural and logistical issues and problems, which need to be addressed.

Facilitating Access: For seeking information, a process as prescribed under the Act has to be set in motion. The trigger is filing of a request. Once the request is filed the onus of responding to it shifts to the government agency. Based on the experiences there are some issues arising in the implementation:

Complicated system of accepting requests.
Insistence on demand drafts.
Difficulties in filing applications by post.
Varying and often higher rates of application fee.
Large number of PIOs.

Complicated system of accepting requests : While accepting applications, Departments insist that cash be paid at the accounts office. In Ministries, the accounts office and the PIOs office are different and at times in different locations. The Rules also prescribe that for each extra page of information, Rs. 2 has to be paid, for which the applicant has to go through the same process. The difficulty would get further pronounced in field offices, many of which do not have provision to collect cash. Moreover, getting a visitor’s pass to enter a government building results in unwarranted wait times (especially, when the PIO responsible might not be available owing to a number of other responsibilities which (s)he handles). Therefore, the process of filing requests for information needs to be simplified.

Insistence on demand drafts: Though there is a provision to pay fees through bank drafts, this poses another problem, as the bank charges Rs 35 to prepare a demand draft of Rs 10. Therefore the insistence by some departments to receive fees only through demand drafts and not in cash needs to be dispensed with.

Difficulties in filing applications by post: Under the existing dispensation, filing applications by post would necessarily involve payment of the application fee by way of demand draft or Banker’s cheque.

Varying and often higher rates of application fee: Different States have prescribed different fees in this regard. The Tamil Nadu Right to Information (Fees) Rules provides that an application fee of Rs 50 has to be paid for each request. During its public hearing in Chennai, the Commission was informed that this high rate of fees discouraged filing of applications under the Act. Therefore there is a need to harmonise the fee structure.

Suggestions

In addition to the existing modes of payment, appropriate governments should amend the Rules to include payment through postal orders.
States may be required to frame Rules regarding application fee which are in harmony with the Central Rules. It needs to be ensured that the fee itself does not become a disincentive.
Appropriate governments may restructure the fees (including additional fees) in multiples of Rs 5. {e.g. instead of prescribing a fee of Rs. 2 per additional page it may be desirable to have a fee of Rs. 5 for every 3 pages or part thereof}.
State Governments may issue appropriate stamps in suitable denominations as a mode of payment of fees. Such stamps would be used for making applications before public authorities coming within the purview of State Governments.
As all the post offices in the country have already been authorized to function as APIOs on behalf of Union Ministries/Departments, they may also be authorized to collect the fees in cash and forward a receipt along with the application.
At the Government of India level the Department of Personnel and Training has been identified as the nodal department for implementation of the RTI Act. This nodal department should have a complete list of all Union Ministries/ Departments which function as public authorities.
Each Union Ministry/ Department should also have an exhaustive list of all public authorities, which come within its purview. The public authorities coming under each ministry/ department should be classified into (i) Constitutional Bodies, (ii) line agencies, (iii) Statutory Bodies, (iv) Public Sector Undertakings, (v) bodies created under executive orders, (vi) bodies owned, controlled or substantially financed, and (vii) NGOs substantially financed by government. Within each category an up-todate list of all public authorities has to be maintained.
Each public authority should have the details of all public authorities subordinate to it at the immediately next level. This should continue till the last level is reached. All these details should be made available on the websites of the respective public authorities, in a hierarchical form.
A similar system should also be adopted by the States.

Elections are the primary means for citizens to hold their country’s officials accountable for their actions in office, especially when they have behaved illegally, corruptly, or ineptly in carrying out the government’s work. For elections — and the people’s will — to be meaningful, basic rights must be protected and affirmed, as through the Bill of Rights in the United States. James Madison, the author of the Bill of Rights, believed that the very basis for government’s responsiveness was the assurance that citizens would have sufficient knowledge to direct it. If citizens are to govern their own affairs, either directly or through representative government, then they must be able to have access to the information needed in order to make informed choices about how best to determine their affairs. If citizens and their representatives are not well informed, they can neither act in their own self-interest, broadly speaking, nor can they have any serious choice in elections, much less offer themselves as candidates.,

The Right to Information Act 2005 (RTI Act) is a law that gives citizens of India the right to access information held by the government. The Act was passed by the Parliament of India on 15 June 2005 and came into force on 12 October 2005.

The RTI Act is one of the most important pieces of legislation in India. It has been hailed as a landmark law that has helped to promote transparency and accountability in the government. The Act has also been instrumental in empowering citizens and making them more aware of their rights.

The RTI Act gives citizens the right to access information held by any public authority. This includes information about the government’s policies and programs, as well as information about the functioning of government departments and agencies.

To seek information under the RTI Act, a citizen can make an application to the concerned public authority. The application must be made in writing and should specify the information that is being sought. The public authority is required to provide the information within 30 days of receiving the application.

If the public authority fails to provide the information within the stipulated time period, the citizen can file an appeal with the Central Information Commission (CIC) or the State Information Commission (SIC). The CIC and the SIC are independent statutory bodies that are responsible for overseeing the implementation of the RTI Act.

The RTI Act has been a major success in promoting transparency and accountability in the government. It has helped to expose Corruption and inefficiency in the government and has made the government more responsive to the needs of the people. The Act has also helped to empower citizens and has made them more aware of their rights.

The RTI Act is a powerful tool that can be used by citizens to hold the government accountable. It is important for citizens to be aware of their rights under the RTI Act and to use this law to demand transparency and accountability from the government.

Here are some of the key provisions of the RTI Act:

Right to information: Every citizen has the right to information under this Act.
Obligations of public authorities: Public authorities are required to provide information to citizens within 30 days of receiving an application.
Application for information: An application for information can be made in writing to the concerned public authority.
Response to application: The public authority is required to provide the information within 30 days of receiving the application.
Third party information: If the information sought is third party information, the public authority can either provide the information after obtaining the Consent of the third party or give the reasons for not providing the information.
Appeal: If the public authority fails to provide the information within the stipulated time period or if the information provided is not satisfactory, the citizen can file an appeal with the CIC or the SIC.
Penalty: If a public authority fails to comply with the provisions of the RTI Act, it can be penalized.
Protection of action taken in good faith: No person can be penalized for any action taken in good faith under this Act.
Miscellaneous: The RTI Act also contains provisions for the appointment of Information Commissioners, the establishment of State Information Commissions, and the rules and regulations for the implementation of the Act.

Table of Contents

What is the Right to Information Act?

The Right to Information Act, 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of India to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government.

Who is covered under the Right to Information Act?

The Right to Information Act applies to all public authorities, which include:

Central Government
State Governments
Local Governments
Public corporations established by Central or State Governments
Universities established by Central or State Governments
Societies registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, with Government as a member
Trusts registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, with Government as a trustee
Companies in which Government holds more than 50% of the paid-up share capital
Co-operative societies in which Government is a member

What information can be obtained under the Right to Information Act?

Any information under the control of a public authority can be obtained under the Right to Information Act, subject to certain exemptions. The exemptions are:

Information that is exempted from disclosure under any other law
Information that would endanger the life or physical safety of any person
Information that would prejudice the security of the State or its relations with foreign State
Information that would lead to incitement of an offence
Information that would violate the right of privacy of any person
Information that would constitute Contempt of Court
Information that would infringe Intellectual Property Rights

How can I apply for information under the Right to Information Act?

You can apply for information under the Right to Information Act by submitting an application in Form 1 to the public authority concerned. The application should be accompanied by a fee of Rs.10/-.

What is the time limit for responding to an application under the Right to Information Act?

The public authority concerned is required to respond to an application under the Right to Information Act within 30 days of the receipt of the application.

What if the public authority does not respond to my application within 30 days?

If the public authority does not respond to your application within 30 days, you can file a complaint with the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be.

What are the penalties for non-compliance with the Right to Information Act?

Any public authority that fails to comply with the provisions of the Right to Information Act is liable to a penalty of up to Rs.25,000/-.

What are the benefits of the Right to Information Act?

The Right to Information Act has several benefits, including:

It promotes transparency and accountability in the working of the Government
It helps to curb corruption
It empowers citizens to participate in the decision-making process
It helps to improve the quality of governance
It facilitates citizen-centric administration

Sure, here are some MCQs without mentioning the topic Right to information act 2005:

Which of the following is not a right guaranteed by the Indian Constitution?
(A) Right to freedom
(B) Right to Equality
(C) Right to information
(D) Right to Property
The Right to Information Act was passed in which year?
(A) 2000
(B) 2001
(C) 2002
(D) 2003
The Right to Information Act gives citizens the right to access information from which of the following?
(A) Central government
(B) State Government
(C) Local Government
(D) All of the above
The Right to Information Act is a tool for promoting transparency and accountability in which of the following?
(A) Government
(B) Private sector
(C) Both government and private sector
(D) None of the above
The Right to Information Act has been hailed as a landmark legislation because it has helped to empower citizens and make the government more accountable. True or False?
The Right to Information Act has been criticized for being too complex and difficult to use. True or False?
The Right to Information Act has been criticized for being ineffective in achieving its objectives. True or False?
The Right to Information Act has been amended several times since it was passed in 2005. True or False?
The Right to Information Act is a powerful tool for citizens to hold the government accountable. True or False?
The Right to Information Act is a necessary tool for promoting transparency and accountability in government. True or False?