Right to Information Act

Right to information Act is a landmark legislation passed by our parliament. In this article i would like to highlight the positive changes which has taken place after the enactment of this act and how ordinary citizens can effectively employ this in our crusade to fight against corruption. The act forces the government to behave in a transparent way making it accountable. We all pay taxes and its our right to know to what extent that money is being effectively utilised. Rajeev Gandhi had made a observation that only 15 paisa out of a rupee of the government money reaches the intended beneficiary. I regret to say that we have reached a stage where some form of corruption is acceptable to many to get the task done. This is a dangerous proposition and its implications in the long run is going to hurt our country pretty badly from all aspects.

Lets get started with a brief introduction on what RTI is all about. The information has been gathered from http://www.righttoinformation.org/faqs.asp

What is RTI ?

Right to Information Act 2005 empowers every citizen to
Ask any questions from the Government or seek any information
Take copies of any government documents
Inspect any government documents.
Inspect any Government works
Take samples of materials of any Government work.

Before i tell you how and where to submit the application and the intricacies of the process i would like to highlight its importance by citing how ordinary citizens have effectively utilized this act. NDTV recently gave away RTI awards in association with ONGC and all the examples cited here are taken from their website http://rti.ndtv.com

1. Gogoi, who is one of the best-known social activists of Assam, started an RTI investigation in March 2006, followed by a social audit, that led to the expose of a Rs 1.25 crore scam in Sampoornai Gram Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) and Rs 60 lakh scam in Indira Awas Yojana in Gamariguri block of Golaghat district.

2. RAvindra Singh: For his effort to use and encourage others to use RTI Act to expose illegalities committed by Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) in selecting candidates for state civil services through exams conducted in 2003, 2005, and 2008.

3. An RTI activist, Dev Ashish Bhattacharya has filed over 100 RTIs so far on various issues. One of his noteworthy applications that had a large scale impact was the one filed with the Ministry of Home Affairs seeking information on foodgrain damage in FCI godowns.

4. Rajesh Bissa: For using RTI Act, to reveal large-scale irregularities and corruption in selection of a private partner for Rs 2500 crore road project and award of other large contracts by Chhattisgarh government.

5. Prashnath Kumar Dubey : For using RTI and the Media together to make child malnutrition one of the most important social, political and electoral issues in Madhya Pradesh.

6. Bharatsinh R. JhalaJhala conducted an RTI investigation to show that more farmers in Gujarat had been committing suicides than what the state government was prepared to admit, thus bringing to light economic distress of small farmers.

7. Ramesh Kumar Verma: For using RTI to expose doctors with fake degrees and also the scandal that facilitated their existence.

These are just instances where the RTI act has been instrumental in exposing corruption and bringing the culprits to books. It has also made the governments to take note of important issues and take quick action for the same.

Having highlighted the importance through case studies, I will come back to the intricacies of filing an application and the process involved.

Who will give me information?

One or more existing officers in every Government Department have been designated as Public Information Officers (PIO). These PIOs act like nodal officers. You have to file your applications with them. They are responsible for collecting information sought by you from various wings of that Department and providing that information to you. In addition, several officers have been appointed as Assistant Public Information Officers (APIOs). Their job is only to accept applications from the public and forward it to the right PIO.

Where do I submit application?

You can do that with the PIO or with APIO. In the case of all Central Government Departments, 629 post offices have been designated as APIOs. This means that you can go to any of these post offices and submit your fee and application at the RTI counter in these post offices. They will issue you a receipt and acknowledgement and it is the responsibility of that post office to deliver it to the right PIO. The list of these post offices is given at http://www.indiapost.gov.in/rtimanual16a.html


Is there any fee? How do I deposit that?

Yes, there is an application fee. For Central Government Departments, it is Rs 10. However, different states have prescribed different fee. For getting information, you have to pay Rs 2 per page of information provided for Central Government Departments. It is different for different states. Similarly, there is a fee for inspection of documents. There is no fee for first hour of inspection, but after that, you have to pay Rs. 5 for every subsequent hour or fraction thereof. This is according to Central Rules. For each state, see respective state rules.

Is there an application form for seeking information?

For Central Government Departments, there is no form. You should apply on a plain sheet of paper like an ordinary application. However, many states and some ministries and departments have prescribed formats. You should apply in these formats.

Download the application form from http://www.fixindia.org/right_to_information.php

Is there a time limit to receiving information?

Yes. If you file your application with the PIO, you must receive information within 30 days.
In case you have filed your application with Assistant PIO then information has to be made available within 35 days.
In case the matter to which the information pertains affects the life and liberty of an individual, information has to be made available in 48 hours.

There have been many good laws in this country but none of those laws worked. Why do you think this law would work?

This law is already working. This is because for the first time in the history of independent India, there is a law which casts a direct accountability on the officer for non-performance. If concerned officer does not provide information in time, a penalty of Rs 250 per day of delay can be imposed by the Information Commissioner. If the information provided is false, a penalty of a maximum of Rs 25000 can be imposed. A penalty can also be imposed for providing incomplete or for rejecting your application for malafide reasons. This fine is deducted from the officer’s personal salary.

There is lot of resistance from the bureaucracy to curtail the freedom and the power this RTI act gives to ordinary citizens. Tonnes of RTI activists are working to create awareness about this act amongst common man.

For me RTI is a right tool to expose corruption and it gives power to common man. I read in a daily the other day that RTI should be made as part of school curriculum to create awareness. I completely agree with the gentleman who made this proposal.

Next time if you feel something is going wrong with a government scheme or you feel that a recently constructed road with huge money is in pretty bad shape then its time to use RTI act and expose the corrupt practices.