right to information act 2005-revised

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Right to Information (RTI)

A Powerful Tool for strengthening Democracy and Enhancing Good Governance

Presented by

Ranjit Kumar Maiti, WBCS( Exe)

Special Secretary ( Retd)P&RD dept , [email protected]; [email protected]

09903018726 / 9874286000,

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F rom Ancient Indian Scripture

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Constitutional Provisions of RTI

The Right to Information is a fundamental right

under the Constitution of India

Information is necessary for protection of the right

to life and liberty. It is therefore a part of Article 21

Information is necessary to form and express

opinions, dissent or support on any matter. It is

therefore a part of Article 19 (1)(a)

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RIGHT TO INFORMATION

PARADIGM SHI FT

An act which will be implemented by

the people and acted upon by the

government

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Why public is important?

� Information is generated with public money

by public servants and paid out of public

funds

� Information belongs to the public

� Officials create information for public benefit

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R T I ± What it means

� Right to seek information

� Duty to give information

� T o store, organize information� T o make it easily available/accessible

� T o withhold information only when it is

proven to be in the best public interest

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7

Right to Information:Key Conc epts

Transparency & Accountability in the working of every public authority

The right of any citizen of India to request access to

information and the corresponding duty of Govt. tomeet the request, except the exempted information(Sec. 8/24)

The duty of Govt. to pro-actively make available key

information to all (Sec 4). A responsibility on all sections: citizenry, NGOs,

Media

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Aim of the Act

To set out the practical regime of right to information for citizens

To secure access to information under control of Public Authorities

To promote transparency and accountability

To contain corruption

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I mportant Definitions under

RT I Act 2005

IN F ORMAT ION

� any material in any form� records, documents, e-mails, opinions,

advices, circulars, orders, logbooks, papers, press releases, contracts, reports, etc

� information relating to a private body whichcan be accessed by a public authority

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Definitions

RIGH T T O IN F ORMAT ION includes the right

to

� Inspect documents, records, etc

� T ake notes, certified copies, extracts

� T ake certified samples

� Obtaining information in CDs, floppies, tapes,

video, etc

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T hen««««.. and Now Secrecy a pillar of government

functioning

T ransparency a pre-condition to

good governance

Information given at discretion Information a legally enforceable

right

No legal remedy for nondisclosure

Penalty for non-disclosure

All info is secret unless there is a

strong reason for releasing it.

All info is available unless there

are strong reasons for denying it

State as locus of control Citizen as sovereign

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Clarifications� "It is beyond the scope of the Act for a public authority to

create information. Collection of information, parts of which are available with different public authorities,

would amount to creation of information which a public

authority under the Act is not required to do.³

� T he above referred statement has been made to

emphasize that the public authority to whom the

application is made is not required to collect information

from different public authorities to supply it to the

applicant.

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Power to the people- examples

� A daily wage earners in a Govt/ PRI run schemecan ask to see muster rolls and payment registers

� A parent can challenge the basis on which medical college admissions are given

� A pensioner can check if personal records held by government are accurate

� A bidder can sue for compensation if it discoverscorruption in awarding tenders

� A resident can question the quality of road in hislocality and check specifications

� A people¶s group can examine the viability of adevelopment project

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Another example

� If a flyover is being constructed in Kolkata the public has aright to know:

± Purpose served by flyover

± Benefits and negatives effects of flyover

± Information regarding cost of project ± T ime frame for completion

± Nature of traffic disruption

± Information regarding contractor undertaking theconstruction

� T his information must be made known to all citizens; not necessary for each citizen to approach the concerned department individually.

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Proactive DisclosureWhy proactive disclosure?

± Will create a culture of openness

± T here is nothing to hide

± Nothing but e-governance

± It is mandatory under section 4 (1)(b)

± It is already included in the citizens charter

± It will streamline record keeping

± Number of applications will reduce ± Number of instances of likely misuse will reduce

± 1st step towards less paper office

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Availabl e Informat ion & Common Man

Proac t iv e Di sclosu r e

Befor e Af ter

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What ar e t he obligat ions of pu blic aut hori ty?

( Proac t iv e di sclosu r e)- A tem plate

� It shall publish within one hundred and twenty days of theenactment:-

� the particulars of its organization, functions and duties;

� the powers and duties of its officers and employees;

� the procedure followed in its decision making process,including channels of supervision and accountability;

� the norms set by it for the discharge of its functions;

� the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and recordsused by its employees for discharging its functions;

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C hanging rol e as pu blic servant

� F rom administrator to facilitator

� Overprotection of official secrets act removed

� Paradigm shift � Giving information is a rule & secrecy an exception

� T ransparency & people¶s participation

� Public interest supreme

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What does Government Information include

(illustrative)

� Policy statements� Minutes of discussions

� Decisions on paper

� Quasi Judicial Decision/Proceedings

� Budget Estimates

� Intra Government Memos

� Expert Advice

� Guide Lines

� Statistical Data

� Reports of Commission of Working Groups/ T ask F orces

� Survey Reports

� Studies F ile notings

Proof of Quality of Environment / Pollution , etc

� AND MUCH, MUCH MORE

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Who ar e P u blic Informat ion Offic er s?

� PIOs are off icers designated by the public authorities in all administrative units or offices

under it to provide information to the citizens

request ing for in format ion under the Act .

� Any officer, whose assistance has been sought by

the PIO for the proper discharge of his or her

duties, shall render all assistance and for the

purpose of contraventions of the provisions of this

Act, such other officer shall be treated as a PIO.

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What are the duties of a PIO?

� PIO shall deal with requests from persons seeking information and where the request cannot be made inwriting, to render reasonable assistance to the person toreduce the same in writing.

� If the information requested for is held by or its subject matter is closely connected with the function of another

public authority, the PIO shall transfer, within 5 days, therequest to that other public authority and inform the applicant immediately.

� PIO may seek the assistance of any other officer for the

proper discharge of his/her duties.

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� PIO, on receipt of a request, shall as expeditiously as possible, and in any case within 30 days of thereceipt of the request, either provide the information

on payment of such fee as may be prescribed or reject the request for any of the reasons specified inS.8 or S.9.

� Where the information requested for concerns thelife or liberty of a person, the same shall be provided within forty-eight hours of the receipt of therequest.

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� If the PIO fails to give decision on the request within the period specified, he shall be deemed to have refused therequest.

� Where a request has been rejected, the PIO shall communicate to the requester ±

the reasons for such rejection,

the period within which an appeal against such rejectionmay be preferred, and

the particulars of the Appellate Authority.

� PIO shall provide information in the form in which it issought unless it would disproportionately divert theresources of the Public Authority or would be detrimental tothe safety or preservation of the record in question.

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� If allowing partial access, the PIO shall give a notice to the

applicant, informing:� that only part of the record requested, after severance of the

record containing information which is exempt fromdisclosure, is being provided;

� the reasons for the decision, including any findings on any

material question of fact, referring to the material on whichthose findings were based;

� the name and designation of the person giving the decision;

� the details of the fees calculated by him or her and theamount of fee which the applicant is required to deposit; and

� his or her rights with respect to review of the decisionregarding non-disclosure of part of the information, theamount of fee charged or the form of access provided.

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Information related to T hird party

� If information sought has been supplied by third party or is treated

as confidential by that third party, the PIO shall give a written noticeto the third party within 5 days from the receipt of the request and

take its representation into consideration.

� T hird party must be given a chance to make a representation before

the PIO within 10 days from the date of receipt of such notice.

� T hird party can prefer an appeal to the F irst Appellate Authority if it is not satisfied with the decision made by the Public lnformation

Officer about disclosure of the information for which it has objected.

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� Soon after receiving the application, the Public

lnformation Officer should check whether the applicant

has made the payment of application fee or whether the

applicant is a person belonging to a Below Poverty Line

(BPL) family.

If application is not accompanied by the prescribed fee

or the BPL Certificate, it cannot be treated as an

application under the R T I Act.

It may, however, be noted that Public lnformation Officer should consider such application sympathetically and try

to supply information sought by way of such an

application.

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A pplicat ions R ec eiv ed W i t hout F ee

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Transf er of A pplicat ions

The Act provides that if an application is made to a public authority requesting for an information, which is held by another public authority; or

the subject matter of which is more closely connected with the functions of another public authority,

the public authority, to which such application is made, shall

transfer the application or relevant part of it to that other public authority within five days from the receipt of the application.

� T he Public lnformation Officer of the public authority to whom the

application is transferred, should not refuse acceptance of transfer

of the application on the ground that it was not transferred to him

within 5 days. The public authority should sensitize its officers about this provision

of the Act lest the public authority is held responsible for delay .

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Assi st anc e Availabl e t o PI0

� T he Public lnformation Officer may seek the assistance of any other

officer for the proper discharge of his or her duties.

� T he officer, whose assistance is so sought by the Public lnformation

Officer, would render all assistance to him/ her.

� Such an officer shall be deemed to be a Public lnformation Officer.

� If the officer whose assistance is sought by the Public lnformation

Officer, does not render necessary help to him, the lnformation

Commission may impose penalty on such officer or recommend

disciplinary action against him the same way as the Commission

may impose penalty on or recommend disciplinary action against

the Public lnforrnation Officer.

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What is not open to disclosure?

� T he following is exempt from disclosure [S.8)]

� information, disclosure of which would prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security,strategic, scientific or economic interests of the State,relation with foreign State or lead to incitement of anoffence

� information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any court of law or tribunal or the disclosureof which may constitute contempt of court;

� information, the disclosure of which would cause abreach of privilege of Parliament or the State Legislature;

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What is not open to disclosure?

� information including commercial confidence, tradesecrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of

which would harm the competitive position of a third

party, unless the competent authority is satisfied

that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;

� information available to a person in his fiduciary

relationship, unless the competent authority is

satisfied that the larger public interest warrants thedisclosure of such information;

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Is partial disclosure allowed?

Only that part of the record which does not

contain any information which is exempt from disclosure and which can reasonably

be severed from any part that contains

exempt information, may be provided. [S.10]

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Who i s ex cl u d ed ?

� Central Intelligence and Security agenciesspecified in the Second Schedule like IB, R&AW,Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau,

� Directorate of Enforcement, Narcotics Control Bureau, Aviation Research Centre, Special F rontier F orce, BS F , CRP F , I T BP, CIS F , NSG,

Assam Rifles, Special Service Bureau, Special Branch (CID), Andaman and Nicobar,

� T he Crime Branch-CID-CB, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Special Branch, Lakshadweep Police.

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Application Application ProcessProcess

Apply in person or electronically

(Reasons for seeking information shall not be asked)

Time limit for givinginformation

If information concerns lifeand liberty of a person

If information is given by

third party then inviteobjections if any

No action on application for 30 days

request in English or

local official language

deemed refusal

add 10 extra days

must be given within48 hrs

30 days

[Sec. 6 & 7]

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Calculation of time

� Where the applicant is asked to pay additional fee, the

period intervening between the dispatch of the intimation

about payment of fee and the payment of fee by the

applicant shall be excluded for the purpose of calculating

the period of reply.

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Procedure of application

in

West Bengal

� As per Notification No 157- PAR dated 10 th March

2006 published by the West Bengal State Govt ,

application in writing/ typed should accompany aCourt fee of Rs 10 ((if not belonging to the below

poverty line category) provided that where such

request cannot be made in writing, the State Public

Information Officer shall render all reasonableassistance to the person making the request orally

to reduce the same in writing.

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What i s t he f ee?

� If further fees are required, then the same must beintimated in writing with calculation details of how the figure was arrived at;

� Applicant can seek review of the decision on fees

charged by the PIO by applying to the appropriate Appellate Authority;

� No fees will be charged from people living below the poverty line

� Applicant must be provided information free of cost if the PIO fails to comply with the prescribed timelimit.

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What cou ld be t he grou nd for r ejec t ion?

� Section 8 (1)(a) to 8 (1)(j): Exemptions from disclosure of information unless there are overriding considerations of public

interest.

� Section 9: Infringement of the copyright subsisting in a person other

than the State. T his is the only absolute exemption. Here the PIO

need not consider the public interest in disclosure.� Section 11: T hird party information treated as confidential by the

concerned and involving the case of trade or commercial secrets

protected by law and other third party information where the public

interest in disclosure does not outweigh the importance of any

possible harm or injury to the interests of such third party.

� Section 24: Information of exempted intelligence and security

organisations except information pertaining to allegations of

corruption and human rights violations.

�

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Who ar e t he A ppellate Aut hori t i es?

�F

irst Appeal:F

irst appeal to the officer senior in rank tothe PIO in the concerned Public Authority within 30 days

from the expiry of the prescribed time limit or from the

receipt of the decision (delay may be condoned by the

Appellate Authority if sufficient cause is shown).

� Second Appeal: Second appeal to the Central Information

Commission or the State Information Commission as the

case may be, within 90 days of the date on which the

decision was given or should have been made by theF irst Appellate Authority. (delay may be condoned by the

Commission if sufficient cause is shown).

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Who are the Appellate authorities?

�T

hird Party appeal against PIO's decision must befiled within 30 days before first Appellate Authority;

and, within 90 days of the decision on the first

appeal, before the appropriate Information

Commission which is the second appellate authority.� Burden of proving that denial of Information was

justified lies with the PIO.

� F irst Appeal shall be disposed of within 30 days

from the date of its receipt. Period extendable by 15 days if necessary. (S.19)

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T he Central Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules, 2005

� Contents of appeal:

(i) Name and address of the appellant;

(ii) Name and address of the State Public Information Officer against the decision of whom the

appeal is preferred;

(iii) Particulars of the order including number, if any, against which the appeal is preferred;

(iv) Brief facts leading to the appeal;

(v) If the appeal is preferred against deemed refusal, the particulars of the application, including

number and date and name and address of the State Public Information Officer to whom

the application was made;

(vi) Prayer or relief sought;

(vii) Grounds for the prayer or relief.

(viii) Verification by the appellant; and

(ix) Any other information which the Commission may deem necessary for deciding the appeal.

� Documents to accompany appeal:

(i) Self-attested copies of the Orders or documents against which the appeal is being preferred;

(ii) Copies of documents relied upon by the appellant and referred to in the appeal; and

(iii) An index of the documents referred to in the appeal.

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What is the role of Central/State



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What i s t he rol e of C ent ral/S t ate

Gov ernments?

� Develop educational programmes for the public especially disadvantaged communities on R T I.

� Encourage Public Authorities to participate in thedevelopment and organization of such programmes.

� Promote timely dissemination of accurate information to the public.

� T rain officers and develop training materials.

� Compile and disseminate a User Guide for the public in therespective official language.

� Publish names, designation postal addresses and contact details of PIOs and other information such as noticesregarding fees to be paid, remedies available in law if request is rejected etc. (S.26)

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Wh t th lt i i ?



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What ar e t he penal ty provi sions?

� Every PIO will be liable for fine of Rs. 250 per day, up to a maximumof Rs. 25,000/-, for -

not accepting an application;

delaying information release without reasonable cause;

malafidely denying information;

knowingly giving incomplete, incorrect, misleading information;

destroying information that has been requested and

obstructing furnishing of information in any manner.

� T he Information Commission (IC) at the Centre and the State levelswill have the power to impose this penalty.

� T he Information Commission can also recommend disciplinary actionfor violation of the law against an erring PIO. (S.20)

� Immunity from legal action for action taken in good faith (S. 21).

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What i s t he ju ri sdic t ion of cou r ts?

� Lower Courts are barred from entertaining suits

or applications against any order made under

this Act. (S.23)

� However, the writ jurisdiction of the SupremeCourt and High Courts under Articles 32 and

225 of the Constitution remains unaffected.

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WE ST BE NGAL INFORMATION COMMISSION Bhabani Bhaban (2nd Floor), Alipore

Kolkata 700 027

Telefax (033) 2479-1966.

Website : www.wbic.gov.in

E-mail : [email protected]

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Examples of How R T I can be used to

undertake Social Audit of Government/ PRI

processes, programmes and schemes

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Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

Any individual can inspect mandatory records maintained by GramPanchayats & seek information & explanation under the scheme. Records

that can be verified include:

� Application Registration Register

� Job Card Register

� Employment Register

� Estimates Register

� Muster Roll Register

� Measurement Books (M B)

� Complaint Register, etc

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Integrated Child Development Services

Individuals can enquire and ensure whether proper services are provided at ICDS (Anganwadi) centre. R T I Act can be used to get information on: (sub.

to exemptions)

� Registration of beneficiaries

� Attendance of children and Anganwadi T

eacher � Growth monitoring of children & pregnant women

� Participation in immunization

� Supplemental nutrition

� Pre-school education ( 2-5 years)

� Regular health checkups� Primary schools enrollment after anganwadi

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Primary Health Services

R T I can be used significantly to enhance PHC service delivery. Individuals

can seek information with respect to the functioning of the PHC such as:

� Attendance of medical officer and other staff

� F ield visits & supervisory visits of the PHC staff

� Stock registers and inventory of medicines

� No. of Outpatients treated

� No. of Surgeries conducted and their success rate

� Inspection of immunisation registers & cold chain

� Inspection of other relevant registers

� Samples of medicines being supplied to patients.

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U sing RTI for g ett ing an el ec t rici ty connec t ion ( Del hi )

Ashok Gupta applied to the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) for a new electricity

connection, inF

ebruary 2001. Because he refused to pay a bribe, for a year no action was taken on his application. In F ebruary 2002, he filed an

application under the Delhi R T I Act. In his application he asked for the

following information:

� T he daily progress made on his application till date

�T

he names and designations of the officials who were supposed totake action on his application and who have not done so

� As, according to the Indian Electricity Act, a requester should get a

new connection within 30 days of application ± thus are these officials

guilty of violating the Electricity Act?

� As these officials have not provided the connection in time, does the

DVB plan to take any action against these officials?

� If yes, in how much time?

� When will he get his connection?

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Clarification on ACR of Govt employees

2. C an government officers get access to their Annual C onfidential Rolls

(AC Rs) under the RT I Act? Response: This is an area that requires clarification from Government. Ordinarily

AC Rs are secret documents but if the senior officer records an adverse remark against an officer the same must be communicated to such officer.

Opinion is divided as to whether an officer may be given a copy of his/her AC R upon request under the RT I Act with some officers maintaining that AC Rs will also become open documents.

However some others believe that AC Rs are personal documents and therefore enjoy the protection of exemptions to RT I under Sec. 8(l)(j) unless it is shown that public interest is better served by disclosing the

AC R.

However this is likely to be a matter for the I nformation C ommission to decide on a case by case basis.

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Whether to designate PIOs at F ield offices ?4. Every department performs different kinds of function at

different levels of operation from the Secretariat to the Block level. Will disclosure under Sec. 4 have to be designed for every one of these levels separately?

Response: Yes. Every such public authority will have to develop its own proactive

disclosure documents also known as Public I nformation Directories/

Handbooks unique to its powers, functions and area of operation. Sec. 4 is designed to ensure that public authorities give certain information which is important to the public voluntarily at every level of operation.

I f implemented properly, Sec, 4 will reduce the workload of officials and public authorities because it will mean that information which is regularly needed by the public can be accessed by them without the need for a specific request .

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On proactive disclosure by public authorities



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On proactive disclosure by public authorities

5. The production of 17 manuals under Sec.4(l) - as advised by the DOPT in a recent circular - will be very difficult and burdensome .

Response: The idea of producing 'manuals' does not properly reflect the objectives of

Sec.4 proactive disclosure, which is simply to publish and disseminate key information routinely in a manner and form which is easily accessible and understood by the public [sec Sec.4(3) and 4(4) of the RT I Act which specifically require this].

These 17 subsections of Sec. 4 are 17 categories of information that the public authority is required to prepare and disseminate proactively through books, notice boards, print and electronic media. Most of the information required to be published proactively under this section may already be available within the public authority albeit in a scattered manner.

These will need to be collected and collated to fulfill the requirement of Sec. 4. Several officials are pleased with Sec. 4 as it will help them

streamline their own housekeeping procedures. Furthermore not every public authority may be required to collate

information under all categories of Sec.4. Public I nformation Directory.

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Information dissemination through Internet- is it



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Information dissemination through Internet- is it

enough?6. I s i t enou g h t o di sseminate informat ion u nd er S ec . 4 on t he Internet?

R esponse:� Proactive disclosure of information could be made possible through various print and electronic means.

� It may be disseminated in one or a series of documents in print. T hey could all beuploaded on the website of the concerned department.

� Certain categories of information such as the name and designation of theofficers concerned in each office, broad norms of service etc, may be put up on

notice boards. Information regarding beneficiaries of various development schemes, concessions and permits may be published from time to time in leading newspapers.

� As the proportion of people that use Internet facility regularly is only a minisculefigure it-is better to print Public Information Directories or publish variableinformation like that of beneficiaries of schemes and recipients of concessionsetc, through newspapers.

�F

urther, such documents should be made easily accessible to people throughMedia/Information Centres established at the Block/ GP or district level. Similarly such Directories should be made available to people in all public librariesestablished, financed or supported by the Government.

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10. Application relates to many items of



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pp y

information� R esponse:

� T he Act does not permit rejection of an application simply because it relates to a large number of documents.

� If a large number of records are involved in relation to a request, the PIO

can contact the requestor and clarify their request to see if they can reach

a mediated solution that will give the requestor what they want without

unnecessarily burdening the PIO.� If the applicant is not easily reachable except by post then the PIO may

give detailed reasons in writing for not being able to meet the information

request.

� No penalty will be imposed on the PIO if it is shown that he/she has taken

action in good faith (Sec. 21).

� If some of the information requested relates to the work of another public

authority within the same department or in another department, the PIO

has the power to transfer those parts of the application to such public

authority under Sec. 6(3)..

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11 Single application relating to several



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11. Single application²relating to several

offices/ departments� Is the PIO responsible for giving all that information within the deadline?

� Response:

� No, the R T I Act makes it clear that the PIO has the power to transfer anapplication or parts of it if it relates to information held by another public authority or relates more closely to the activities of that other public authority within five days[Sec. 6(3)].

� T he PIO is not responsible for collecting information from other public authorities especially if it is likely to take more than 30 days to securesuch information.

� It is better to transfer the application to the concerned PIO and informthe applicant about the transfer in writing immediately.

� T his amounts to action taken in good faith and will not attract any

penalty to the PIO.

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I f fl d f li ti f i ti f d



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In case of flood of applications for inspection of records

13. How will the PIO provide access to all applicants and also do justice to

his/her other designated duties? What if one such applicant mutilates or

destroys the record during inspection?

Response:

T he Government needs to make rules and guidelines for PIOs regarding

the procedure to be followed for allowing inspection of records.

Specific timings will have to be notified for allowing public inspection of

records.

If there is a high demand for the inspection of certain categories of

records it is advisable to digitize such records as far as possible and

upload it on the Internet to facilitate easy access to the public. T his will

reduce the workload of the PIO as well.

T he Government will have to issue clear guidelines relating to themanner in which inspection of records will be allowed. T he carrying of

sharp edged instruments or inflammable material to the place of

inspection may have to be prohibited.

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P f f di th t th li t?



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Process for refunding the money to the applicant?

18. The RT I Act states that information must be provided free of cost if it is

not given within the time limit specified. What is the process for refunding the money to the applicant?

Response:

Yes, the applicant is entitled to information free of cost if it is provided after the lapse of the deadline stipulated in the Act.

The State Government should prescribe the process for refunding the additional fees paid by the applicant.

I t should also specify whether the application fee will also be refunded to the applicant in such cases.

This process of refund must take the convenience of the applicant into

consideration .

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Penal action against PIO



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Penal action against PIO

19. I f the applicant does not pay the additional fees towards

cost of providing information within the 3O day deadline will the P I O be penalized for failing to provide information to the applicant?

Response: No. The P I O will not invite any penalty in such cases.

The 30-day clock stops ticking from the date of dispatching the intimation order issued by the P I O and restarts on the date on which the applicant pays the additional fee.

The P I O will have to provide the information within 25 days from the date of payment of additional fees, if the applicant did not prefer 1st

appeal against the additional fees calculated by the P I O.

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Penalty of PIO for providing misleading or wrong



RKMaiti 90

Penalty of P I O for providing misleading or wrong

information

22.I f the information given by the P

I O in response to a request turns out to be wrong, false or misleading but the

P I O was not responsible for the creation that record or such information will he/she be penalized by the 1C ?

Response: The RT I Act provides protection to the P I O for action taken in good faith.

I f the requested record has not been prepared by the P I O but by some other officer or if the data compiled by the P I O was received from some other officer and the P I O merely passed on that information to the applicant without having prior knowledge that such information was

wrong or false or misleading he/she is not guilty of an offence under the RT I Act.

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RKMaiti 93

Proc essing Informat ion R equests

� Devise user friendly format- Plain and simple� F ees and application procedure-receipt of

application should be easy to follow- court feestamp

� Indicating the probable expenses� Define ± What is the proof for BPL?

� Delivery of documents- certified or stamped as youdecide

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How to appeal



RKMaiti 95

How to appeal

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Action in good Faith ± Sec 21



RKMaiti 96

Ac t ion in good Fai t h S ec .21

� Prompt, just, fair, reasonable, equitable & bonafide- an act

which is honestly done� Documentations of effort made to obtain information.

� Separate registers for receipt of applications &acknowledgement of applications

� Registers for transfer of applications to other public

authority/offices� Maintenance of daily case book

� Any internal order or communication as regards theinformation

� Providing table space for inspection of documents� Laying down procedures for making available samples,

models, reports, microfilms, facsimile, etc.

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E-Governance -a tool for implementing R T I



RKMaiti 99

p g

� E-Governance is a growing initiative leading the move towards

electronic and on-line governance.

� T he Central govt approved the National e-governance Plan at an outlay

of Rs 12,400 crores to be spent over the next 3 to 4 years.

� NeGP will invest Rs 3300 crores in setting up State wide Area Networks

(SWAN) for laying connections to the block level with 2 mbps speed.

� F rom Block to GPs there will be wireless or dial-up connections.

� Each GP will have Common Service Centre for Service delivery and

information dissemination to the citizens.

� It will close the gaps in information sharing and access and narrow the

divide between citizens and their elected representatives.

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C hallenges



RKMaiti 101

g Digitisation of records at all levelsDept, Directorate,

DRD C , S I PRD, 18 ZPs, 333 PS, 3354 GPs.

Process reengineering of Govt at all levels. Training and orientation of all SP I Os , ASP I OS & staff. Supply of information through xeroxing huge documents at

GPs and PS where no such facilities available. I nstrument to receive money for supplying such information

at department, standard estimation procedure etc. Process for refunding the money to the applicant

Awareness building of citizens how to apply, how to appeal, to whom etc.

Dearth of earmarked staff at all levels. Availability of specific information from concerned offices/

agencies within time frame. C oordination among various offices/ SP I OS. C ommunication network for data transfer.

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Suggestive actions for citizen centric i gi th gh RTI a t



RKMaiti 102

service regime through RT I act

Process reengineering at all levels Govt, local govt.

Setting up of standards Establishing IC T at all levels as a powerful enabler to store,

retrieve, sort, filter, distribute and share information. Bridging the digital divide Wide spread awareness building programme, mass

campaign C apacity building of officials and PR I members, NGOs,

C SOs, Media, An earmarked Govt portal for RT I obligations. Frequent meeting with SP I OS for exchange of ideas and

procedures. I ssue of authentic information through network

connectivity, use of digital signatures.

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Th k Y



T hank You

Solici t ing coo perat ion from all conc erned