The flag-bearers of Right To Information Act who have been trying to bring about a change in the manner our government functions
Arvind Kejriwal 2006 Ramon Magsaysay award winner and founder of Parivartan
How would you rate the functioning of the RTI Act five years into its enactment
It has been a mixed experience.It is encouraging that we have one of the best laws in the world but its shoddy implementation is taking the sheen away.The two nerve centres of RTI are simplifying the process of filing an application and making the functioning of the Commission effective.The posts of Information Commissioner are being doled out as gifts to people who,in turn,protect the interests of their political masters.It has effectively been cornered by IAS officers.The process of appointing Information Commissioners must be transparent and participatory for the effectiveness of the Act.Indonesia has set a fine example of this kind of appointment where they advertise for the post and candidates are interviewed by a parliamentary panel live on television.
Is there any signature triumph of the Act
The enormous power it has placed in the hands of people.Could we have imagined that a cloth merchant from Chandni Chowk (reference to RTI activist SC Aggarwal) could ask for the assets of Supreme Court judges The Act has managed to raise the issue at the highest level and shaken the judiciary to its core.But changing the culture of the bureaucracy,which holds the key to the information being held with public authorities,is a long way off.Even though initially the bureaucracy had been wary of the Act due to the penalty clause for failure to provide information (a penalty of 250 per day of delay),there is no fear of the Act anymore.
Have there been any RTIs regarding the Commonwealth Games
Plenty of them.But the government has refused to part with any information on the grounds that this will violate the commercial interests of the contractors.
There have been many recent cases of deaths of RTI activists How can we protect those who choose to raise their voice
We must have an effective anti-corruption machinery in place at the state and Central level and give it the power to protect the whistleblowers.
IN MARCH this year,Venkatesh Nayak of the CHRI requested the DoPT to place the draft Public Interest Disclosure and Protection of Informers (PIDPIas the whistle-blower Bill was then called) Bill on its website.When the DoPT did not respond,Nayak took up the matter with the CIC arguing that this was violative of the RTI Act.The result: A landmark ruling by the Commission that said that exemption under the RTI would not apply to it until a minister approved a policy i.e the deliberations leading up to it are in the public domain.A revolutionary ruling considering that the entire process of the making of a law is usually closed to the public.This ruling clearly states that only when a Minister approves a cabinet note is it liable for exemption under the RTI.This creates a space for public consultation,the basic requirement of a democracy, Nayak said.
WITH THE Panchayat getting the maximum number of visits by members of a village,the NAK hit upon the novel idea of painting the mandatory disclosures under RTI on the walls of the Panchayat building.While Section 4 (1) (b) of the Act lists 17 types of information which must be voluntarily disclosed by a public authority,this list is displayed on a department's website,inaccessible to the mass of villagers who usually have no access to a computer.In 2009 NAK put up a template on the walls of 22 village panchayats in Panchmahals district along with similar templates in the village ration shop,the nearest PHC,local government schools.When they did the same for 15 villages in neighbouring Dahod district,the district administration sat up and took note.200 villages in Dahod district were then instructed to replicate the wall painting template and spread the RTI word.
IT IS a full five years after the enactment of the RTI Act that all 37 passport offices in the country are in tune with it.A sustained campaign by Retd Commodore Batra ensured that they complied with Section 4 of the Act which lists the 17 types of information which every public authority must disclose.He is also in the middle of a campaign to ensure that Indians who travel abroad do not lose out on their RTI rights.Indian citizens living abroad are unable to access information as per their right in the absence of procedure /rules to be framed by the government for payment of RTI fees in foreign currency.Retd Comm Batra,who stays in Noida,also led a spirited campaign at the time of the Nithari killings bringing out the failure of the authorities.His latest campaign involves an RTI application to the PMO and MoEF to formulate a Green Buildings Code for govt buildings.
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