RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT

WHAT IS RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT?

An act that provides Indian citizens the opportunity to request for information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the Indian administrative system.

BACKGROUND

Official Secrets Act 1889 Freedom of Information Act 2002 The Right to Information Act - October, 2005.

KEY UNITS Information seeker – Citizen of India Information Commissions – Responsible for

implementing the RTI act. Has both State and central divisions.

PIO – represents information commission in PA and is responsible for collecting applications and delivering info.

PA – Public Authority First Appellate (FA) – Mediates disputes between

applicants and PA. Each Public Authority has one First Appellate.

HOW IT WORKS? Any citizen may request information from a

"public authority” which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days

Applicant approaches PIO (public information officer) with the application form which costs 10 rupees.

The reply is to be given within 30 days of receipt. If life of any person is involved, the PIO is

expected to reply within 48 hours.

WHEN CAN AN APPLICANT APPEAL? •Applicant can appeal to first appellate if

•Information not provided within 30days. •Not satisfied by the info provided•Not satisfied by the refusal to provide info.

•First appeal to be made before 30days after initial one month. Appellate has to reply within one month.

• If still not provided– Second Appeal

•Second Appellate – Central Information Commission

•Second Appeal – Can appeal within 90 days

KEY ISSUES

Demand side Supply side Adjudicatory side

KEY ISSUES FACED (DEMAND SIDE )

Low public awareness Quality of awareness

Constraints faced in filing applications Poor quality of information provided

LOW PUBLIC AWARENESS

CONSTRAINTS FACED IN FILING APPLICATIONS

Inconvenient payment channels for submission of application fees.

Inconvenient submission channels for RTI application

Standard forms for RTI application Non-availability of User Guides for RTI

implementation for information seekers Lack of assistance in filing the application Non-friendly attitude of the PIOs

NON-AVAILABILITY OF USER GUIDES FOR RTI IMPLEMENTATION FOR INFORMATION SEEKERS

Standard forms for RTI application and replies

POOR QUALITY OF INFORMATION PROVIDED

KEY ISSUES FACED (SUPPLY SIDE)

Failure to provide information within 30 days Inadequate trained PIOs and First Appellate

Authorities Obsolete record management Guidelines Non-availability of basic Infrastructure Lack of motivation among PIOs Ineffective implementation of Section 4(1) (b)

INADEQUATE TRAINED PIOS AND FIRST APPELLATE AUTHORITIES

OBSOLETE RECORD MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES

NON-AVAILABILITY OF BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE

LACK OF MOTIVATION AMONG PIOS

INEFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF SECTION 4(1) (B)

Proactive disclosure – Online publishing of information.

KEY ISSUES FACED (ADJUDICATORY SIDE)

SIC Annual reports Perception of being “lenient” towards PIOs High level of pendency Geographical spread of the Information

Commissions

SIC ANNUAL REPORTS

PERCEPTION OF BEING “LENIENT” TOWARDS PIOS

HIGH LEVEL OF PENDENCY

GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD OF THE INFORMATION COMMISSIONS

Majority of the Information Commissions are situated in the State capitals, which results in appellants undergoing an additional cost in order to attend the hearings

The benefits of setting up regional offices far outweigh the initial capital costs involved in setting them up.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION ACT, CANADA

KEY OBSERVATIONS

Canada – Proactive Disclosure (Online Publishing).

Responsibility of PA versus Fed Gov in Canada.

Implementation of record management practices in India - “the problem of record keeping is too significant to be left to a Public Authority”

Federal Government is responsible for collecting statistics. While in India the Information commission is responsible for collecting but faces resource constraints

FEDERAL TRANSPARENCY & ACCESS TO INFORMATION LAW, MEXICO

KEY OBSERVATIONS - Mexico –

More Capacity Building at an administrative level than India. Departments are better structured.

Record Keeping and coordination is done by PA while the same is done by Info Committee in Mexico.

Online filing system in Mexico.

CONCLUSION

Progressive step towards transparencyFocus on key issues Improve internal processes Increase awareness