smt. pratibha devi singh patilapic.gov.in/apicwebsite/documents/annual report 2009.pdfsmt. pratibha...

Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh PatilHon'ble President of India

It was on this day in 2005 that the landmark legislation of the Right to Information Act came into

effect giving to the people of India a powerful instrument for their empowerment.The Act has, in a manner of speaking, now created a virtual Parliament of the People, where

every citizen, through a simple method, can seek information from public authorities; and expect a

response in 30 days. There is no doubt that the flow of information to the citizens will help them make enlightened

judgments. Interaction between the citizens and the public authorities is important in making democracy

participatory and to move forward towards the common national goals of progress and prosperity. India

seeks to build an inclusive society and is committed to an inclusive growth process.

Public authorities are progressively becoming pro-active to the spirit behind the Act and are

responding favourably.

Information is no longer the preserve of a few and there is greater emphasis on transparency of

work and accountability.

Good governance and corruption free systems are what people are rightfully expecting, and they

can use the Act to get it in full measure.

Citizens exercising the right to information have substantially grown in numbers, complexion,

and stature. There are many illustrative cases physically handicapped persons getting their entitlement,

women getting old age pension, students getting correct evaluation of exams and damaged roads being

repaired. This speaks of the success of the RTI Act in creating conditions for free flow of information and

thereby empowering the citizen.

Shri M. Hamid Ansari Honourable Vice-President Of India

It is important to reiterate the purpose of the Act as set out in its preamble: 'to promote

transparency and accountability of every public authority' and also 'to contain corruption'.

In any democratic society, a level of dissatisfaction among the citizenry towards their

government should be taken as a given. Far from being a nuisance to the process of governance, it is

such dissatisfaction that propels government to improve its functioning, be sensitive and empathetic

to the problems of citizens and ensures efficient allocation and spending of public resources.

It is no surprise that the Right to Information Act is no exception to this trend. When passed in

2005, it was hailed as a revolutionary step aimed at fundamentally altering the balance of power

between the government and citizens.

The existence of dissatisfaction is by no means a denial of the significant achievements of the

RTI Act in bringing about transparency and reducing corruption. The basic tenets have been

implemented and the institutional structure is being utilized by citizens. The Right to Information has

become an important instrumentality to our media and civil society. What we see is the beginning of

decentralization and participatory governance and a citizen-friendly orientation to government.

MESSAGE

R A J B H A V A NHYDERABAD-500 041

GOVERNORANDHRA PRADESH 15th March, 2010

E.S.L. Narasimhan

MESSAGE

HYDERABAD

K. ROSAIAH

12th March, 2010

N A DF HO RTN A E PM RAN

DRE E

SVO H

G

CHIEF MINISTERANDHRA PRADESH

(K. ROSAIAH)

I am happy to know that the A.P. Information Commission is bringing out its Annual Report, 2009.

In a parliamentary democratic set up like ours, Transparency and accountability go a long way in good governance. Information brings awareness among the citizens and learned citizens make a knowledge society that paves way for a vibrant democracy.

It is heartening to note that the RTI Act, 2005 is being effectively implemented in the State and the State has made considerable progress in this regard. There is every need to strengthen the Information Commission by conducting frequent trainings to the APIOs, PIOs and Appellate Authorities besides creating awareness among the public on the need and purpose of the RTI Act.

I wish the activities of the A.P. Information Commission all Success.

AP Information Commissionth

4 ANNUAL REPORT - 2009

Fourth Annual Report-2009CONTENTS

Sl.No. Item Page No.

1 INTRODUCTION

2 RULES NOTIFIED UNDER RTI ACT

3 COMPETENT AUTHORITIES

4 HIGH LEVEL COMMITTEE

5 EXEMPTIONS

6 PIOs / APPELLATE AUTHORITIES

7 DEPARTMENT -WISE INFORMATION & AMOUNT COLLECTED

8 DATA U/S 4(1)(b)

9 TRAINING

10 AWARENESS CAMPAIGN / PROGRAMMES

11 PUBLICITY MATERIAL

12 COMMISSIONS ROLE

13 WEB BASED SERVICES FROM COMMISSION

14 FILE TRACKING SYSTEM

15 STATUS THROUGH SMS

16 ANNUAL REPORT

17 MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS

18 STATUS OF RTI APPLICATIONS FILED IN THE STATE

19 STATUS OF CASES FILED IN THE A.P. INFORMATION COMMISSION 20 PENALTIES AND DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS 21 SUB COMMITTEE NATIONAL LEVEL 22 NATIONAL CONVENTIONS ON RTI ACT 23 GOVERNMENT of INDIAs APPRECIATION 24 HIGH COURT CASES 25 COMMISSIONS HEARINGS OUTSIDE THE HEADQUARTERS 26 VIP VISITS AND IMPORTANT EVENTS 27 STAFF 28 BUDGET ALLOCATION S

29

CENTRAL GOVERNMENT PLAN SCHEME S (1) Building for Commissions Office at Hyderabad (2) Software & Hardware Equipment (3) Awareness Generation

30 INNOVATIVE STEPS IN COMMISSIONS OFFICE 31 SUCCESS STORIES

32 DECISIONS OF CENTRAL INFORMATION COMMISSION & OTHER NEWS ITEMS ON RTI REPORTED IN T HE PRESS IN 2009

33 LIST OF PENALTIES IMPOSED 34 IMPORTANT ORDERS OF A.P.INFORMATION COMMISSION 35 W.Ps HIGH COURT & SUPREME COURT DECISIONS 36 LETTERS OF APPRECIATION 37 IMPORTANT ORDERS OF STATE GOVERNMENT 38 OFFICE MEMORANDUM OF GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 39 RECOMMENDATIONS

40 SUMMARY OF KEY PROPOSITIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS OF SUB COMMITTEE NATIONAL LEVEL

41 LESSON ON RTI FROM V CLASS TEXT BOOK 42 PHOTO FEATURES 43 NEWS CLIPPINGS ON RTI

11224455

5-77789

1010

10-1213

13-1415-1920-2121-22

2429-3031-32

3334-37

3839

39-40

4041-5152-60

6162-84

85-104105-112113-115116-119120-122123-138

139-142143-146147-149





ANNEXURES

1 WORK SHOPS, SEMINARS, MEETINGS AND FI ELD VISISTS OF COMMISSION IN 2009 (ANNEXURE-A)

2 DETAILS OF APIOs/PIOs/AAs OF SECRETARIAT (ANNEXURE-B)

3 DETAILS OF APIOs/PIOs/AAs OF HODs (ANNEXURE-C)

4 DETAILS OF APIOs/PIOs/AAs OF COLLECTORS OFFICES (ANNEXURE-D)

5 DETAILS OF APIOS/PIOS/AAS OF S.P. OFFICES (ANNEXURE-E)

6 DETAILS OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED, DISPOSED AND PENDING IN THE STATE (ANNEXURE-F)

7 DEPT-WISE ONLINE UPDATION OF DATA U/S.4(1)(b) (ANNEXURE-G)

8 DEPT-WISE ONLINE UPDATION OF DATA U/S.5(1)&(2) (ANNEXURE-H)

9 REGISTERS I & II (ANNEXURE-I)

10 PROFORMAE OF QUARTERLY RETURNS (ANNEXURE-J)

11 MOBILE NUMBERS OF SMS USERS (ANNEXURE-K)

12 REASONS FOR RETURN OF APPEALS (ANNEXURE-L)

13 REASONS FOR REJECTION OF APPEALS (ANNEXURE-M)

14 NUMBER OF PIOs & 1ST APPELLATE AUTHORITES (ANNEXURE-N)

151-154

155-170

171-208

209-212

213-216

217-227

228-239

240-250

251-252

253-260

261-274

275-276

277

278-284



th(This Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 15 June, 2005 stand published for general information on the 21 June, 2005)

After the Right to Information Act came into effect, the Government have

constituted A.P. Information Commission vide G.O.Ms.No.504, G.A.(I&PR.II) Dept.,

dated: 12-11-2005 and appointed the Chief Information Commissioner and three

Information Commissioners through G.O.Ms.No.505, G.A. (I&PR.II) Dept., dated 12-11-

2005. The Commission started functioning from 15-11-2005 i.e. the date on which the oath of

office was administered by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh on the dates noted against each:-

Sri C.D. Arha, IAS (Retd), Chief Information Commissioner : 15-11-2005Sri Ambaty Subba Rao, Information Commissioner : 15-11-2005Sri K. Sudhakara Rao, Information Commissioner : 15-11-2005Sri R. Dileep Reddy, Information Commissioner : 16-11-2005

According to Section 27(1), the appropriate Government may by notification in

Official Gazette, make rules to carryout the provisions of this Act. The Government

vide G.O.Ms.No. 454, G.A. (I&PR.II) Dept., dated: 13-10-2005 issued (Regulation of Fee

and Cost) Rules, 2005 prescribing the application fee, cost of material and mode of

payment through Cash/Demand Draft/Banker's Cheque. Keeping in view the difficulties

faced by the Public and for the convenience of the citizens, on the recommendations

made by the A.P. Information Commission, the Government vide G.O.Ms.No. 740,

G.A.(Coordn.,GPM&AR) Dept., dt. 1-10-2007 further issued orders making a provision for

its payment also through Postal Orders and Court Fee Stamps. According to these

rules no application fee is necessary for applicants who belong to BPL category (i.e.

White Card holders) and also for the applications filed at village level. The application

fee and the cost of the material to be charged for providing information shall be

remitted to the following Head of Account through challan :-

0700 Other Administrative Services 60 Other Services MH 118 Receipts under Right to Information Act,2005-SH (25) Receipts under Right to Information Act, 2005- 01- Receipts under Right to Information Act, 2005.

1. INTRODUCTION:

2. RULES NOTIFIED UNDER RTI ACT:

THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005(No. 22 of 2005)

Appeal Procedure Rules, 2006 for APIC:

3. COMPETENT AUTHORITIES:

4. HIGH LEVEL COMMITTEE:

Government in G.O.Ms.No. 66, G.A. (I&PR.II) Department, dated: 25-2-2006 have

issued State Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules, 2006 prescribing the

detailed procedure of filing appeals such as contents of appeal, documents to

accompany an appeal, procedure to be followed in deciding an appeal, service of

notice/summons by Commission, personal appearance of the Appellant / Complainant

etc.

Under Section 2(e) of the RTI Act, 2005, the following authorities are defined as

Competent Authorities:

(1) Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a State and the Chairman in the case of

Legislative Council of a State. (2) The Governor(3) The Chief Justice of the High Court in the case of High Court.

According to Section 28(1), the Competent Authority also may by notification in

the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Accordingly the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Secretariat issued Right to

Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2006 in G.O.Ms.No. 27, Legislature

(OP.I), dt. 16-6-2006.

The Governor's Secretariat through O.O. No. 69, dated: 7-3-2008 adopted for itself

the Rules of A.P. Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules 2005 issued

by the State Govt. through G.A. (I&PR.II) Dept. in G.O.Ms.No. 454, dated: 13-10-2005,

G.O.Ms.No. 530, dated: 29-11-2005; and G.O.Ms.No. 545, dated: 29-11-2005 and G.A.

(GPM&AR) Dept. in G.O. Ms. No. 740, dated: 1-10-2007.

The Hon'ble Chief Justice of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh has issued A.P.

High Court Right to Information Rules, 2005 in ROC No. 852/SO/2005, published in A.P.

Gazette, Rules Supplement to Part-II Extra Ordinary No. 50, dated: 9-11-2005.

In G.O.Rt.No. 6412, G.A. (Coordn.,GPM&AR) Dept., dated: 15-11-2006

Government have constituted High Level Committee under the Chairmanship of the

Chief Secretary with the following officials to review the effective implementation of the

RTI Act and to take spot corrective measures wherever required.



1. Chief Secretary to Government : Chairman

2. Chief Information Commissioner (APIC) : Member

3. Chief Commissioner of Land Administration : Member

4. Spl. Chief Secretary, Finance Department : Member

5. D.G. & I.G. of Police : Member

6. Secretary to Govt., Law (Legal Affairs) Dept. : Member

7. Director General & Executive Director, CGG : Member8. Spl. Chief Secy. to Govt., GA (Coordn., GPM&AR) Dept.: Member - Convenor

The High Level Committee has been holding periodical review meetings and

taking steps to issue appropriate instructions from time to time to remove any bottlenecks

in the implementation of the provisions of the RTI Act and also to further streamline

the functioning of the Public Authorities in the State.



Shri C.D. Arha IAS (Retd.) Chief Information Commissioner, APIC

and Sri P. Ramakanth Reddy, IAS., Chief Secretary, Govt. of A.P.

reviewing the progress of implementation of the RTI Act in AP

3

5. EXEMPTIONS ISSUED BY GOI & GOVT. OF A.P.:

6. PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICERS (PIOs) / APPELLATE AUTHORITIES (AAs):

The Govt. of India Under Section 24(2) of the RTI Act, 2005 through its

notification have exempted the following Intelligence and Security Organizations /

Establishments of the Central Government:-

1. Intelligence Bureau.2. Research and Analysis Wing of the Cabinet Secretariat.3. Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.4. Central Economic Intelligence Bureau.5. Directorate of Enforcement.6. Narcotics Control Bureau.7. Aviation Research Centre.8. Special Frontier Force.9. Border Security Force.10.Central Reserve Police Force.11. Indo-Tibetan Border Police.12.Central Industrial Security Force.13.National Security Guards.14.Assam Rifles.15.Special Service Bureau16.Special Branch (CID), Andaman and Nicobar.17.The Crime Branch-C.I.D. CB, Dadra and Nagar Haveli18.Special Branch, Lakshadweep Police

Similarly, the Govt. of A.P. in exercise of the powers u/s 24(4) of the RTI Act, 2005,

have exempted the following Intelligence and Security Organizations established by the

State Government through G.O.Ms.No. 667, G.A.(GPM&AR) Dept., dated: 3-9-2007:-

(1) State Intelligence Dept. and its Special Intelligence Branch, State Security Wing.(2) State Greyhounds Organization.(3) All District Special Branches under the control of Superintendents of Police.(4) All Security Units in the Districts under the Superintendents of Police.(5) Andhra Pradesh Special Police (APSP)(6) Special Protection Force (SPF)(7) State Armed Reserve Central Police Line (SARCPL)

Under Section 5(1)&(2) of the Act, all the Public Authorities in the State have

designated Public Information Officers (PIOs) and Asst. Public Information Officers (APIOs) stUnder section 19(1), 1 Appellate Authorities were designated in their respective Public

Authorities. All the Public Authorities have exhibited boards at prominent places in their

offices showing the Names, Designations and their Telephone Numbers of PIOs, st

APIOs and 1 Appellate Authorities. The total number of PIOs designated under RTI Act





stin the State stands at 1,80,840 for the year 2009. The total number of 1 Appellate Authorities

in the State for year ending 31-12-2009 is 75, 844. The particulars of APIOs, PIOs and

Appellate Authorities in Secretariat Departments, Heads of Departments, Offices of

District Collectors and offices of Superintendent of Police are shown at Annexures B,

C, D & E. A statement showing the department-wise number of PIOs and first Appellate

Authorities is at Annexure-N.

The total amount collected during the year 2009 towards application fee and cost

of material is Rs.13,55,677/-. The Department-wise particulars showing the total number

of applications received by the Public Information Officers, the number of applications

to which information was furnished, the number of applications rejected in the State

under various provisions of the RTI Act and the amount collected towards application

fee and cost of material are shown at Annexure-F.

The Commission held meeting with the Chief Secretary, Special Chief

Secretaries, Prl. Secretaries, Secretaries on the progress in implementation of various

provisions of the Act. As a result, as required under section 4(1)(b) and 5(1) &(2),

almost all the Public Authorities have prepared information about their organizations,

functions, duties, powers, regulations etc. in 17 sub-heads and also disignated APIOs,

PIOs, under Sec. 5(1) and (2) and these have been made available in their offices and

most of them have uploaded this information in the websites of APIC, APONLINE and

the Departmental web-sites as shown in Annexures-G & H.

The A.P. Information Commission has transferred all the data available in the

Departmental websites and also aponline to the websites of the A.P. Information

Commission (www.apic.gov.in) for the convenience of the public.

The Commission recognized the critical need for proper training of the Public

Information Officers, Appellate Authorities and pursued action with the Director General,

Dr. MCR HRD Institute, Director General, Centre for Good Governance (CGG),

Commissioner of School Education and District Collectors. As a result, the HRD

Institute, CGG and Commissioner of School Education have conducted training

programmes for Public Information Officers, Appellate Authorities and Civil Society

Representatives during the year 2009 both at Hyderabad and at District Headquarters.

7. DEPARTMENT-WISE INFORMATION AND AMOUNT COLLECTED:

8. DATA UNDER SECTION 4(1)(b):

9. TRAINING:



The details of training provided during 2008 and 2009 are indicated below :-

The details of training programmes conducted by HRD Institute on RTI Act during

2008 & 2009, District-wise are as follows:-

Dr. MCR HRD Institute (including their District Training Centers):-

Sl.

No. District No. of Programmes

conducted Number attended

1 Srikakulam 26 641

2

Vizianagaram

25

668

3

Visakhapatnam

32

876

4

East Godavari

39

867

5

West Godavari

33

801

6

Krishna

21

743

7

Guntur

30

876

8

Prakasam

11

296

9

SPSR Nellore

33

560

10

Chittoor

24

732

11

Kadapa

26

653

12

Anantapur

32

871

13

Kurnool

32

749

14

Adilabad

18

338

15

Nizamabad

38

1179

16

Karimnagar

31

724

17

Warangal

5

119

18

Khammam

22

506

19

Nalgonda

38

1181

20

Medak

36

1231

21

Mahabubnagar

20

363

22

Rangareddy

19

420

23

Hyderabad

27

560

TOTAL

618

15,954



Centre for Good Governance (CGG):-

10. AWARENESS CAMPAIGN/ PROGRAMMES:

11. PUBLICITY MATERIAL:

In the in house two-day training programmes for 147 'Community Development Programme Officer' (CDPOs) of the 'Woman Development and Child Welfare Department' (WDCW) the 'Centre for Good Governance' (CGG) conducted training programme for 6 batches of one session on the 'Right to Information Act', 2005 during the last week of June, 2009 to last week of October, 2009.

The A.P. Information Commission fully recognizes that there is an urgent need to improve the level of awareness among the rural public so that the benefits of the RTI Act reach all sections of people of the State and hence considered it absolutely imperative to conduct awareness campaigns, particularly in rural areas to popularize the provisions of the RTI Act. The Chief Information Commissioner held discussions with the Prl. Secretary, G.A. (GPM&AR) Dept., Director General, Dr. MCR HRD Institute, Director General, Centre for Good Governance and Special Commissioner, Information & Public Relations Dept. and finalized the following awareness programmes. The action taken in this regard is shown below:-

1. CGG, Hyderabad has developed three one-minute-films (in Telugu and Hindi) on RTI. These have been developed by CGG under the 'Capacity Building for Access to Information Project' for which the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Government of India (GoI) was the 'National Executing Agency'.

2. CGG has also prepared an 'Animation Film' on RTI. Two versions of this film : Samachara Vijayam (Telugu) and Soochanaa Ki Safaltaa (Hindi) are available on CGG's portal on RTI i.e. www.rti.org.in

3. Under the CBAI Project, CGG, Hyderabad had also developed an 'e-Learning Module (e-LM) for PIOs', which was available online as well as on a CD-in-a-multi-colour-case.At present a value-added version of the e-LM has been developed by CGG for DoPT, GoI in the form of an 'Online Certificate Course on RTI'. This course can be taken by anybody from anywhere in the world by completing a simple registration procedure.

4. CGG, Hyderabad has prepared Telugu and English versions of a lesson on RTI. This has been included by SCERT in the 'Environmental Studies' Text Book for Class V from academic year 2009-10.

(Please see pages 139 to 142)

The A.P. Information Commission found that one of the main drawbacks in the popularization of the RTI Act was the absence of adequate publicity material. Therefore, the A.P. Information Commission, Centre for Good Governance and Commissioner of School Education got printed copies of RTI Act in English, Telugu and Urdu and got them distributed to the various Public Authorities along with the



templates on Sections 4(1)(b) and 5(1)&(2), User Guides, Manuals for Public Authorities, PIOs and Appellate Authorities, Guides for Civil Society Organizations, Media and Citizens as shown below:-

RTI Act copies in English - 98,250RTI Act copies in Telugu - 69,400RTI Act copies in Urdu - 10,000

Pamphlets - 2,00,000User Guides - 41,000Stickers - 30,000Posters - 30,000RTI Act (pocket size booklets) - 30,000Manuals for public authorities - 4,000Product Brochure on e-Tools - 3,000e-Learning Module for PIOs (CDs) - 1,000Guide for 'Urban Local Bodies' on RTI Act - 1,000

State Resource Centre for Adult & Continuing Education (SRC-SPACE) has brought out a Kit containing 18 Booklets with small stories on RTI and how the Act can be used to know the information on laying of roads in the village, distribution of essential commodities through Fair Price shops, availability of medicines in Government hospitals, details of Govt. and Sikham lands, sanction of pensions, sanction of house sites, job card under NREG, details of tanks etc.

Pamphlets in Information Fairs

Under the overall guidance of the A.P. Information Commission, the MCR HRD Institute has also conducted (15) Information Fairs for publicizing the RTI Act and distributed pamphlets to all the participants and the visitors of the Information Fairs. Several thousands of people visited these Fairs.

A.P. Information Commission has been taking a pro-active role and regularly reviewing the work of the Public Authorities at the Secretariat, Heads of Departments and the District levels.

The Chief Information Commissioner along with the Chief Secretary are also reviewing the progress of implementation of the provisions of the RTI Act in the meetings held along with all the Spl. Chief Secretaries, Prl. Secretaries and Secretaries and giving suitable instructions to the concerned on various matters to further streamline the implementation of the Act.

A.P. Information Commission:

Centre for Good Governance:

State Resource Centre for Adult & Continuing Education (SRC-SPACE)-Kits

12. COMMISSION'S ROLE :

Commissioner of School Education - 70,000



The main focus of the review meetings at Secretariat, Heads of Depts and District level is for the proper operationalisation of provisions of Sections 4(1)(b) and 5(1)&(2) and update them whenever there are changes during the period u/s 5(1) & (2) and additional information u/s 4(1)(b). Thus, the Commission has been regularly reviewing this important item of work as these are the two provisions which form the very foundation on which the entire structure of the RTI Act is built. Apart from the high alertness and the priority indicated for suo-motu disclosure u/s 4(1)(b) and the pre-requisite capacity building u/s 5(1)&(2), these visits went a long way in sensitizing the public authorities at the District / Sub-Division / Grass Root level on the aims and objectives of the RTI Act and the sincerity and commitment through which it should be implemented. In addition to reviews, Commissioners conduct surprise spot checks to the various offices located in those places.

From the inception the Commission visited the Districts and held review meetings with District Collectors and District Level Officers on the implementation of the Sections 4(1)(b) and 5(1)&(2) and also the status of disposal of the applications and preparation and submission of progress reports for compilation of Annual Reports.

The availability of internet centers even in rural areas has made available the facility of browsing the websites. In view of this, the A.P. Information Commission has provided access to its information to the public by accessing the website of the Commission (www.apic.gov.in). The Appellants / Complainants can know the status of their cases as also the final orders issued. The A.P. Information Commission is ensuring that all orders issued by the Commission are uploaded in its website regularly on weekly basis after the disposal of each case. At present any Appellant / Complainant can click a computer button and ascertain on the internet, from any place in the State or Country about the status of his appeal / complaint. Further, the following information is also available in the Commission's website for ready reference of the public:-?

?Bio-Data particulars of all the Commissioners

?G.Os pertaining to A.P. Information Commission

?Constitution of Commission

?Composition of Commission

?Premises of Information Commission

?RTI Act, 2005 in Telugu, English, Hindi and Urdu

?Regulation of Fee Rules

?Procedure for disposal of Appeals

?Circular Memos issued on RTI Act, 2005.

?Data u/s 4(1)(b) of APIC?Management Regulations of A.P. Information Commission.

13. WEB BASED SERVICES FROM COMMISSION:



14. FILE TRACKING SYSTEM:

15. STATUS THROUGH SMS:

16. ANNUAL REPORT & ITS PREPARATION:

The Commission in association with Centre for Good Governance (CGG) has developed File Tracking System for its office. All the tappal received at Reception / Inward level are being entered online in the proforma prescribed in the computer through auto generated tappal numbering system and acknowledgement slip is being issued instantly across the table to those who present their appeals / complaints in person in Commission's office. The status of the cases is also being updated from time to time after disposal of each case. The applicant can know the status of his case and final order passed from the click of a button on computer from any location in the State or the Country.

The Andhra Pradesh Information Commission in association with the Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad has designed and developed the system of 'Status through SMS'. Public can know the status of any appeal / complaint filed in A.P. Information Commission instantly through this system on their mobile phones. The process of SMS: is APIC>Space>Regd No>Space>Year> to 9989651152. System will receive the SMS and search the records in the database and then gives an instant return status message through SMS on mobile. Through this facility, the status of any complaint or appeal filed before the Commission could be known, round the clock 24 X 7 without any human interface. This is a pioneering effort and has been operationalised for the first time in the State of A.P. The Central Information Commission and Govt. of India have strongly recommended such practice and facility to be emulated throughout the Country. The list of mobiles / persons who have accessed data through SMS is appended in Annexure-K:-

Under Section 25(1)&(4) of the RTI Act, 2005, the State Information Commission shall prepare at the end of each year a report on the implementation of the provisions of this Act in the State. The report prepared shall be forwarded to the Government which in turn will lay it before each House of the State Legislature.

At the request of A.P. Information Commission, the Government vide G.O.Rt.No. 6488, G.A.(GPM&AR) Dept., dated: 20-11-2006 issued instructions that each Public Information Officer shall maintain Register-I in the prescribed proforma for recording the status of requests received from persons seeking information u/s 6(1) of the RTI Act. It should also contain the number of requests received, disposed, rejected and pending along with the amount collected towards application fee and charges for providing information.

stSimilarly, each 1 Appellate Authority shall maintain Register-II in the prescribed proforma for recording the details of appeals filed before him / her such as the date of receipt, the PIO against whose decision appeal was filed and their final disposal.

The information has to be collected from Public Information Officers at the field level and have it transmitted upto Secretariat level. In order to facilitate the collection and transmission of information, four critical stages have been identified as shown



below and similar proforma for furnishing information at all the stages has been prescribed:-

Each Public Information Officer (PIO) shall prepare information in Proforma-A from the particulars maintained in Register-I and submit to District Officer of his Department at the end of each quarter.

Each District Officer shall collect information from all the PIOs working under him / her control and consolidate the information of the District in Proforma-B after including his own office information and submit it to the Head of the Department.

Each Head of the Department will collect the information from all the District Officers of all the Districts and prepare a consolidated statement after including his office information in Proforma-C and submit to the concerned Secretariat Department.

Each Secretariat Department will collect the information from all the Heads of Departments and other units under its control, such as Universities, Corporations etc. and prepare a consolidated statement in Proforma-D including the information of the Secretariat Department and submit the same to the A.P. Information Commission for the preparation of Annual Report.

stProformae E,F,G and H prescribed for quarterly reports relating to 1 Appellate Authorities is appended.

Under Sec.25 (1) & (4) of the RTI Act, 2005, the State Information Commission shall prepare at the end of each year a report on the implementation of the provisions of this Act in the State and forward it to the State Government. Accordingly, the Annual Reports of the Commission were prepared for the last 3 years and forwarded to the State Government and they were placed before the State Legislature on the dates shown below:-

2006 .. 30.03.2007 (Legislative Assembly)

2007 .. 27.03.2008 (Legislative Assembly)

28.03.2008 (Legislative Council)

2008 .. 31.08.2009 (Legislative Assembly & Legislative Council)

Andhra Pradesh Information Commission is the first in the country to forward all the 3 Annual Reports to the State Government on time.

Proforma-A:

Proforma-B:

Proforma-C:

Proforma-D:

Proformae E,F,G and H:

Submission of Annual Reports of 2006, 2007 and 2008



Annual Report 01-01-2009 to 31-12-2009

In consultation with the Centre for Good Governance, the A.P. Information

Commission has developed programme (software) to transmit the information online to

the A.P. Information Commission directly from all the offices. The proformae of

Registers I & II and forms of quarterly reports, A to H are at Annexures- I & J.

At the request of Andhra Pradesh Information Commission, the Government in

U.O.Note.No.15017/RTIA/GPM&AR/09-1, dated 05-05-2009 issued instructions reiterating

the orders issued in the G.O.Rt.No.6488, G.A. (GPM&AR) Department, dated 20-11-2006 to

furnish quarterly reports for 2009 as mentioned below:-

First quarter ending 31-03-2009 by 20-04-2009

Second quarter ending 30-06-2009 by 20-07-2009

Third quarter ending 30-09-2009 by 20-10-2009

Fourth quarter (Annual Report 01-01-09 to 31-12-09) by 20-01-2010

Sri C.D. Arha, Chief Informatin Commissioner and Information CommissionersSri K. Sudhakara Rao, Sri Ambaty Subba Rao and Sri R. Dileep Reddy presenting the

Annual Report 2008 to the Hon'ble Chief Minister late Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.



17. MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS:

18. STATUS OF RTI APPLICATIONS FILED IN THE STATE:

With a view to further streamline the functioning of the Commission, the A.P. Information Commission have issued its Management Regulations 2007 which have come into effect from 1-11-2007. In these regulations, the Commission's working hours, vacations, powers and functions of its Secretary, Registrar and other functionaries and the procedures of registry, scrutiny, issue of summons etc. have been clearly laid down and placed in the Commission's website. For the convenience of the public, a provision has been made for dealing with matters of urgent nature emanating during the vacation period of the Commission, wherein one of the Commission Members will be available to hear the appeals / complaints of urgent nature.

Applications received in all Departments in the State and their disposal during the year 2009 (1-1-2009 to 31-12-2009) including opening balance on 01.01.2009 are shown below:-

a) Opening Balance as on 01.01.2009 : 9, 831

b) Total Applications received : 65, 973

c) Total Applications of a & b : 75, 804

Total Applications disposed : 67, 021 (88.41%)

Total Applications pending : 8, 783 (11.59%)

11.59 %

88.41 %

PENDING

DISPOSED

RECEIVED



(a) DISPOSAL STATUS OF RTI APPLICATIONS FILED IN THE STATE:

(b) REJECTION OF RTI APPLICATIONS FILED IN THE STATE:

Out of 67,021 applications disposed in the State during the year 2009, the classification of the disposals i.e. information furnished or rejected, and their percentages are given hereunder:-

Information furnished : 64, 016 (95.51%)Rejections : 3, 005 (04.49%)Total : 67, 021

The number of applications rejected invoking the various provisions are shown below:-Under Section 6 & 7 : 2, 035Under Section 8(1)(a) : 32 Under Section 8(1)(b) : 70Under Section 8(1)(c) : 5Under Section 8(1)(d) : 7Under Section 8(1)(e) : 3Under Section 8(1)(f) : 10Under Section 8(1)(g) : 8Under Section 8(1)(h) : 50Under Section 8(1)(i) : 29Under Section 8(1)(j) : 62Under Section 9 ..: 12Under Section 11 : 12Under Section 24 : 16Others .: 654Total ............................: 3,005

95.51%

4.49%

INFORMATION FURNISHED REJECTIONS

REJECTIONS INVOKED UNDER DIFFERENT SECTIONS

U/S 6 & 7OTHERSU/S 8U/S 11U/S 24

67.72 %

21.76 %

9.18 %

0.80 %0.54 %

14



19. STATUS OF RTI SECOND APPEALS, COMPLAINTS & OTHERS FILED AND DISPOSED IN THE COMMISSION:

(a) DEPARTMENT-WISE RECEIPT OF APPEALS/ COMPLAINTS IN THE COMMISSION:

A.P. Information Commission has received 13,151 currents during the year 2009 in the form of appeals/ complaints/ others and the details of their disposal are as shown below:

The Department wise number of second appeals/ complaints received during the year 2009 are as follows:-

Sl.

No.

Classification

Opening

Balance

Receipts Total

Disposals

Pending as on

31-12-2009

1

Appeals

1,659

4,907

6,566

3,568

2,998

2 Complaints 98 95 193 93 100

3 Others 518 8,149 8,667 8,296 371

Total

2,275

13,151 15,426

11,957

3,469

(77.51%)

(22.49%)

8

19

22

23

23

31

33

34

38

38

58

71

84

100

100

108

136

145

170

255

274

315

408

510

720

1201

78

REVENUE

EDUCATION

MUNICIPAL A & UD

PANCHAYAT R & D

HOME

HEALTH M & FW

AGRICULTURE

GAD

ENERGY

ENDOWMENTS

HOUSING

MINORITIES WELFARE

TRANSPORT R & B

INDUSTRIES & C

IRRIGATION & CAD

FOOD CS & CA

ENVIRONMENT S & T

FINANCE

WOMEN DCW & DW

SOCIAL WELFARE

LABOUR ET & F

ANIMAL HDD & F

TRIBAL WELFARE

TOURISM CS & YS

LAW

B.C WELFARE

INFRASTRUCTURE & I

AP Information Commissionth 4 ANNUAL REPORT - 2009

16

(b)DISTRICT-WISE RECEIPT OF SECOND APPEALS / COMPLAINTS IN THE COMMISSION:

ndThe District wise number of 2 appeals / complaints received in the A.P. Information Commission during the year 2009 are as follows:-

69

85

92

93

95

106

120

124

127

132

156

157

158

162

185

185

212

264

290

362

437

556

754

81

Hyderabad

SPSR Nellore

Visakhapatnam

Kurnool

Guntur

East Godavari

Prakasam

Mahabubnagar

Krishna

Karimnagar

Srikakulam

Chittoor

Kadapa

West Godavari

Khammam

Warangal

Other State

Nizamabad

Ranga Reddy

Anantapur

Nalgonda

Adilabad

Vizianagaram

Medak



(c) REGION WISE 2nd APPEALS/ COMPLAINTS FILED IN THE COMMISSION:

(d) RURAL/ URBAN IN APIC:

Year Percentage of Receipts from rural areas

The percentages of region-wise receipts of appeals in the A.P. Information Commission during the year 2009 are as follows:-

The Commission has observed that there was urgent need to improve the level of awareness among the rural public so that the benefits of the RTI Act reach all sections of the State. Efforts have been made to popularize the provisions of the Act by conducting awareness campaigns particularly in rural areas. As a result, it is most gratifying to note that the total number of appeals/ complaints received in the Commission from rural areas increased from 11% in 2006 to 42% in 2009 as shown below:-

2006 : 112007 : 322008 : 392009 : 42

This is an encouraging and significant development.

RURAL/ URBAN CLASSIFICATION

Andhra Region : 47.41% ( 9 Districts)

Telangana Region : 36.84% (10 Districts)

Rayalaseema Region : 15.75% ( 4 Districts)

36.84%

47.41%

15.75%

TELANGANA ANDHRA RAYALASEEMA

RURAL

42%

URBAN

58%

R EJEC T ED

12 .4 6 %

R ET U R N ED F OR

R E- SU B M ISSION

2 9 .2 5%

A LLOW ED

58 .2 9 %



(e) SOURCES OF APPEALS / COMPLAINTS IN APIC:

(f). DISPOSAL STATUS-ALLOWED, RETURNED & REJECTED OF THE SECOND APPEALS/ COMPLAINTS FILED IN APIC:

The A.P. Information Commission has received appeals/ complaints during 2009 from different sources like NGOs, Media, Service Personnel, Political Parties, Public and others. The classification is as follows:-

1. N.G.Os : 2.51%2. Media : 6.79%3. Service Matters : 1.17%4. Political Parties : 0.21%5. Public : 89.32%

Out of 3,661 cases of appeals / complaints disposed during the year 2009, the following is the classification of the disposals in the Commission:-

Allowed : 2,134Returned for re-submission : 1,071Rejected : 456Total : 3,661

SOURCES OF SECOND APPEALS / COMPLAINTS

0.21%

1.17%

6.79%

2.51%

89.32%PUBLIC

NGOs

MEDIA

SERVICEMATTER

POLITICALPARTIES


19

nd(i)Reasons for Return of 2 Appeals :

nd(ii)Reasons for Rejection of 2 Appeals :

The Commission is always liberal in accepting the appeals inspite of minor lapses like

self attestation, additional copies as prescribed etc., are not provided. Only the cases where

appeals have been returned for re-submission are due to the Appellants (1) filed appeal before st

expiry of 30 days after filing 6(1) application; (2) not enclosed copy of 6(1) application/copy of 1 nd

appeal u/s 19(1); (3) filed single 2 appeal concerning several PIOs / Appellate Authorities; (4)

filed 6(1) application before unconcerned officials; and (5) non exhausting the existing remedy

i.e., the first appeal as provided under sub-sec(1) of Sec.19 of the Act. The Hon'ble High Court

of Andhra Pradesh also upheld the stand taken by the Commission and emphasized on the

petitioners to first avail and exhaust the remedies provided in the Act (Writ Petition No.13902 of

2007, dated 02-07-2007, Writ Petition No.5086 of 2008 dated 11-03-2008 and Writ Petition

No.27825 of 2008 dated 23.12.2008). The second important factor in returning the appeals for

re-submission is non-adherence of the Appellants to the procedure prescribed in GOMs.No.66

issued by Government of Andhra Pradesh, dated 25-02-2006. Examples of few of such cases

where appeals have been returned are at Annexure L.

Under the RTI Act, 2005 applicants have to ask for 'information' as defined in Sec. 2 (f) of

the Act. According to Section 2 (f) read with Section 2 (j), the information sought must be

available in a material form and it must be held/ accessible by/through the Public Information

Officer or Public Authority concerned. According to Section 6(1)(b) of the Act the information

requested by the applicants must be specific. However, in a number of cases the appellants

instead of seeking information as defined in Section 2 (f), are seeking for redressal of

grievances which is an executive action / decision such as (1) to arrange for survey of their

lands, (2) to issue pattadar pass-books, (3) evict unauthorized persons from lands. In some

cases they are seeking answers on hypothetical questions. Some others are seeking opinions

of the PIOs on certain permutations/ combinations which do not come within the definition of

information in Section 2(f) of the Act. The term opinions mentioned in Section 2(f) are those

which are already held by the Public Information Officer or are available in a material

form but not opinions of the Public Information Officer concerned. Further according to

Section 19 (3), an appeal can be filed within 90 days from the date on which the decision st

should have been taken by the 1 Appellate Authority or was actually received by the Appellant.

However, in several cases the appellants are filing appeals after a lapse of several months

much beyond 90 days provided in the Act without any applications whatsoever seeking

condonation of delay or giving reasons for the delay. Examples of a few of such cases

where appeals have been rejected is at Annexure M.


20

20. PENALTIES & DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS:

Section 20 of the Act which provides for imposition of penalties and disciplinary

action is reproduced below:-

20 (1): Where the State Information Commission, at the time of deciding any complaint

or appeal is of the opinion that the State Public Information Officer, has, without

any reasonable cause, refused to receive an application for information or

has not furnished information within the time specified under sub-section (1)

of Section 7 or malafidely denied the request for information or knowingly

given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed information

which was the subject of the request or obstructed in any manner in furnishing

the information, it shall impose a penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees each

day till application is received or information is furnished, so however, the total

amount of such penalty shall not exceed twenty five thousand rupees:-

Provided that the State Public Information Officer shall be given a reasonable

opportunity of being heard before any penalty is imposed on him;

Provided further that the burden of proving that he acted reasonably and

diligently shall be on the State Public Information Officer.

20 (2): Where the State Information Commission at the time of deciding any complaint

or appeal is of the opinion that the State Public Information Officer has without

any reasonable cause and persistently, failed to receive an application for

information or has not furnished information within the time specified under sub-

section (1) of Section 7 or malafidely denied the request for information or

knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed

information which was the subject of the request or obstructed in any

manner in furnishing the information, it shall recommend for disciplinary

action against the State Public Information Officer under the service rules applicable

to him.



The Hon'ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in its decision in C.W.P No.19864 of 2008 dated 25-11-2008 examined the plea that the Chief Information Commissioner is bound to initiate proceedings under Section 20 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 and held as follows : -

"Whether the proceedings under Section 20 of the Act are to be initiated by State Information Commissioner or not is dependent upon the satisfaction of the Competent Authority. Section 20 of the Act is a provision to enable the Authority to initiate penalty proceeding but there is no right with the petitioner to compel the initiation of penalty proceedings against defaulting public authority. The provisions of Section 20 of the Act are only directory. Therefore the present writ petition to compel initiation of proceedings under Section 20 of the Act is not tenable."

Number of cases in which show-cause notices were issued : 344Number of cases in which warnings were issued for violation of the : 6provisions of RTI ActNumber of cases in which orders were issued for enquiry : 5Number of cases in which penalties were imposed : 12Number of cases in which disciplinary action was recommended : 2

The Central Chief Information Commissioner through notification F.No.10/12/2009 Admn/CIC, dt. 12-01-2009 constituted a Sub-Committee to undertake an in-depth study and analysis of the problems and issues raised during the Annual Convention 2008, and to explore ways and measures for strengthening the information regime and to suggest an action plan for effective implementation of the RTI Act, 2005.

Sri C.D.Arha, IAS (Retd), Chief Information Commissioners of APIC was appointed as its Convener. In addition to Prof. M.M. Ansari, Information Commissioner, Central Information Commission the following Information Commissioners were members on the Sub-Committee from each of the four zones.

Sri P.S. Rana, State Chief Information Commissioner, Himachal Pradesh Dr.Mohd. Shakeel Ahmed, State Information Commissioner, Bihar

Sri Dhirendra Nath Padhi, State Chief Information Commissioner, OrissaSri Nyodek Yongam, State Chief Information Commissioner, Arunachal Pradesh,

Sri S.V. Joshi, State Chief Information Commissioner, Maharastra, Sri M.D. Kaurani, State Chief Information Commissioner, Rajasthan

SHOW CAUSE NOTICES PENALTIES

North Zone

East Zone

West Zone

21. SUB-COMMITTEE AT NATIONAL LEVEL:



South Zone

The Committee's recommendations related to the following Terms of References (ToRs)

Sri S. Ramakrishnan, State Chief Information Commissioner, Tamilnadu, Sri K.K. Mishra, State Chief Information Commissioner, Karnataka,

Ms. Anita Gupta, Additional Secretary, Central Information Commission was the Nodal Officer of the Sub-Committee.

Sri Rajiv Sharma, IAS, Director General, Centre for Good Governance, Hyderabad and his team of experts assisted the Sub-Committee in finalizing its report.

The Sub-Committee held meetings on 28-02-2009, 18-04-2009, 20-06-2009,22-08-2009 and 17-09-2009 and after extensive and detailed discussions finalized its Report.

Sri C.D. Arha, Convener of the Sub-Committee presented the Sub-Committee's final report to Sri Wajahat Habibullah the Central Chief Information Commissioner on 25-9-2009 in New Delhi.

i) To assess the extent to which the recommendations made by the Commissions, under section 25 of the RTI Act, have been implemented; and, to identify the major reasons, if any, for non-implementation of Commissions' recommendations;

ii) To prepare a comprehensive status report in respect of the major themes of Annual Convention of 2008, namely RTI and good governance, RTI and democracy, RTI and poverty alleviation, RTI and protection of individual privacy, and RTI revolution in SAARC;

iii) To assess the adequacy of facilitation process for accessing public held information, mainly in terms of compliance of various provisions of the Act for promotion of maximum disclosure of information.

iv) To identify the best practices in implementation of RTI Act to promote open Government and to outline an action plan for adoption/adaptation by public authorities;

v) To evolve an approach and suggest a methodology for assessing and grading public authorities in terms of greater transparency and accountability and least corruption; and

vi) To suggest modalities for creation of a permanent broad-based body for the purpose of coordination of various activities of CIC and SICs.

One of the concrete achievements of the Sub-Committee was the registration of the National Federation of Information Commissions in India (NFICI) in Hyderabad on 01-10-2009 with Registration No.479 of 2009.

A summary of the Sub-Committee Report is at pages (123 to 138)



Shri Wajahat Habibullah, Central Chief Information Commissioner delivering inaugural address of theSub Committee on 28-02-2009 at A.P. Bhavan, New Delhi. Prof. M.M. Ansari, Central Information Commissioner (left)

and Shri C.D. Arha, Chief Information Commissioner, A.P., and Convenor (right) are also seen.

Sri C.D. Arha, Chief Information Commissioner and members of the Sub-Committeediscussing on the terms of reference (ToR) in the second meeting held on 18-04-2009

at A.P. Bhavan, New Delhi

23



Shri C.D. Arha, Chief Information Commissioner & Convener presenting Sub-Committe Report to

Shri Wajahat Habibullah, Central Chief Information Commissioner at New Delhi.

22. NATIONAL CONVENTIONS

The Central Information Commission has held Annual Conventions of the Central Chief Information Commissioner and the Central Information Commissioners, all State Chief Information Commissioners and all State Information Commissioners on the dates shown below:

thThe 4 Annual Convention 2009 was inaugurated by the Hon'ble President of India on th

12 October 2009 and its valedictory function was addressed by the Hon'ble Vice President of thIndia on 13 October 2009.

Year Date of Convention 2006 12th to 15th October, 2006 2007 17th October, 2007 2008 3rd and 4th November, 2008 2009 12th and 13th of October, 2009

24



The speech of the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil at the inauguration of the Annual Convention 2009 on 12-10-2009 is reproduced below:-

Ladies and Gentlemen,I am pleased to inaugurate the Annual Convention of the Central Information

Commission. It was on this day in 2005 that the landmark legislation of the Right to Information

Act came into effect giving to the people of India a powerful instrument for their empowerment.

In a democracy, it is the people who are supreme. They elect their Government and it is

for them to judge the performance of their elected representatives. While the casting of the vote

enables them to take the important decision on what Government they want, for assessing

deliverability, they need information about how their Government is functioning. The RTI gives

to each individual citizen the means to question and to get answers. The significance of this

becomes evident when we recall that before 2004, it was largely the Members of Parliament

and Members of State Legislatures who could question the performance and functioning of

Government authorities through proceedings in their respective Legislatures. The Act has, in a

manner of speaking, now created a virtual Parliament of the People, where every citizen,

through a simple method, can seek information from public authorities; and expect a response

in 30 days. This has been the biggest fundamental difference that has been brought about by

the RTI enactment providing relatively easy access to information.

There is no doubt that the flow of information to the citizens will help them make

enlightened judgments. Interaction between the citizens and the public authorities is important

in making democracy participatory and to move forward towards the common national goals of

progress and prosperity. India seeks to build an inclusive society and is committed to an

inclusive growth process. Government has made available substantial amount of funds for

numerous social and economic schemes. A major challenge is to ensure the effectiveness of

the delivery mechanisms, so that the impact of these schemes is felt by the beneficiaries. It is of

utmost important that these funds are spent in conformity with the cannons of efficiency and

productivity, as well as their wastage and pilferage avoided. The RTI Route can be

instrumental in bringing about improvements in the public service delivery systems and

mechanisms.

Public authorities are progressively becoming pro-active to the spirit behind the Act and

are responding favourably. The best practices adopted by various States in response to the RTI

Act should be codified and practiced. Various public authorities have simplified their

procedures and transformed their citizen interface into the e-governance mode and the

Commission itself is one of them. I am also told that since the Act came into being a large

number of Government websites invariably have the Right to Information button on them. It is

important that technology is used for better management of records and data, this in turn would

make information sharing easier. Institutions are increasingly coming under greater scrutiny.



Information is no longer the preserve of a few and there is greater emphasis on transparency of

work and accountability. However, there are many occasions where the bureaucracy, evokes

an image of red-tapism and certain opaqueness. It is my hope that as the Right to Information

gets further embedded into our civil society, there will be even more urgency felt to take action

to negate this perception, which at times may be wrong. Good governance and corruption free

systems are what people are rightfully expecting, and they can use the Act to get it in full

measure. The Right to Information Act has the potential to make Government and the people work

together for the benefit of both. The occasionally noticed tendency to view public authorities as

adversaries should go. There is a fine balance which needs to be maintained between

applications under the Right to Information to public authorities and also ensuring that public

authorities are not flooded with applications, some of them of frivolous nature, which could

overwhelm their ability to respond in time. Therefore, there is a need for a sense of

responsibility for more openness on the part of public authorities as also within civil society to

ensure that applications which reach authorities are those that genuinely need immediate

attention. It is here that the role of the Central Information Commission, as a regulator, balancer

and educator, is critical.

Citizens exercising the right to information have substantially grown in numbers,

complexion, and stature. There are many illustrative cases physically handicapped persons

getting their entitlement, women getting old age pension, students getting correct evaluation of

exams and damaged roads being repaired. This speaks of the success of the RTI Act in

creating conditions for free flow of information and thereby empowering the citizen.

Applications that result in public benefits, in the timely implementation of schemes; that bring

relief and welfare to people; help in citizens getting what is theirs rightfully, should receive the

uppermost priority. Efforts must also be made to ensure that the RTI option is known and

exercised in rural areas and by the disadvantaged sections of the society.

Rights given under this Act to our citizens are extensive and, therefore, it is important

that there be a deep sense of responsibility while exercising them. The civil society can play an

important role in creating awareness about the importance and spirit of the Act, so that

collectively the people and their elected Governments can build the future of the country

responsibly and constructively. In the end, I would like to reiterate the importance of following

sound principles of good governance for the welfare of our citizens, who are at the centre of all

government functioning. This will further strengthen our democratic traditions and credentials. I

am confident that during the Convention, the review of the functioning of the RTI and

discussions under the sub-themes will identify issues that need attention whether in terms of

factors that impede the flow of information, co-ordination between State Commissions,

strengthening of government infrastructure for RTI and building a responsible culture of RTI. I

conclude with good wishes for the Convention.



Valedictory Address by the Honourable Vice-President Shri M. Hamid Ansari at the 4th Annual Convention of the Central Information Commission on 13th October 2009 in New Delhi is reproduced below: -

It gives me great pleasure to participate in the 4th Annual Convention of the Central Information Commission. This annual gathering provides a useful forum to discuss whether the intent of the law that set out to provide 'a practical regime of the right to information to citizens' has been realized. It is important to reiterate the purpose of the Act as set out in its preamble: 'to promote transparency and accountability of every public authority' and also 'to contain corruption'.

This Convention is also a stock-taking occasion where all practitioners gather to exchange best practices and explore ways and means to harmonize various conflicting interests while preserving the paramountcy of the democratic ideal, as set out in the preamble of the Right to Information Act, I start today from a contrarian view point. In any democratic society, a level of dissatisfaction among the citizenry towards their government should be taken as a given. Far from being a nuisance to the process of governance, it is such dissatisfaction that propels government to improve its functioning, be sensitive and empathetic to the problems of citizens and ensures efficient allocation and spending of public resources.

It is no surprise that the Right to Information Act is no exception to this trend. When passed in 2005, it was hailed as a revolutionary step aimed at fundamentally altering the balance of power between the government and citizens. Four years hence, some dissatisfaction is evident and pertains to five major themes.

First, a vast number of organizations that should have been covered under the definition of public authority for being owned, controlled or substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by funds provided by the appropriate government, have not come forward pro-actively to be covered by the Act. They await a case-by-case ruling by the Central or State Information Commissions to be so considered and hence covered by the Act. Currently, neither the Information Commissions nor the governments have ensured that all bodies that are covered by the definition of 'public authority' undertake action as listed in Chapter II of the Act.

Second, very few public authorities of the Central and State governments have followed the provisions of Section 4 of the Act in letter and spirit. It would be useful to review if cataloguing and indexing of records and data-sets has changed during the last four years in a manner that could facilitate the Right to Information under the Act. Section 4(2) of the Act calls on public authorities to provide as much information to the public at regular intervals, through various means of communication, so that public has minimum resort to the use of the Act.

The actual disclosure of information by the public authorities is marked by inconsistency and unevenness. There has been little innovation and adaptation to capture information in government agencies and thereafter bring about suo-moto disclosure. The websites of the central and state governments also lack technical and content standardization. There is clearly a case for putting in place detailed 'RTI Act friendly' record management practices.

Third, it is important to note that Section 4 of the Act mandates every public authority to publish the manner of execution of subsidy programmes, including the amounts allocated and details of beneficiaries. This is a significant step when one considers that the total quantum of subsidies provided by the central and state governments to the citizens in the country exceeds Rs. 200,000 crores. While such a process has been initiated with respect to NREGA, significant work remains to be done on this issue.



Fourth, currently the Central and State Information Commissioners work in relative isolation, with each of their decisions not being available in a systematic manner or in real time to the general public or even to other Commissioners. The decisions of the Information Commissioners also do not constitute precedence for dealing with similar cases. Further, there are still doubts about the validity of decisions taken by individual Commissioners due to a notion that a full bench of the Information Commission should hear the case that comes before it.

Fifth, an important lacuna has been the lack of a mandatory monitoring mechanism to look at the implementation of the RTI Act and to ensure that the Act is implemented in letter and spirit. Currently, the media and civil society groups are undertaking this task on an ad hoc basis. The Price Waterhouse Cooper's report has recommended periodic Third Party Audit to ensure that public authorities comply with provisions and guidelines of the Act.

Ladies and Gentlemen

The existence of dissatisfaction is by no means a denial of the significant achievements of the RTI Act in bringing about transparency and reducing corruption. The basic tenets have been implemented and the institutional structure is being utilized by citizens. The Right to Information has become an important instrumentality to our media and civil society. What we see is the beginning of decentralization and participatory governance and a citizen-friendly orientation to government.

The previous Conventions of the Central Information Commission, I note, came forth with an exhaustive list of recommendations. I am not aware about the extent of acceptance and implementation of these recommendations by various stake holders. The collective outcome of a convention of Information Commissioners must be subject to serious deliberation and active consideration, with a view to appropriate implementation.

I hope the results of this Convention will also be seriously studied and lead to better implementation of the Act.

I would like to conclude with an observation. I have noticed that information on the RTI Act, including the translation of the Act itself, is not available in all the 22 languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of our Constitution. The website of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions has the RTI Act in only 11 languages. The web sites of most Information Commissions are not multilingual covering the official languages adopted by the appropriate governments. For example, the Central Information Commission does not have a Hindi website for dissemination of information. Likewise, neither the RTI Act nor data on the web sites of Information Commissions of states where Urdu is the Second Official Language are available in Urdu.

This issue needs to be addressed at the earliest. Empowerment would be meaningless if it is sought to be achieved through a language that the citizen does not understand. Section 4 (4) of the RTI Act mandates that all materials shall be disseminated taking into consideration the cost effectiveness, local language and the most effective method of communication in that local area. Article 350 of the Constitution also entitles every person to submit a representation for the redress of any grievance to any officer or authority of the Union or a State in any of the languages used in the Union or in the State, as the case may be.

I thank Wajahat Habibullah saheb for inviting me to the Valedictory function today and wish you all success in your endeavor to bring about transparency and accountability in government.

23. GOVERNMENT OF INDIA's APPRECIATION:

Government of India, through Letter No. 1/12/2008-IR, Ministry of Personnel, Public

Grievances & Pensions (Department of Personnel & Training) Dt. 23-06-2008 duly recognized

the initiatives taken by the Andhra Pradesh Information Commission in effectively

implementing the RTI Act and communicated them to the Chief Secretaries of all States in the

entire country to emulate the following innovative steps in the fulfillment of their responsibilities

under the RTI Act in their respective States:-

1. Elaborate system of compiling RTI data through an MIS developed by the Centre for

Good Governance (CGG) facilitating preparation of Annual Report and to monitor

implementation of the Act.

2. High Level Monitoring Committee on RTI.

3. Designating District Collectors as Coordinating Officers and District Revenue Officers

as Nodal Officers in their respective Districts for RTI matters.

4. Prescription of standard registers for PIOs and Appellate Authorities and also proformae

for quarterly reports and annual report fixing due dates for their submission.

5. Introduction of model lesson in the Environmental Science of class 5.

6. Steps being taken for the mass awareness Programmes such as: -

a) Preparation of slides for exhibition in Cinema Theatres and beaming of strips on T.V.

Channels.

b) Preparation of short film of one minute duration to telecast on TV and Cinema

Theatres through the Spl.Commissioner, I&PR Department.

c) Preparation of a lesson on RTI to incorporate in the syllabus of schools in

coordination with Dept. of School Education.

d) Public Display Boards and module of Templates in rural areas for awareness of

the public in coordination with PR&RD Department.

e) Development of e-learning Module on RTI by C.G.G., Hyderabad.


29

30




24. HIGH COURT CASES:

The details of the WPs disposed/dismissed, covered by stay and pending are as follows:-

The Writ Petitions have been filed in the Hon'ble High Court of Andhra Pradesh in matters concerning RTI. The status of the writ petitions filed is as follows;

1. Total Writ Petitions filed - 672. Dismissed / Disposed - 27 (W.Ps)3. Pending - 40 (W.Ps) (Out of 40 WPs pending, 14 are covered

by stay, interim suspension etc.,)

The decision of this Commission was challenged by way of W.P.No.28810 filed by Sri Kanapuram Gandaiah in the Hon'ble High Court of A.P. The Hon'ble High Court upheld the order of this Commission. The Appellant filed Special Leave Petition in the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India. The APEX Court, through its judgment upheld the order of this Commission and held that RTI is not the forum to get the reasons for a particular judgment of a Court and settled the matter once for all.

Dismissed/ Disposed:

S.No W.P.No. Name of the Writ Petitioner Result

1 W.P.No.2161 of 2006 M/s Smith & Kenner Pharmaceutical Pvt.Ltd. Dismissed 2 W.P.No.13641 of 2006 Sri M.Yoga Narasimham Dismissed 3 W.P.No.25070 of 2006 Sri SK.Md.Ghouse Disposed 4 W.P.No.105 of 2007 Sri Ch.Vidyasagara Rao Dismissed 5 W.A.No.266 of 2007 Sri M. Yoga Narasimham Disposed 6 W.P.No.291 of 2007 Former Welfare Association, Vadlapudi Disposed 7 W.P.No.1784 of 2007 Parishudya Karmika Samkshema Sangham Dismissed 8 W.P.No.13902 of 2007 Sri Chand Basha Disposed 9 W.P.No.18882 of 2007 B.T. College, Madamapalle Dismissed 10 W.P.No.23891 of 2007 Sri M. Kishan Singh Disposed 11 W.P.No.24805 of 2007 Sri S. Ravi Shankar Disposed 12 W.P.No.544 of 2008 Sri B. Ramesh Disposed 13 W.P.No.1383 of 2008 Smt.Valluri Madhavi & Nagabhushan Rao Dismissed 14 W.P.No.4109 of 2008 Sri Mohd. Shafiquzzaman Dismissed 15 W.P.No.4835 of 2008 Sri K.Ravindra Babu Dismissed 16 W.P.No.5086 of 2008 Sri K. Syam Sunder Reddy Dismissed 17 W.P.No.11736 of 2008 Sri B. Ramesh Dismissed 18 W.P.No.16717 of 2008 Chief Commissioner of Land Administration Dismissed 19 W.P.No.20182 of 2008 Diwakar S. Natarajan Disposed 20 W.P.No.20441 of 2008 Dr. T.K. Srinivasulu Disposed 21 W.P.No.21272 of 2008 Prof. B.S.N. Raju Disposed 22 W.P.No.27825 of 2008 Sri T.S.Bhagavanulu Disposed 23 W.P.No.28810 of 2008 Sri Kanapuram Gandaiah Disposed 24 W.P.No.3207 of 2009 Dr. A. Sudhakara Reddy Dismissed 25 W.P.No.7992 of 2009 Smt. K. Varalakshmi Dismissed 26 W.P.No.10231 of 2009 Sri K.M. Anil Babu Disposed 27 W.P.No.11704 of 2009 Sri Gade Tataji Rao Dismissed



List of Writ Petitions Pending

The texts of some of the judgments of the Hon'ble High Court are given at pages ( 85 to 104 )

Sl.No

W.P.No

Name of

the

Writ

Petitioner

1 W.P.No.15686 of 2007 Birla Archaeological & Cultural Research Institute- (interim stay)

2 W.P.No.18539 of 2007 Sri Mohd. Mahabub Khan

3 W.P.No.23910 of 2007 Sri C. Sadasiva Reddy

4 W.P.No.28164 of 2007 The Visakhapatnam Coop. Bank Ltd. (stay)

5 W.P.No.28226 of 2007 S.N.Mutually Aided Coop. Housing Society Ltd- (interim suspension)

6 W.P.No.656 of 2008 Sri Kollu Ravindra Babu

7 W.P.No.3258 of 2008 Sri O.M. Debara 8 W.P.No.9418 of 2008 Sri Bhavana Rishi Coop. House Bldg. Society 9 W.P.No.10576 of 2008 Sri Karella Eswara Rao 10 W.P.No.12690 of 2008 Sri M. Lakshmana Rao 11 W.P.No.12727 of 2008 Sri M. Lakshmana Rao 12 W.P.No.12 670 of 2008 Sri M. Lakshmana Rao 13 W.P.No.12 678 of 2008 Sri M. Lakshmana Rao 14 W.P.No.15529 of 2008 Sri Harikishan Agarwal 15 W.P.No.23558 of 2008 M/s Osmania University (order suspended) 16

W.P.No.24992 of 2008

A.P. Housing Board

(interim direction)

17

W.P.No.25001 of 2008

A.P. Housing Board

(interim direction)

18

W.P.No.25910 of 2008

Sri M. Yoga Narasimham

19

W.P.No.25917 of 2008

Viceroy Hotel Employees Union

20

W.P.No.28181 of 2008

Sri B. Sampath Kumar 21

W.P.No.28575 of 2008

Sri C. Jagannath Reddy

22

W.P.No.196 of 2009

Sri C. Jagannath Reddy 23

W.P.No.2111 of 2009

Registrar, S.V. Veterinary University, Tirupathi -(interim suspension)

24

W.P.No.10413 of 2009

Sri A. Harinadha Rao 25

W.P.No.11067 of 2009

HMT Officers Coop. Housing Bldg. Society Ltd.-

(interim stay)

26

W.P.No.11847 of 2009

Sri M. Bhavani Singh 27

W.P.No.14751 of 2009

Anjuman-e-Ismalia, Kurnool-

(stay of payment of penalty)

28

W.P.No.16229 of 2009

Syed Nabi

(interim stay)

29

W.P.No. 18660 of 2009

Farmers Welfare Association of Vadlapudi

30

W.P.No.18778 of 2009

G.M.R. Hyderabad International Airport Ltd

(status quo)

31

W.P.No.18782 of 2009

G.M.R. Hyderabad International Airport Ltd

(interim suspension)

32

W.P.No.18994 of 2009

Sri D.Vasudeva Rao

33

W.P.No.20340 of 2009

Sri Ahmed Harshan Hussain

(interim direction)

34

W.P.No.21013 of 2009

Sri P. Sudhakara Reddy

35

W.P.No.24740 of 2009

Sri M. Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy

36

W.P.No. 21683 of 2009

Sri C.Shyam Sundar

37

W.P.No.25081 of 2009

Sri Doddi Raman

38

W.P.No.25533 of 2009

Sri Ahmed Harshan Hussain

39

W.P.No.25998 of 2009

Sri K. Mohan Raju

40

W.P.No. 28752 of 2009

A.P. Housing Board (status quo)

25. COMMISSION'S HEARINGS OUTSIDE THE HEADQUARTERS :

Although the APIC is required to hold its hearings in the Commission's notified Office at Hyderabad, for the convenience of appellants / complainants, the Commission held hearings at the following places where cases of that area are disposed off: -

1. Visakhapatnam2. Kakinada3. Nellore4. Tirupathi



Shri C.D. Arha, Chief Information Commissioner, A.P. Information Commission appraising His Excellency the Governor of A.P., Shri E.S.L. Narasimhan on the

progress of implementation of RTI in Andhra Pradesh.

26. VIP VISITS AND IMPORTANT EVENTS:-

1. Visit of Her Excellency the President of India :

During the Southern sojourn of Her Excellency the President of India Smt. Pratibha Patil at Hyderabad on 11.01.2009, Sri C.D. Arha, Chief Information Commissioner of A.P. Information Commission and Sarvasri A. Subba Rao, R. Dileep Reddy and K. Sudhakara Rao, Information Commissioners called on the President and appraised Her Excellency on the progress of implementation of the RTI Act in the State and the pro-active role being played by the Andhra Pradesh Information Commission for the last four years to create awareness among government machinery and citizens at large. Her Excellency pointed out that her government at the Centre is giving utmost importance to this Act and encouraged the Commission to continue its good work and emphasized the need to reach out to the rural areas.



2. Visit of Information Commissioner of Madhya Pradesh Information Commission

3. Visit of Information Commissioners of Tamilnadu

4. Visit of Egyptian and Moroccan Delegation

5. Visit of Secretary, Bihar Information Commission

6. Visit of CIC, Haryana

Sri D.C.Jugran, Madhya Pradesh Information Commissioner visited the Commission on

7-5-2009 & 8-5-2009. He was given power point presentation on the functioning of the APIC, st

the proformae of Registers to be maintained by the PIOs and 1 Appellate Authorities,

proformae of Quarterly and Annual Reports and also about the File Tracking System and SMS

Systems. He very much appreciated the working of the Commission.

Sri R.Rathinasamy, IAS (Retd) and Dr.R.Perumalasamy, State Information

Commissioners of Tamilnadu visited the Commission on 8-5-2009 and they have been

apprised of the various procedures and systems being followed in the Commission. They have

very much appreciated the Systems particularly regarding the system of reporting through

Quarterly Reports, Annual Reports, File Tracking System and SMS Systems.

An Egyptian and Moroccan Delegation and World Bank Officials visited the Information

Commission on 27-6-2009. The implementation of RTI Act, was explained through power point

presentation. They appreciated the work being done by the Commission and also appreciated

the File Tracking System and SMS System which are facilitating the Appellants / Complainants

to know the status of the Appeals and Complaints.

Sri S.K. Mishra, IAS (Retd), Secretary, Bihar Information Commission visited the A.P.

Information Commission on 2-7-2009. He was given power point presentation on the st

functioning of the APIC. The proformae of Registers to be maintained by the PIOs and 1

Appellate Authority, proformae of Quarterly and Annual Reports and also about the File

Tracking System and SMS Systems were apprised. He has very much appreciated the

working of the Commission.

Sri G.Madavan, Chief Information Commissioner, Haryana Information Commission

visited the Commission on 13-8-2009. He was given power point presentation on the

functioning of the APIC. The proformae prescribed for the Registers to be maintained by the stPIOs and 1 Appellate Authorities, proformae of Quarterly and Annual Reports were given to

him. He was also informed about the File Tracking System and SMS Systems. He has very

much appreciated the working of the Commission.



Sri C.D. Arha, Chief Information Commissioner, APIC (2nd from left)explaining on the implementation of RTI Act in Andhra Pradesh

to Shri Deependra Singh Shekhawat, Speaker of Rajasthan (Centre).Sarvashri R. Dileep Reddy (extreme left), K. Sudhakara Rao (2nd from right) and

Ambaty Subba Rao (extreme right) participated in the meeting on 11-09-2009 at Hyderabad.

Shri C.D. Arha, Chief Information Commissioner with Shri Deependra Singh Shekhawat, Speaker and 15 MLAs of Rajasthan Assembly and others

after a power-point presentation on the implementation of RTI in Andhra Pradesh.

7. Visit of Hon'ble Speaker and MLAs of Rajasthan Assembly

Shri Deependra Singh Shekhawat, Speaker and 15 MLAs of Rajasthan Assembly and representative of MKSS and official of UN Resident Commissioner's Office, New Delhi visited the A.P. Information Commission on 11.09.2009. They were given a power-point presentation on the working of RTI in Andhra Pradesh. The team appreciated the systems being followed. The letter of appreciation from Shri Deependra Singh Shekhawat is appended.

36




27. STAFF:

At the time of creation of the Commission, Government sanctioned the following staff to run the Commission's office in G.O.Ms.No.20 Finance (SMPC) Department, dated: 30-01-2006:-

The work load in the Commission in 2009 increased by 248% over 2006. The average receipt

of currents which was less than 300 per month in 2006 has increased to nearly 1,100 per month

in 2009. Out of 35,084 currents received from 15-11-2005 i.e., from inception of the

Commission disposed 31,615 currents, which works out to 90.11% though there is no

corresponding increase in the staff.

In view of the ever increasing work load, proposals have been sent to Govt. requesting sanction of the following additional posts to assist the Commissioners:-

For Commissioners

1. Legal Officers - 4 (one for each Commissioner)2. Data Entry Operators - 4 (one for each Commissioner)

3. I.T. Specialists - 3 (to maintain the data centre)4. Data Processing Officer - 1

Data Centre

38

S.No. Name of the Post Number of Posts 1 Secretary to AP Information Commission 01 2 OSD to CIC 01 3 Secretary Law / Addl Secretary Law 01 4 Deputy Secretary to Admin 01 5 Asst. Secretary (Information) 01 6 Accounts Officer 01 7 Section Officer 01 8 Asst. Section Officer 02 9 Personal Secretaries 05 10 Personal Assistants (Senior Steno) 03 11 Personal Assistants 05 12 Attenders 12 13 Drivers 05 14 Data Entry Operators 01 15 PABX Operator 01 16 Roneo Operator / Xerox Operator 01 17 Motor Cycle Messenger 01 18 Watch & Ward 02



Year Amount allocated 2006-2007 Rs. 1,64,05,000/-

2007-2008 Rs. 1,22,23,000/-

2008-2009 Rs. 1,74,47,000/-

2009-2010 Rs. 2,16,34,000/-

Commission's Office

1. Commission's Office Building at Hyderabad:

5. Assistant Secretary - 1 9. Junior Accountant - 1

6. Section Officer - 2 10. Record Assistant - 1

7. Asst.Section Officers - 2 11. Electrician - 1

8. Senior Accountant - 1 12. Attenders - 4

Orders of the Government sanctioning staff are s

smt. pratibha devi singh patilapic.gov.in/apicwebsite/documents/annual report 2009.pdfsmt. pratibha...

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