ClC writes to PM on move to change RTI Act

New Delhi: Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposing the proposed move to exempt nuclear regulatory bodies from the ambit of the Right To Information Act.

In his letter to the PM, Gandhi opposed the proposals in the Nuclear Safety Regulation Act (NSRA) relating to introduction of new exemption clause in the RTI Act which will prohibit disclosure of nuclear energy and radiation issues under the transparency law.

He also opposed the proposed changes in the law which would keep the proposed regulatory bodies of nuclear energy in the country in the list of bodies exempted from the RTI Act.

"...the existing provisions under section 8 are more than adequate for protecting sensitive information about nuclear energy facilities," he said in the letter.

Gandhi said the NSRA Bill seeks to vest an enoromous discretion in the hands of such bodies to withhold people's access to information.

Nuclear energy, he said, is as much about development of the country as it is about the safety and well being of the citizens.

He said a high degree of transparency in such matters would go a long way in building people's confidence in the government's ability to establish and maintain nuclear energy facilities and also act as a check on any mistakes which may be made.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cic-writes-to-pm-on-move-to-change-rti-act/243640-3.html

After Direction from CM’s Grievance Cell, Raj Bhawan mends Its Website

Jammu: After directions from the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell, Jammu and Kashmir Raj Bhawan officials have immediately mended the official website. A complaint in the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell (http://jkgrievance.nic.in/) has forced the officials of the Jammu and Kashmir Raj Bhawan to update the official website which was as per the statement of an RTI activist Raman Sharma had not been updated since 3 to 4 months. Raman Sharma, the RTI activist had made a complaint with the Chief Minister’s Grievance cell on 19/03/2012 vide his complaint no. 30306 stating that “At the point of time when everybody is talking about the e.governance and Information Technology, the highest office of the state, i.e. Raj Bhawan has not been able to update their website on regular basis. The official website of Jammu and Kashmir Raj Bhawan has not been updated for a long and information related to RTI act is not uploaded or updated in the website (http:jkrajbhawan.nic.inPageUnderConstruction.htm). For the past more than 3 to 4 months the message that comes when we open RTI link is UNDER CONSTRUCTION. OTHERWISE ALSO No current and latest information available on the website”. It is pertinent to mention here that as per Web Policy of Jammu and Kashmir Government, there should be regular updating of the website of every department.  Taking serious note of the complaint, the Grievance Cell on same day had further forwarded it to the state Information and Technology department and it is only with the intervention of the Chief Minister’s Grievance Cell that now  the webpage has been updated  and the information related to RTI has been uploaded.  Earlier, Raman had also made a similar complaint with the CM grievance cell and RTI application regarding non-updating of Jammu and Kashmir’s official website (http://jammukashmir.nic.in/), though the action in this case is awaited.

J & K  RTI :  PIOs decry lack of infrastructure

BY:  RAMAN SHARMA 

Often we the citizens and Right to Information users' complaint that the officers and Public Information Officers (PIOs) do not provide the requisite information within stipulated period of time, obviously these grievances are legitimate. 04 29 zithromax Under section 7 (1) of Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information act, the reply should be given to the applicant as expeditiously as possible, and in any case within thirty days, but there are a very few lucky RTI applicants who are able to get the sought information within the specified time and frequently the reply is delayed for days to months. Clearly the RTI Act provides relief to the applicant if he does not receive information within stipulated period of time; he can file appeal or complain with the higher authorities or the state information commission against the erring PIO.  chloramphenicol 1 Of course, the applicant would blame the Public Information officer for the delay in providing the requisite information well in time because the act says the PIO is responsible for the supply of information. But, it is very unfortunate that though every one of us including this writer is brisk in seeking and exercising his right i.e. right to ask but never bother to pay attention towards the fact that the rights are always connected and mutually dependent on the duties of others. We cannot claim our right in vacuum and in the case of Jammu and Kashmir RTI Act, the officers (PIOs) who have been assigned the task of ensuing our rights are not provided the necessary infrastructure despite lapse of more than 30 months since inception of J&K RTI Act (in March, 2009). Of course some delays in furnishing the information are intentional and deliberate on the part of PIO because where his benefit or his bosses interests are hurt he would definitely shy away from the transparency law. But in other cases, deficient knowledge of the act is one of the biggest reasons for not honouring the provisions of the act. The state government yet has done very little for the training and awareness programs for the officers and PIO's. There is no separate budget for implementation of the RTI Act, not even a single penny has been provided to any department (for stationery and postal charges) in this regard whereas per day number of RTI applications are increasing in every government office. Already over burdened officers, for instance in almost all the Deputy Commissioner's offices of the districts, the additional district magistrate/ADC is being designated as Public Information officer under section 5 of the act. We all know that such officers due to other important administrative assignments cannot pay due attention to this important law and in ignorance and haste they fail to adhere the provisions of the act in toto. For supplying and collecting information from the other units of the department these PIO's need human resources but again on this count also the government has not even deputed additional clerk or class iv staffer to assist the Information officer. The PIO's are not paid any extra remuneration for their additional assignments of being as information officer. Many officers even complaint that they have not even been provided the copies of the RTI act and rules yet, forget any training. In the act also the whole onus for setting out the regime of the right to information is not on the PIOs alone. Section 4, which is termed as soul of the RTI act by many RTI activists, is to be worked out by the public authorities and not by the PIOs. This section 4 hits the head of the nail and stresses on the preparations beforehand i.e. Sub- section (a) of section 4 states that "Every Public Authority shall--- maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under the Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerized are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerized and connected through a network all over the State on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated. " The other impediment experience shared by many information officers is that though they are in position to provide the information related to their own tenure but they feel helpless to trace out old records/documents because there is no system of keeping the records in order and unfortunately in many departments the precious records have been damaged due to lots of reasons sometimes due to human negligence, natural calamities, fire break etc. Even today records in public offices are not computerized despite tall claims of the government; the PIOs demand that if the records are computerized than their more than half burden is eased out. The other critical problem of the PIOs is that even in some important and major departments there is just one PIO to deal with all RTI matter and it is not possible for him/her to handle it properly besides other routine assignments, hence the provisions of the act apt to be disordered. The non-co-operative attitude of the other colleagues of the information officers add to their sorrows because these officers do not lend a helping hand to the PIOs and here again ignorant of law, PIO feels helpless but the act is very clear in this context. Section 5(4,5) of the act clearly mentions that " the PIO may seek assistance of any other officers as he or she considers it necessary for the proper discharge of his or her duties" and " any officer who assistance has been sought shall render all assistance to the PIO seeking his or her assistance and for the purpose of any contravention of the provisions of the act. such other officers shall be treated as a PIO". Training for the PIOs and their staff is must, additional human resources must be attached with the PIO exclusively for the purpose of RTI. Additional funding, stationary charges be given to the PIOs, without wastage of any further time, the government must come out of deep hibernation and move towards proper record management and computerization of date and documents. All the above facts and circumstances depicts that for providing the regime of the transparency to the citizens the government must listen the grievances of the PIOs carefully and do the needful at an earliest. Only then the people will be able to exercise their rights because our rights are always subject to the efficiency, competence and available resources with the officers who have the duty to honour these rights. The above piece of writing is purely based on the practical experiences and inputs shared by the PIOs. (The author is an RTI activist of the state and can be reached at jkrtiact@gmail.com)

 Frequently  Asked  Question about RTI

1.	When the Right to information came into force?
The Jammu and Kashmir Right to Information Act, 2009 came into force with effect from 20th of March 2009. The Rules under the Act were framed vide SRO 196 which was issued on 20th of July 2009.

2.	Who can claim the Right of Information?
Every person who is residing within the state of J&K has a right to seek information under Section 3 of J & K Right to Information Act, 2009.

3.	What does information mean?
The information means any material in any form including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority.

4.	What does Right to Information mean?
The right to information is the right to seek the information under J and K Right to Information Act, 2009.

5.	What are the obligations of public Authority?
The obligations of the public authorities is to maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information, publish rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records, details of subsidiary programmes run by it and list of beneficiaries of such programmes, names, designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers and disseminate all information that pertains to general public good.

6.	What information is excluded from disclosure?
The information which falls within the exemptions provided under Section 8 and Section 9 is not open to disclosure.  The exempted information is broadly the one that relates to sovereignty, integrity and security of State, disclosure of which may violate any court order, disclosure of which may cause breach of privilege of the Parliament or State Legislature or Cause violation of intellectual property rights etc.

7.	Is the partial disclosure allowed?
If the information claimed contains some part which is exempted from disclosure under section 8.  In such a situation the exempted part of information is to be separated from the rest of the information.  Thereafter, the non exempted part is disclosed.

8.	What does a “Public Authority” means?
The public authority means any authority or body or institution of self government established under law or financed directly or indirectly by the government.

9.	Who are third parties?
The Third Party as defined under Section 2 Clause (L) means a person other than the Citizen making a request for information and includes a Public Authority.

10.	Who are Public Information Officers?
PIOs are officers designated by the public authorities in all administrative units or offices under it to provide information to the citizens requesting for information 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.

11.	What are the duties of PIO’s?
The request for information has to be made to the Public Information Officer (PIO) or Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO). Where a decision is made to provide information then PIO or APIO has to inform the applicant to deposit further fee representing the cost of providing information.             In case the decision is made to withhold the information requested for, then , PIO is required to inform the applicant about the same with the particulars of 1st Appellate authority and the time limit for making  such appeal if , he chooses so, to such authority.

12.	What is the application procedure for requesting information?
The request for information has to be made to the Public Information Officer or Assistant in writing or through electronic means in English, Urdu or Hindi. A request for information should be accompanied by an application  fee of Rupees Fifty by way of cash receipt  or Indian Postal Order or Demand Draft or bankers cheque  payable to the Accounts Officer of the Public Authority. The application written on non-judicial stamp paper of Rupees Fifty shall be deemed to be accompanied by the application fee. However, no such fee is to be charged from persons belonging to Below the Poverty Line (BPL).

13.	What is the time limit to get information?
The Public Information is required to provide the information requested as expeditiously as possible and in any case within thirty days of the receipt of the request.

14.	What is the fee?
The fee has to be charged at the following rate:  (a)  Rupees ten for each page (A-4 or A-3) created or copied.  (b)  Actual charge or cost price of a copy in large size paper.  (c)  Actual cost or price for samples or models; and  (d)  For inspection of records, no fee for the first hour; and a  fee of Rupees Fifteen for each subsequent  hour(or a    fraction      thereof)  (e)  For information provided in diskette or floppy Rupees Seventy five per diskette or floppy and Rupees hundred per C.D.  (f)   For information provided in printed form at the price fixed for such publication or Rupees Two per page or  photocopy for extracts from the publication. However, no fee has to be charged from persons who are below the poverty line.

15.	What could be the ground for rejection?
The rejection of the application seeking information can be made on the grounds as stated in Section 8 and 9. The grounds on which the information can be denied are broadly like information which relates to sovereignty, integrity and security of State, disclosure of which may violate any court order, disclosure of which may cause breach of privilege of the Parliament or State Legislature or disclosure of which may cause violation of intellectual property rights etc.

16.	Who are the Appellate Authorities?
The First appeal can be made within a period of thirty days of expiry of period within which information is to be provided or within thirty days of receipt of such decision before First Appellate Authority or Head of the Institution.             The second appeal against the decision of the Ist Appellate Authority can be filed before the State Information Commission within a period of Ninety days from the date on which the decision should have been made by Ist Appellate Authority or within a period of Ninety days from the day on which the decision of the Ist. Appellate Authority was received.
17.	How is the State Information Commission constituted?
The Section 12 of J&K Right to Information Act provides that J&K State Information Commission shall be constituted by issuing notification in the Government Gazette.

18.	What is the eligibility criterion and what is the process of appointment of State Chief Information commissioner?
Section 12 (5) of J&K Right to Information Act, 2009 requires that the State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioner shall be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law , Science  and Technology, Social Science, Management, Journalism , Mass Media or Administration and Governance. The State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners can be appointed by the Governor on the recommendations of committee consisting of Chief Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Chief Minister. However, where the Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly has not been recognized, then, the leader of single largest group in opposition to Government shall be deemed to be the leader of opposition for the purpose of committee of appointment of Chief Information Commissioner or Information Commissioners.

19.	What are the powers and functions of Information Commission?
The State Information Commission is the Appellate Authority. The second appeal against the decision of the Ist Appellate Authority can be filed before the State Information Commission within a period of Ninety days from the date on which the decision should have been made by Ist Appellate Authority or within a period of Ninety days from the day on which the decision of the Ist. Appellate Authority was received.The Commission has also a duty to receive and enquire into a compliant from any peson relating to matters of Right to information.

20.	What is the procedure of reporting?
The State Information Commission is required to prepare a report at the end of each year. The report is them to be tabled before each house of the Legislature by the Government.

21.	What are the penalty provisions?
The powers of the State Information Commission are as under:- (a)  Where PIO is held guilty of not providing  the information without             reasonable  cause or malafidely, a penalty of  Rs. 250 for each day of delay subject to the condition that  amount of penalty shall not exceed Rs. 25000. Section 17(1) (b)  J&K    State Information Commission can if the PIO is held guilty of not providing information, recommend for disciplinary action against the  Public Information Officer under Service Rules applicable to him. Section 17(2 (c)  State Information Commission can if it is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to inquire into a matter and initiate an inquiry in respect thereof. Section 15 (2) (d)  The State Information Commission shall inquire into a matter have all the powers as are vested in a civil court under civil procedure code. It includes summoning, enforcing attendance of person receiving evidence and requisitioning any record and documents. Section 16 (9) (e)   State Information Commission can if it appears that practice of a Public authority do not conform to the provisions or spirit of the Act then it can make recommendation specifying the steps which ought to be taken for promoting such conformity. Section 22 (5) (f)   The State Information Commission can make a rating of public authorities in respect of their meeting the standards provided under J&K Right to Information Act, 2009 and the rules there-under. Rule 36 (i)

22.	What is the jurisdiction of courts?
The Section 20 puts a bar on initiation of proceedings before any court in respect of any order made under the Act.

23.	What is the role of Central/ State Governments?
The role of  Government under J&K Right to Information Act 2009 is laid down  under Section 23 they are;- (a)  The Government is required to develop and organize educational programmes as to how the rights contemplated under the Act. (b)  Encourage public authorities to participate in educational programmes. (c) Promote timely and effective dissemination of accurate information by public authority. (d) Train public information officers and produces relevant training material. (e) Publish a guide in official language of State in easy and comprehensible form for person/s who wishes to exercise the rights specified in the Act. (f)  Publish  objects of the Act. (g) Publish postal, street addresses, phone, fax and e-mail address of Public Information Officer. (h) Publish fee to pay in applications under Right to Information Act.

24.	Who has the Rule making Power?
The Rule making power as per the Section 24 of J & K Right to Information Act 2009 is vested in the government of Jammu and Kashmir. The rules have been framed under SRO 196 and notified on 20th of July 2009.

25.	Who has the power to deal with difficulties while implementing the RTI Act?
The power to remove the difficulties is vested in government under Section 27. However the order to remove difficulties can only be made within two years from the date of commencement i.e. 20th March 2009. Any order made for the removal of difficulties has to be laid before each house of State Legislature