An act which came
in force in 2005 not remained an act, rather became a revolution. And the act is
Right to Information Act, 2005. This
act is a sincere step taken by UPA – I in its Aim to bring transparency in Government
Functioning, which is making a Mockery of itself with its 2nd
Innings.
In the recent times RTI has
proven its worth. People have sincerely and effectively used their new right
given by constitution to get the Information in correct form and right time. In
recent past, in every revelation of scam there has been an inevitable role of
RTI. Whether it is 2G scam or Adarsh society scam RTI has shown its power. With
a nominal fee of Rs. 10 any one can get piece of information from any public
information provided it’s not exempted.
Now the
question is what RTI is and how we can use it?
Who are
concerned officers and which kind of information we can obtain from the public
authorities?
There are so
many similar types of questions arise in the mind of people.
An attempt is
made to aware people about the RTI through article. As per the captioned
heading of article, it deals with general awareness.
New right given by Goverment of India in 2005 to its people is “Right To Information”.
“The Right to Information
Act, 2005 was passed by the parliament of India in May, 2005 and came in to
effect on October 12th 2005”
What is the
need of RTI ??
Every citizen has a right to know how the
Government is functioning. Right to Information empowers every citizen to seek
any information from the Government, inspect any Government documents and seek
certified photocopies thereof. Some laws on Right to Information also empower
citizens to official inspect any Government work or to take sample of material
used in any work.
Before the
introduction of RTI there were the bodies which were there to bring the transparency
in government departments like PUBLIC
GRIEVANCE COMMISSION & OMBUDSMAN. These bodies were not as much as effective as
RTI because in there is no Accountability on the part of concerned
officials. But now under RTI Act 2005, there is accountability on the part of
Govt. officials. It is their legal obligation to respond to the applications made within a
period of 30 days otherwise they are liable to pay a fine of Rs.100 per day
subject to a maximum of Rs.25,000/-.
Let’s Understand RTI
"Right To Information" means the access to any
information under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public
authority and includes the right to—
ü Inspection of work, documents, records;
ü Taking notes extracts or certified copies of documents or records;
ü Taking certified samples of material;
ü Obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes,
video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such
information is stored in a computer or in any other device;
Right to Information Act 2005 mandates:-
Timely response to citizen
requests for government information.
Providing the citizens quick
search of information
Access to RTI related
information / disclosures published on the web by various Public Authorities
under the government of India as well as the State Governments.
Motive
To promote transparency and accountability in
the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central
Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Applicability
It extends to the whole of India except the
State of Jammu and Kashmir.
From whom can you seek information
Information can
be demanded from Public Authorities. Where Public authorities are authorities
or body or institution:
a) Which is established or constituted
- By or under constitution.
- By law made by Parliament or State
legislature.
b) Owned,
controlled or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly—
·
By the Central Government or
the Union territory administration.
- By the State Government.
HOW TO FILE AN APPLICATION UNDER RTI ACT 2005?
Anyone can file
application for seeking information under RTI ACT 2005 by writing the
application on a simple paper or in printed form addressing the “Public
Information Officer”.
And the applicant has to
deposit nominal fees of Rs.10 in cash or through postal order of Rs.10 / 50.
One can file application either manually or by post.
While paying fees through
postal order, take care of following:
·
Fees are paid to pay and
accounts officer of concerned department, not to PIO. So remember always write
pay and accounts officer on postal order.
·
Always detach acknowledgement
of postal order and retain it with you.
·
Always write postal order no.
in letter to avoid confusion.
If
the Public Information Officer does not respond to the application filed, then
the applicant can go to the First Appellate Public Information Officer, Second
Appellate Public Information Officer and then to the Information Commissioner respectively.
An applicant making request for information shall not be
required to give any reason for requesting the information or any other personal
details except those that may be necessary for contacting him.
Hierarchy of
Concerned Officers (Downwards)
- Public Information Officer
- First Appellate Public Information Officer – Within department
– In case the applicant is aggrieved with
decision of Public Information officer he can appeal to First APIO within
30 days of decision and without any fees.
- Second Appellate Public Information Officer – With in State /
Central Government - In case sufficient information is not
provided at above two levels, applicant can go to Second Appellate
Information Officer which is within state
- Information Commissioner – Ultimately
if he doesn’t get information from above hierarchy, he can approach to
Information Commissioner.
TimeLine
for RTI
|
For PIO to reply
to application
|
30 days from date of
receipt of application
|
|
For PIO to
transfer to another PA under Sec 6(3)
|
5 days from date of
receipt of application
|
|
For PIO to issue
notice to 3rd Party
|
5 days from date of
receipt of application
|
|
For 3rd Party to make a representation to
PIO
|
10 days from receipt
of notice from PIO
|
|
For PIO to reply
to application if 3rdParty involved
|
40 days from date of
receipt of application
|
|
For applicant to
make First Appeal
|
30 days from date of
receipt of PIO’s reply or from date when reply was to be received
|
|
For First
Appellate Authority to pass an order
|
30 days from receipt
of First Appeal OR
Maximum 45 days, if reasons for delay are given in writing |
|
For applicant to
make Second Appeal before CIC/SIC
|
90 days from receipt
of First Appeal orders or from the date when orders were to be received
|
|
For CIC/SIC to
decide Second Appeal
|
No time limit
specified
|
|
Format of RTI application
To,
The Public Information Officer
Name of Department
Address
Date
Subject: - Seeking Information Under
Right To Information Act, 2005 regarding ………….
Respected Sir
I want to get
information under the RTI ACT 2005 regarding
the……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Please provide
me the information on following points : -
Question 1
Question 2
Thanks,
Yours sincerely,
XYZ
(Sd/-)
Enclosure: Postal Order No……
Facts about RTI
The RTI Laws were first successfully enacted by
the state governments of TamilNadu (1997), Goa (1997), Rajasthan (2000), Karnataka (2000), Delhi (2001), Maharashtra (2002),Assam (2002), Madhya
Pradesh (2003), and Jammu
and Kashmir (2004).
Jammu & Kashmir has its own Right to
Information Act of 2009, the successor to the repealed J&K Right to
Information Act, 2004 and its 2008 amendments.
In the first year of National RTI, 42,876 (not
yet official) applications for information were filed to Central (i.e. Federal)
public authorities. Of these 878 were disputed at the final appellate stage -
the Central Information Commission at New Delhi
The first stay order against a final appellate
decision of the Central Information Commission was granted on 3.May.2006 by the
High Court of Delhi in WP(C)6833-35/2006 cited as "NDPL & Ors. versus
Central Information Commission & Ors"
RTInation- An online vertical of RTI, has been
conferred the Karmaveer Puraskaar, for social justice and civil action, for the year
2010-2011
Word for
Wise, Take it as Advise
v Don’t write for irrelevant means - To burden Govt. Depts. It is a
Right,Don’t use it wrong.
v Always go for RTI when all other options are exhausted
v Inform your known ones regarding the powers they have via effective
use of RTI.
v Try to facilitate the concerned RTI officials by filling up the
letters in a legible and clear manner (i.e. self-explanatory letter.)
v By making proper use of RTI,
we can even seek information relating to govt. policies & it’s
implementation (specially used by NGO’s)
Regards
Gaurav Arya
Chartered Accountant
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