Implementation Of RTI

Part II – Implementation of The Right To Information Act

 In order to enforce the rights and fulfil the obligations under the Act, building of
institutions, organization of information and creation of an enabling environment
are critical.
 Therefore, the Commission has, as a first step, reviewed the steps taken so far to
implement the Act as follows:
o Building institutions
a. Information Commissions
b. Information Officers and Appellate Authorities
o Information and record-keeping
a. Suo motu declaration under Section 4.
b. Public Interest Disclosure.
c. Modernizing recordkeeping
o Capacity building and awareness generation
o Creation of monitoring mechanism
 The Act provides for selection of CIC and SICs in a bipartisan manner, and
involves the Leader of the Opposition in the process. Since the Act is applicable to
all three organs of the State, it would be appropriate to include in the selection
committee the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or High Court as the case may
be. This will inspire public confidence and enhance the quality of the selection.
 The Act visualizes a Commission wherein the Members represent different
sections of the society. The State Governments are still in the process of
appointing Information Commissioners, but an analysis of the background of the
State Chief Information Commissioners indicates the preponderance of persons
with civil service background. Members with civil services background no doubt
bring with them wide experience and an intricate knowledge of government
functioning; however to inspire public confidence and in the light of the provisions
of the Act, it is desirable that the Commissions have a large proportion of members
with non civil services background.
Recommendation

 Section 12 of the Act may be amended to constitute the Selection Committee of
CIC with the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of
India. Section 15 may be similarly amended to constitute the Selection Committee
at the State level with the Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the Chief
Justice of the High Court.
 The GOI should ensure the constitution of SICs in all States within 3 months.
 The CIC should establish 4 regional offices of CIC with a Commissioner heading
each. Similarly regional offices of SICs should be established in larger States.
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 At least half of the members of the Information Commissions should be drawn from
non civil services background. Such a provision may be made in the Rules under
the Act, by the Union Government, applicable to both CIC and SICs

Designating Information Officers and Appellate Authorities

 Section 19(1) read with Section 7(3) (b) implies designating an appellate authority
for each PIO, the law does not specifically provide for designating of appellate
authorities as it does in case of PIOs. As a result there is avoidable confusion
about the identification of appellate authorities. This omission needs to be rectified.
Recommendations

 All Ministries/Departments/Agencies/Offices with more than one PIO have to

designate a nodal Assistant Public Information Officer with the authority to receive
requests for information on behalf of all PIOs. Such a provision should be
incorporated in the Rules by appropriate governments.
 PIOs in Central Secretariats should be of the level of at least Deputy Secretary
/Director. In State Secretariats, officers of similar rank should be notified as PIOs.
In all subordinate agencies and departments, officers sufficiently senior in rank and
yet accessible to public may be designated as PIOs.
 All public authorities may be advised by the Government of India that along with
the Public Information Officers they should also designate the appellate authority
and publish both, together.
 The designation and notification of Appellate Authorities for each public authority
may be made either under Rules or by invoking Section 30 of the Act.

Recommendation on Organising Information and Record

Keeping
 Suo motu disclosures should also be available in the form of printed, priced
publication in the official language, revised periodically (at least once a year). Such
a publication should be available for reference, free of charge. In respect of
electronic disclosures, NIC should provide a single portal through which
disclosures of all public authorities under appropriate governments could be
accessed, to facilitate easy availability of information.
 Public Records Offices should be established as an independent authority in GOI
and all States within 6 months by integrating and restructuring the multiple
agencies currently involved in record keeping. This Office will be a repository of
technical and professional expertise in management of public records. It will be
responsible for supervision, monitoring, control and inspection of record keeping in
all public offices.
 As a one time measure, GOI may create a Land Records Modernisation
Fund for survey and updation of all land records. The quantum of assistance for
each State would be based on an assessment of the field situation.
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Recommendations on Capacity Building and Awareness

Generation
 Training programmes should not be confined to merely PIOs and APIOs. All
government functionaries should be imparted at least one day training on Right to
Information within a year. These training programmes have to be organized in a
decentralized manner in every block. A cascading model could be adopted with a
batch of master trainers in each district.
 Appropriate governments should bring out guides and comprehensible information
material within the prescribed time.
 The CIC and the SICs may issue guidelines for the benefit of public authorities and
public officials in particular and public in general about key concepts in the Act and
approach to be taken in response to information requests on the lines of the
Awareness Guidance Series.

Recommendations on Monitoring Mechanism

 The CIC and the SICs may be entrusted with the task of monitoring effective
implementation of the Right to Information Act in all public authorities. (An
appropriate provision could be made under Section 30 by way of removal of
difficulties).
 As a large number of Public Authorities exist at regional, state, district and sub
district level, a nodal officer should be identified wherever necessary by the
appropriate monitoring authority (CIC/SIC) to monitor implementation of the Act.
 Each public authority should be responsible for compliance of provisions of the Act
in its own office as well as that of the subordinate public authorities
 A National Coordination Committee (NCC) may be set up under the
chairpersonship of the Chief Information Commissioner with the nodal Union
Ministry, the SICs and representatives of States as members. A provision to this
effect may be made under Section 30 of the Act by way of removing difficulties.
The National Coordination Committee would:
1. Serve as a national platform for effective implementation of the Act.
2. Document and disseminate best practices in India and elsewhere.
3. Monitor the creation and functioning of the national portal for Right to
Information.
4. Review the Rules and Executive orders issued by the appropriate
governments under the Act.
5. Carry out impact evaluation of the implementation of the Act.
6. Perform such other relevant functions as may be deemed necessary.

Issues in implementation
 Implementation Of RTI
 The Commission has identified some of the problem areas in implementation and
these are discussed and recommendations made for their redressal.
 Facilitating Access: For seeking information, a process as prescribed under the Act
has to be set in motion. The trigger is filing of a request. Once the request is filed
the onus of responding to it shifts to the government agency.
 Based on the case studies conducted by the Commission, responses of various
Ministries to a questionnaire, and interactions with the stakeholders, a number of
difficulties/ impediments were noted:
1. Complicated system of accepting requests.
2. Insistence on demand drafts.
3. Difficulties in filing applications by post.
4. Varying and often higher rates of application fee.
5. Large number of PIOs.
Recommendations

 In addition to the existing modes of payment, appropriate governments should

amend the Rules to include payment through postal orders.
 States may be required to frame Rules regarding application fee which are in
harmony with the Central Rules. It needs to be ensured that the fee itself does not
become a disincentive.
 Appropriate governments may restructure the fees (including additional fees) in
multiples of Rs 5. {E.g. instead of prescribing a fee of Rs. 2 per additional page it
may be desirable to have a fee of Rs. 5 for every 3 pages or part thereof}.
 State Governments may issue appropriate stamps in suitable denominations as a
mode of payment of fees. Such stamps would be used for making applications
before public authorities coming within the purview of State Governments.
 As all the post offices in the country have already been authorized to function as
APIOs on behalf of Union Ministries/Departments, they may also be authorized to
collect the fees in cash and forward a receipt along with the application.