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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Bengal RTI record abysmal by Ajanta Chakraborty

Bengal RTI record abysmal by Ajanta Chakraborty

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published Published on Jan 4, 2011   modified Modified on Jan 4, 2011

After a gap of five months, the West Bengal Information Commission held a meeting on Monday. But even as chief information commissioner (CIC) Sujit Sarkar promised to "streamline" things, the panel's performance since its inception in 2005 has been nothing to write home about.

Among those who keenly studied implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2005, in Bengal is Magsaysay awardee Arvind Kejriwal. Findings by Kejriwal's Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF) reveal that "disposal of cases by the West Bengal Information Commission is very low despite huge pendency". According to the RTI Act, failure to provide information within 30 days (in special cases 40) is deemed refusal.

The commission's laxity has also been highlighted by Indian People's Right for Information and Democracy (IPRID) in its recent study. RTI activist and IPRID member Anindo Kishor said, "Instead of doing a comparative study with states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi, we have restricted our study to six states in the eastern region. Among them, Bengal's performance is the worst."

Here's how. Bengal takes six months between the date of filing and first hearing. Arunachal Pradesh takes only a month and Bihar two months. In 2010, Bengal had 1,357 cases pending against none in Arunachal, 42 in Assam and 75 in Manipur. The study has revealed that Bengal can dispose of nine cases every month, Assam 19, Bihar 175, Chhatisgarh 91, and Manipur 7.

The state information commission website doesn't mention any penalty being imposed or disciplinary action taken against any public information officer for non-performance.

In the PCRF study, Bengal ranks at the bottom on overall public satisfaction in terms of implementation of the RTI Act. Karnataka tops the list of performing states, with satisfaction rated at 55%. It is followed by Left-ruled Kerala at 52%, Punjab (47%), Orissa and Assam (37%) and West Bengal 6%.

"Arun Bhattacharya (former CIC) directed disclosure of information in 76.5% cases, denying information in 23.5% cases. He did not remand back any case. Therefore, he stands at 63rd position amongst all commissioners on pro-disclosure. Compare this with the highest in the country. Three commissioners from different parts of India passed 100% orders in favour of disclosures and 34 commissioners passed more than 90% pro-disclosure orders. Bhattacharya's compliance seems to be low because he closes a case after passing orders in favour of disclosure — without ensuring compliance thereof," read Kejriwal's report.

Bhattacharya, who retired in August 2010, told TOI, "Please speak to the present CIC." Sarkar admitted files haven't moved much.

The Times of India, 4 January, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/Bengal-RTI-record-abysmal/articleshow/7214146.cms


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