Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Draft amendments may sound RTI death knell by Viju B

Draft amendments may sound RTI death knell by Viju B

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jan 12, 2011   modified Modified on Jan 12, 2011

Proposed changes to the Right to Information (RTI) Act threaten to render it ineffective to a large extent. The amendments include restricting questions per RTI query to one and word count to 250 per query, and levying a 'hire' charge.

If the Department of Personal and Training's proposed draft comes into effect it would be applicable to all central government agencies and respective state commissions can follow suit and adopt these rules accordingly after issuing state resolutions.

RTI activists said the draft rules would kill the Act and citizens will not get adequate responses. "The manner in which the DoPT is pushing the draft rules without asking for suggestions shows they want to dilute the Act and make it ineffective. The DoPT just gave 17 days (December 10 to December 27) to invite suggestions and comments. The draft rules suggest major changes that need to be debated. The Centre should have given more time for people to respond and given far more coverage to the rules in public forums, informing everyone of these changes. After all this is a people's Act," Bhaskar Prabhu, convener of the Mahiti Adhikar Manch said.

Kurla-based activist Anil Galgali agreed: "The one-query rule is really absurd. How can one just ask one query when there are so many angles to an issue?'' he asks. He cites an example wherein he had to ask at 10 questions on an issue where politicians had usurped apartments reserved for the common man under the chief minister's discretionary quota.

A senior CIC official said though the one-query rule should not come into effect there should be some limitations on word count. "Some applicants send queries which are 20-25 pages long. This is plainly to harass the Public Information Officers and waste their time. Ideally all the queries can fit in one or two pages if drafted succinctly,'' the CIC official said.

RTI activist Krishnaraj Rao said the draft rule is silent on complainants." There is no mention of this important tool wherein an applicant can directly file a complaint with the information commission in case they do not get the correct information. If the department does away with this then we will be at the mercy of the PIOs and appellate authorities,'' Rao said.

The rules, Prabhu said, should in fact look at problems and limitations of the Act and amend them for the benefit of the citizens. "There is still no way we can challenge an order of the information commission and there is no prescribed time limit to comply with its order. These limitations should be looked into and amended accordingly,'' he said.


The Times of India, 11 January, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Draft-amendments-may-sound-RTI-death-knell/articleshow/7261168.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close