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: 73
 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: 74
 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]
Notice (8): Undefined variable: urlPrefix [APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8]latest-news-updates/is-the-modi-government-hiding-more-than-what-it-is-revealing-with-the-rti-act-mm-ansari-4683462.html"/> LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Is the Modi Government Hiding More Than What It Is Revealing With the RTI Act? -MM Ansari | Im4change.org
Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Is the Modi Government Hiding More Than What It Is Revealing With the RTI Act? -MM Ansari
-TheWire.in

The Right to Information Act has not been implemented in letter and spirit, which is why the number of RTI appeals and complaints with the Central Information Commission is growing.

The Narendra Modi government has made an oft-repeated commitment to promote transparency and participatory decision-making processes to contain the scourge of corruption in public life. While the Right to Information (RTI) Act is used for promoting free flow of information, the policy of ‘minimum government and maximum governance’ has been pursued to ensure transparency and accountability in the functioning of the government.

However, the evidence presented in the 12th Annual Convention of the Central Information Commission (CIC) on December 6, 2017, is contrary to the above claims made by the government.

Responses to RTI applications submitted to all the central ministries have revealed that social media is aggressively used to popularise the performance of the government. A huge amount of money is spent to hire consultants and put out advertisements, which can be avoided. The mandatory disclosure of information under Section 4 of the RTI Act is deliberately discouraged by almost all the central ministries, which is why a large number of RTI appeals and complaints are filed with the CIC, resulting in the increase in the number of pending cases for disposal. By the time information is fully or partly disclosed as per the CIC’s direction, it loses its relevance and utility.

All this was revealed during the interface between major stakeholders, namely RTI activists, public information officers of the government departments and the information commissioners of the Centre and the states. These revelations pose a question: Is the functioning of the Modi government duly transparent as it claims or it is hiding more than what is revealed to the public through social media and advertisements?

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) directed inter alia all the ministries, vide its order dated April 15, 2013, to: i) appoint a Nodal Officer who should be responsible for overseeing the compliance voluntarily disclosures under Section 4 of the Act; and, ii) ensure that every public authority gets ‘transparency audit’ done by a third party. In this context, the CIC was mandated to randomly check and conduct ‘disclosure audit’. Neither have the concerned public authorities complied with requirements as stipulated in the said office order, nor have the DoPT and the CIC taken pains to promote openness in the functioning of the government. As a result, the functioning of the government is shrouded in secrecy, as observed by the Institute of Secretariat Training and Management (ISTM), DoPT.



The ISTM audit demonstrates that most government departments do not comply with Section 4 of the Act. In the digital age, neither are the websites properly constructed nor are the information and data regularly revised and updated. Clearly, the RTI Act has not been implemented in letter and spirit, which is why the number of RTI appeals and complaints with the CIC is growing. Not only has the cost of an RTI application been high and rising, but the people are also deprived of the opportunity of making informed decisions in matters of person and national development. Information that should be in the public domain is not, which hints to the perpetuation of ‘the culture of secrecy’ by the bureaucracy and the political leadership.

The study done by the ISTM, presented at the conference, shows that a huge amount of vital information is not displayed on the official websites of the different ministries/government departments. The missing information fall in the following categories:

*    Decision making process, delegation of powers, duties and responsibilities of officials and the system of compensation paid to them;
*    Minutes of meetings of various committees and boards, details of the relevant Acts, rules, instruments, manuals, office orders, custodians of various categories of documents held by the organisation;
*    RTI applications and appeals received and their responses, details of Public Information Officers, FAA, Nodal Officer and other facilities available to citizens for obtaining information;
*    Details of  domestic and foreign visits undertaken by the senior officials;
*    Details of mechanism to redress grievances of affected persons, mainly employees, clients and customers;
*    Discretionary and Non-discretionary Grants and details of the beneficiaries of subsidy; and,
*    Details about Public Private Partnerships and outcomes of such ventures.

Please click here to read more.