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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Ministries ignore RTI obligation

Ministries ignore RTI obligation

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published Published on Feb 8, 2011   modified Modified on Feb 8, 2011
The attempt of the Central Information Commission (CIC), the final appellate authority for implementation of Right to Information (RTI) Act, to bring transparency in the functioning of government departments through voluntary disclosure of information on websites has come a cropper.

Of the 1,600 public authorities (government departments, apex bodies, autonomous organisations and ministries) listed by the Commission, only 125 have obeyed its directive and appointed transparency officers.

The macro picture at the central level is no better with only 34 of 70-odd ministries and apex bodies appointing transparency officers. The ministries of finance, home and culture and the Prime Minister's Office have done nothing except expressing their intention to appoint a transparency officer.

When RTI Act was notified in October 2005, it had laid down that ministries should voluntarily disclose information and computerise records within 120 days. The Commission, in a circular to all public authorities on November 18 last year, had reminded them to undertake this exercise in a phased manner under a transparency officer. Every department had been given 15 days to appoint the officer.

However, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the parent department of the Commission, took exception to the circular and said that by giving such directions CIC has overstepped its brief. In its letter to the authority, DoPT has said that by ordering to appoint transparency officers CIC was trying to "create another bureaucracy".

CIC, however, feels that it is only trying to assign another responsibility to the same set of bureaucrats present in the government departments. Speaking to ET, Central Information Commissioner Satyanand Mishra said, "We are examining the matter. The Commission does not have the power to withdraw any of its orders. At the same time we don't need to justify our orders. If any department has an objection it can take legal recourse. Over the past few years in our deliberations as information commissioners, we had found that had the ministries voluntarily disclosed information many applications would not have been filed. This is why the directive was given."

If a section has refused to comply, there is another section which has promptly appointed high-ranking officials as transparency officers to oversee the disclosure process. Cabinet Secretariat (Security) has appointed an additional secretary level officer as transparency officer. Others that have complied include Planning Commission, Department of Commerce, Air India, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises , Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Ministry of Mines.

The Economic Times, 8 February, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/ministries-ignore-rti-obligation/articleshow/7456987.cms


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