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News Alerts | Move to take the sting out of the RTI

Move to take the sting out of the RTI

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published Published on Oct 21, 2009   modified Modified on Oct 21, 2009


The right to information act (RTI) which is hailed as a great leap forward in the direction of transparency in governance is under serious threat. The UPA government that showcased the historical act as one of its achievements in the last Lok Sabha elections now seems to be bowing down to the system’s high and mighty by proposing amendments which seem designed to take the sting out of the people’s weapon.

A set of proposed amendments, if approved, will make a mockery of the RTI Act, according to a press release of the National campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information (NCPRI). The amendments seek to empower public information officers to reject so called “vexatious and frivolous” applications. In effect what this means is that any application can be termed “vexatious and frivolous” as per the whim and fancy of a PIO. Further, the government seems to be under pressure from self-serving elements in the Indian bureaucracy, as it once again seeks to exempt “file noting” this time under the guise of “decision/consultation that take place before arriving at a decision,” says the NCPRI release. 

Since its enactment four years ago the RTI Act has not posed any drastic hurdles for the government. In fact the present government has been benefited from the enactment of the RTI Act and has come to be viewed as a responsive government committed to transparency. Any attempt to arbitrarily amend the legislation will be seen as a retrograde step by the present government.

The current amendments are being introduced without any public consultation or debate. This is despite repeated assurances from the concerned Ministry (DoPT) that any improvements or changes to strengthen the law will involve wide public consultation and debate. The extensive use of the RTI Act since its enactment is itself a proof of the hopes and aspirations of millions of citizens of this country. Many have simultaneously struggled for its better implementation. Rather than ask its own people how to improve and strengthen this vital legislation, the government is seeking to curtail a right, which is the “bedrock of democracy and the right to information, and cannot be separated or extinguished without denying this fundamental right”. This retrograde and diabolical move of the present government must be prevented if we want India to be a truly open and receptive democracy.

Over a hundred citizens and RTI activists today signed a letter to the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh expressing their concern and distress over the proposed amendments to the RTI Act. They have said that while the state has greatly benefited by the act, there is no evidence to show that revealing the file notings has posed any danger to the government. 


Press Release issued by NCPRI

New Delhi 20th October 2009: The Right to Information is once again under serious threat. This time the proposed amendments, if approved will make a mockery of the RTI Act. The amendments seek to empower public information officers to reject so called “vexatious and frivolous” applications. In effect what this means is that any application can be termed “vexatious and frivolous” as per the whim and fancy of a PIO. Further, the government seems to be under pressure from self-serving elements in the Indian bureaucracy, as it once again seeks to exempt “file noting” this time under the guise of “decision/consultation that take place before arriving at a decision”.

Since its enactment four years ago the RTI Act has not posed any drastic hurdles for the government. In fact the present government has been benefited from the enactment of the RTI Act and has come to be viewed as a responsive government committed to transparency. Any attempt to arbitrarily amend the legislation will be seen as a retrograde step by the present government.

The current amendments are being introduced without any public consultation or debate. This is despite repeated assurances from the concerned Ministry (DoPT) that any improvements or changes to strengthen the law will involve wide public consultation and debate. The extensive use of the RTI Act since its enactment is itself a proof of the hopes and aspirations of millions of citizens of this country. Many have simultaneously struggled for its better implementation. Rather than ask its own people how to improve and strengthen this vital legislation, the government is seeking to curtail a right, which is the “bedrock of democracy and the right to information, and cannot be separated or extinguished without denying this fundamental right”. This retrograde and diabolical move of the present government must be prevented if we want India to be a truly open and receptive democracy.

Over a hundred citizens and RTI activists today signed a letter to the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh expressing their concern and distress over the proposed amendments to the RTI Act. Eminent persons from all walks of life – senior jurists, Justice PB Savant, Justice JS Verma, Justice VS Dave, senior lawyers of the Supreme Court, Shanti Bhushan, Anil B. Divan, Kamini Jaiswal, Prashant Bhushan, Vrinda Grover, Nitya Ramakrishnan, Teesta Setalvad, retired Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Tahiliani, Magsaysay Awardee and Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Ramdas, retired Airmarshall Partho Kumar Dey, retired civil servants Mr. EAS Sarma, SR Sankaran, Lalit Mathur, B. Yugandhar, Madhav Godbole, Madhu Kishwar, historians Shri Bipin Chandra, Romila Thapar, academics Prof Nandini Sundar, Prof. Jayati Ghosh, Prof Kamal Mitra Chenoy, Jean Dreze, senior journalists, Shri Prabhash Joshi, Kuldip Nayar, Tarun Tejpal, Pamela Philipose, Ila Patnaik, Nirmala Laxman, cultural activists Mallika Sarabhai, Leela Samson , film makers, Anand Patwardhan, Sanjay Kak, actor Nandita Das, writers Arundhati Roy, Azgar Ali Engineer, social and political activists Swami Agnivesh, Baba Adhav, Medha Patkar, Nikhil Dey, Harsh Mander, Kavita Srivastava, Vandana Shiva, Shanta Sinha, political analysts Yogendra Yadav, Environmentalists Shekhar Singh, Ashish Kothari, Magsaysay Awardee and RTI activists Aruna Roy, Sandeep Pandey, and Arvind Kejriwal, and many others have urged the government not to amend the RTI Act. In their letter to the PM, the signatories have questioned the government’s basis of arriving at the two exemptions of “vexatious and frivolous” applications and excluding “file noting” from the purview of the RTI Act.

Enclosed is a copy of the letter sent to the Prime Minister.

For further information contact:

Kiran Shaheen- 9818065092, kiranshaheen@gmail.com
Ankita Anand-  9810382973, anandankita2@gmail.com


Letter to the Prime Minister of India


To
Dr. Manmohan Singh
The Prime Minister of India
Prime Ministers Office
New Delhi         20th October 2009


Dear Dr. Singh,

We are alarmed and distressed to learn from media reports that the Government of India proposes to introduce amendments to the RTI Act. This is despite categorical assurances by the Minister of State, DoPT that any amendments, if at all necessary, would only be decided upon after consultations with the public. We are further dismayed to read that far from strengthening the RTI Act, as stated by the Honourable President of India during her speech to the Parliament on 4th June 2009, the governments proposition would in fact emasculate the RTI Act. The proposed amendments include, introducing an exemption for so-called “vexatious and frivolous” applications, and by excluding from the purview of the RTI Act access to “file notings” and the decision making process, this time by excluding “discussion/consultations that take place before arriving at a decision”.

Two current nation-wide studies, one done under the aegis of the Government of India and the other by people’s organizations (RaaG and NCPRI), have both concluded, that the main constraints faced by the government in providing information is inadequate implementation, the lack of training of staff, and poor record management. They have also identified lack of awareness, along with harassment of the applicant, as two of the major constraints that prevent citizen from exercising their right to information. Neither of these studies, despite interviewing thousands of PIOs and officials, has concluded that the occurrence of frivolous or vexatious applications is frequent enough to pose either a threat to the government or to the RTI regime in general. Certainly no evidence has been forthcoming in either of these studies that access to “file notings” or other elements of the deliberative process, has posed a major problem for the nation. On the contrary, many of the officers interviewed have candidly stated that the opening up of the deliberative process has strengthened the hands of the honest and sincere official.

We strongly believe that it is impossible to come up with definitions of “vexatious” and “frivolous” that are not completely subjective and consequently prone to rampant misuse by officials. We also feel that it is a hollow promise to have legislation for ensuring “transparency” and encouraging “accountability” in governance which excludes the basis on which a decision is taken. Would it be fair to judge a decision (or the decision maker) without knowing why such a decision was taken, what facts and arguments were advanced in its favour, and what against? Can one hold a government (or an official) accountable, just on the basis of what they did (or did not do) without knowing the real reasons for their action or inaction? We, the people of India, already directly or indirectly know the decisions of the government, for we are the ones who bear the consequences. What the RTI Act facilitated was a right to know why those decisions were taken, by whom, and based on what advice. This right is the bedrock of democracy and the right to information, and cannot be separated or extinguished without denying this fundamental right.

In any case, if the government has credible evidence that despite the findings of the earlier mentioned studies, and despite the safeguards inherent in the RTI Act, “vexatious and frivolous” applications, and access to the deliberative process, are posing a great danger to the Indian nation, these should be placed in the public domain. We are confident that the involvement of the people of India will result in evolving solutions that do not threaten to destroy the RTI Act itself. For a government that has been repeatedly been appreciated for bringing about this progressive legislation, such a move would strengthen the spirit of transparency and public consultation. Surely that is the least that can be expected of a government that propagates the spirit of transparency.

It is significant that even among the collective of Information Commissioners from across the country, whom the government recently “consulted”, the overwhelming view was against making any amendments to the RTI Act at this stage of its implementation. These Commissioners, all appointed by the government, have a bird’s eye view of the implementation of the RTI Act. They have the statutory responsibility to monitor the implementation of the Act, and the moral authority to speak in its defense.  Since the government works with the democratic mandate of the people, the collective wisdom, of people across the board who use and implement the law with an ethical base cannot be put aside. In any case we feel the advice of the information Commissioners should be taken into account.

We urge the government to therefore, abandon this ill advised move to amend the RTI Act. Instead, we request it to initiate a public debate of the problems that it might be facing in the implementing of the RTI Act and take on board the findings of the two national studies that have recently been completed. It is only through such a public debate that a lasting and credible way can be found to strengthen the RTI regime.

This government gave its citizens the RTI Act, and there has been no crisis in government as a result of its enactment. In fact the Indian State has, as a result greatly benefited, and the RTI Act and its use by ordinary people is helping change its image to that of an open and receptive democracy. An amendment in the Act would be an obviously retrograde step, at a time when there is a popular consensus to strengthen it through rules and better implementation and not introduce any amendments. We strongly urge that an unequivocal decision be taken to not amend the RTI Act.

With regards,
        
Aruna Roy        Shekhar Singh              Nikhil Dey             Medha Patkar           

Anil B. Divan        Prashant Bhushan      Justice Sawant        Smita Divan


See the links below as suggested readings

1. Amendment to RTI Act- http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=49920
 
2. Proposed amendment to RTI act- http://sandhanindia.blogspot.com/2009/06/proposed-amendmen
ts-to-rti-act-2005.html
 
3. CIC rules out amendment to RTI Act  - http://www.zeenews.com/states/2009-03-17/515556news.html
 
4. Cabinet to amend laws to strengthen RTI Act- http://www.in.com/news/current-affairs/cabinet-to-amend-la
ws-to-strengthen-rti-act-9920353-89427-1.html

 

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