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The current
discussions on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, has become an
‘informed national debate’. Wider ranges of audience “have owned this
Act with their arms open”. It is therefore said that, it is truly a
“People’s Law” and therefore it is an adequate set up for the future
of the democratic government. These statements lead us to certain
queries about the authenticity of the Act. Is it actually a step
forward in polishing the democratic set up of our nation or are there
major differences on the finer points of the Act?
Firstly, a clear
assessment requires a clear understanding of the Act. The RTI is a law
which allows every citizen to access any official information which
affects public interests. Information in this regard means any
material in any form relating to the administration, operations or
decisions of a public authority. Such a public access was earlier
denied under the official Secrets Act, 1923. This provision
facilitates a clear understanding of the nature of governance. Most
significantly, it reveals as to how and why does the government take a
particular decision; how much was allocated for what, how much was
spent and as such. Although originally enacted on
15 June 2005, the RTI came into force on
12 October 2005. In
2005, it was the Central Information Commission (CIC), who had
interpreted the Right to Information (RTI), to include citizen’s right
to get copies/inspection of the file notings containing advices and
opinions given by various civil servants. With exception to the state
of Jammu & Kashmir, it is applicable to the rest of India. The bill
was passed keeping up with the promise of the United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) under its outline of the Common Minimum Programme.
The provisions of
this Act would encompass any authority or body established or
constituted by or under the Constitution, any law made by the
Government and includes any other body owned, controlled or
substantially funded directly or indirectly by the Government. The
basic rights include the right to:
1)
Inspect
works, documents, and records.
2)
Take
notes, extracts or certified samples of material and
3)
Obtain
information in the form of printouts, diskettes, floppies, tapes,
video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts.
There has been an
‘informed national debate’ which is related to the desirability of
making notings on various public files. A file noting is a
separate file where the dynamics of the decision-making process is
contained. The importance of a file noting is, it will make the
bureaucracy more accountable. Most importantly, it also makes it easy
to examine how decisions regarding policy are made and know who is
responsible for them. Access to file notings can enable an
understanding of official processes and policies allowing honest
officers voice their opinions fearlessly.
There has been a
major resistance ever since the Act came into force, because the UPA
wants to confer a limited right with regard to social sector
expenditure and projects only and not with regard to other areas of
governance. The UPA government has hurriedly taken a decision to
scuttle it by passing a set of amendments like prohibiting the
disclosure of file noting and is willing to confer a limited right
with regard to social sector expenditure and projects only, and not
with regard to other areas of governance. If this is the case, then
the RTI will itself be incomplete because without notings and
observations given by officials on various files to the public, the
basic idea of introducing such an Act will be null and void.
RTI is a back-bone of any democracy, where transparency is also an
important discipline in governance. This right has been basically
derived from the fundamental right to freedom of speech subject to
reasonable restrictions guaranteed by the Constitution of India. RTI
allows us to move beyond representative democracy, so that, as
citizens we can examine every government decision taken in the name of
the people.
Wajahat Habibullah,
the Chief Information Commissioner says that, it is “the most powerful
RTI law in the world”. But, in a society like ours, which suffers the
curse of both arbitrariness and corruption, using RTI to expose huge
corruption scandals may still be more aspiration than reality, but
there are many significant achievements at the same time. There are
enough evidences like, the detection of fake muster rolls, siphoning
of food grains from the public distribution system that has been
nailed, also passports, voter ID cards, ration cards, pension arrears
that has reached the frustrated applicants within days that the of RTI
applications have been filed. At present, the Government must try to
ensure that, the provisions of the existing Act should form entirely
within the ambit of constitutional guarantees. However, the fate of
this law will not hang on deeds or agreements. But, it still hangs on
the political will?
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