Indian
Express: Pune: Monday, 25 May 2015.
Vijay Kumbhar
of Surajya Sangharsh Samiti, sharing his experience, said there were many
instances of PIOs giving “laughable” replies to RTI queries.
1.
In January 2015, this reporter submitted an RTI query
with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s office asking for details of the
individuals politicians, businessmen, bureaucrats who visited the CM at his
office and residence in the first month of his assuming office. Forty days
later, a response was received informing the reporter that he will soon be
invited to meet the CM.
2.
In February 2015, the office of the chief minister
refused to part with information regarding the meetings chaired by him since he
took oath. The PIO maintained that the chief minister’s office did not have any
records of the meetings chaired by him separately. The answers to the first
appeal toed the same line.
3.
An application was sent to the office of the State Chief
Information Commissioner (CSIC) asking for details of second appeals heard,
fines imposed by the CSIC during 2014. The PIO refused to answer the query
stating that such information is not maintained by them.
A decade is
arguably enough time for officials to get acquainted with the provisions under
the Right to Information Act, 2005 and accept the fact that every citizen using
the Act is entitled to get the information accessible to an MP or MLA. The
experience of those who use the ten-year-old Act reveals a different picture.
Speaking to
activists, government employees and citizens in general who have used the Act,
gives a sense that information is denied, delayed or partially given.
Complaints have been mounting that after giving an ‘interim response’ within
the prescribed 30 days, the PIOs take a long time to provide the final
response, which may or may not contain the information actually sought.
First and
second appeals against the denial of information often get so delayed that by
the time a decision is out, the information usually loses significance for the
applicant.
Activist
Vihar Durve said that in November 2014, he filed an RTI application with the
Mumbai, Delhi and Pune police asking for details of police personnel deployed
for security of VIPs. According him, two months later, the Mumbai Police
replied although they provided incomplete information the Pune Police summarily
dismissed the application saying that disclosing the information could affect
the security of the state.
“It’s beyond
my understanding how it’s going to harm the security of anyone and how it
doesn’t’ come under public interest and that too, only in Pune and not in
Mumbai or Delhi,” said Durve.
He said that
based on his experience with appeals, he was discouraged from filing any appeal
with the appellate authority.
“We know what
happens to the appeals. The first appeal mostly upholds the decision of the PIO
and the second appeal will take years to come up for hearing. In November 2012,
I filed an RTI pertaining to execution of Mumbai attack convict Ajmal Kasab in
Pune’s Yerawada Prison. The PIO refused the information and FAA (first
appellate authority) rejected the appeal. The decision on the second appeal
came this week. If it’s going to take three years for the appeal to be heard,
why bother filing it,” said Durve.
Vijay Kumbhar
of Surajya Sangharsh Samiti, sharing his experience, said there were many
instances of PIOs giving “laughable” replies to RTI queries.
“We boast
that RTI Act 2005 is probably the best ‘freedom of information’ law in the
world. We overlook the fact that most of the RTI queries get useless responses.
Over the years, the RTI compliance by governmental departments has gone up but
instances of applicants getting the desired information has gone down. PIOs who
deny the information are emboldened to do so as they know that their bosses politicians,
bureaucrats and information commissioners will support them,” said Kumbhar.
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