Not right to withhold information, PIOs told

Pune Mirror: Pune: Tuesday, June 30, 2015.

CIC cracks the whip on information officers, asks them to be more helpful towards RTI applicants.

After it was noticed that several Public Information Officers (PIO) not only deny information to Right to Information (RTI) applicants, but also call the latter to the office for inspection of files, chief information commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad has issued a circular, asking for this practice to be stopped immediately. Doing so defeats the purpose and motive of the RTI Act, Gaikwad said, clarifying that if the information is not lengthy, the applicant should be informed about the number of pages and charges incurred and once s/he pays up, the information should be made available.

The order further states that if there is a demand to inspect a particular file, the applicant should be given the specific file number, page number and other details. In case the applicant fails to visit the office on the given date, s/he should be given two alternative dates for the inspections. If the applicant isn't comfortable with these dates, he can ask the PIO to allot other convenient dates. And, if the PIOs are themselves not available, then they will put their subordinates or assistants in charge, so that the applicants aren't inconvenienced. It is further suggested that the PIO's contact number and email ID be given to the applicant.

RTI activists from the state had repeatedly been complaining to the CIC, urging him to issue orders to this effect. They claim that applicants are often confused about the exact location of the files they seek. Moreover, the information officers deliberately push the applicants to the record room.

"There were several complaints to the CIC about there not being correct implementation of RTI laws and this circular is an outcome of that. The CIC hasn't mentioned anything new; it has merely asked PIOs to implement what is already there in the law," said Vijay Kumbhar, RTI activist and founder of Surajya Sangharsh Samiti, adding that the municipal corporation in Mumbai has also issued similar instructions. "It's time that civic bodies in Pune also follow the BMC's lead in doing so," he said.

Another RTI activist, Ramesh Dharmawat, said, "The information officers are always trying to blunt the RTI Act by using tricks and excuses. The government needs to impose hefty fees against those found guilty of doing so."

APIO from Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) blamed chronic staff shortage for having made such excuses. "We are already stretched due to manpower shortage. The responsibility of becoming PIOs is an additional responsibility imposed upon us. There are 10 applications coming in everyday. We might give tricky answers to the RTI applicants in order to dispose the applications within the given time limit," he said.

Another PIO, working in the health department, said, "We answer only those questions which are in public interest. There are some so-called activists who ask personal information or seek data that may create trouble internally. In such cases, we use tricks to avoid giving out the information. From our earlier experience, we know that more than half the people never bother appealing to the appellate authority."