Citizen Matters: Chennai: Wednesday, July 11, 2018.
When it comes
to transparency and providing information to citizens, Tamil Nadu has a rich
legacy. The southern state was a front runner in passing the Right To
Information (RTI) act in 1997, eight years before the Centre passed it in 2005.
The Act
proved to be a game changer. To cite just one example, an RTI activist exposed
a scam by the Tamil Nadu Housing Department (TNHB) in December 2010, where
selected government servants were provided with houses, under the Government
Discretion Quota. Through the RTI reply and further investigation, it was
learnt that undeserving people were categorised as social workers and were
allotted houses at lower-than-market rates.
The uproar over this act of corruption was enough for the state
government to terminate the scheme, within one month.
This and
several other instances proved that the law had indeed had a significant impact
on curbing institutionalised corruption, which is all the more reason why the
current reality should worry us as citizens.
Staring at
a grim future
The dynamics
of RTI is vastly changed now. Monosyllabic answers, intentional procrastination
and strategic replies are the norm of the day. Transparency is not on the cards
of the government anymore.
The Public
Information Officers (PIO), who are accountable for sending a reply within 30
days of an RTI application being filed, rarely meet this timeline.
An RTI
activist, V Gopalakrishnan, filed an RTI application to Chennai Corporation,
requesting a measurement book, in connection with the canal work on 65 feet
road in MGR Nagar (photo above). The measurement book, usually, has the plan
details approved by the concerned assistant engineer. In this case, the book
would specify the canal distance and width.
“The canal
work that was in finishing stages in 2015 December is yet to be completed, due
to which our locality gets flooded even after a small shower. I want to know if
the work happened as per the orders mentioned in the measurement book,” said
Gopalakrishnan.
“We are
searching,” goes the reply from the zonal office.
In another
instance, Gopalakrishnan sought the list of beneficiaries of old age and widower
pension schemes from the Namakkal collectorate. The PIO had asked the applicant
to visit the office, to collect the information. “The reason they gave was that
the list is confidential since it has Aadhaar numbers of the beneficiaries. In
the world of technology, how difficult is it to blur a section using Photoshop?
It is unfortunate that the officer wants me to travel 390 kilometres for this
information,” the activist sighed. He
has now appealed to the appellate authority about the possibility of using
technology and sending him a quick reply.
How the
various departments fare
Analysing
the versions of seven RTI petitioners, one can deduce some basic facts
regarding the response to RTI applications heard in the state:
- Revenue department receives the highest number of RTI applications regarding income and community certificates and land documents. The department is known for its poor response rate and apparently comes back only after the first appeal has been sent.
- The district collector’s office and local bodies follow next in terms of the number of RTI applications received. Activists say that they usually don’t respond within the stipulated period of 30 days.
- In contrast, the state election commission, due to less burden of work responds to RTIs within 15 days.
- Southern Railways, which also receives a fair number of RTI applications, asks applicants to visit the concerned office to access information. Applicants, if they do visit, are made to run from pillar to post.
Decoding
PIO strategies
There are
numerous instances shared by RTI activists in the city that reveal how the
basic purpose of the Act is defeated by the responses, or lack of the same,
from the Public Information Officer or PIO.
Ramiah Ariya,
filed an application to know specifics pertaining to the work orders of
Kudimaramathu project, which involves cleaning of water bodies with the help of
citizens. Ramiah is in a fix, because if it is filed in a tabular form, so as
to compile the status from all the districts, the PIOs deny furnishing the
information, stating that they are not bound to respond to tables.
“If I ask for
work orders of all the water bodies, they decline to respond, stating that the
information is voluminous. The only way is to file for every lake separately,
if you are determined to know the details,” says Ramiah, who has filed hundreds
of applications.
Again,
Regional Transport Offices in Chennai have not responded to tabular columns
filed by Ramiah, seeking information about the number of citizens attending the
learner license test and the pass percentage. “If the information is not
available in a single document, they deny the application. How long would it
take to access the soft copies?” he questioned.
In a recent
application filed by Mahesh Kumar, Secretary of Satta Panchayat Iyakkam, the
PIO has failed to respond with the information sought. “ I had asked Anna
University for the data of government school children who joined government
engineering colleges in the past eight years, after entrance exams were cancelled
in the state in 2010. Despite being the nodal body, they said they do not have
the data,” said Mahesh Kumar.
 |
| Anna University did not provide information to the RTI filed by an activist. |
Senior
government officers who multitask as PIOs do not prioritise the Right to
Information act. “Our responsibilities are wide. There is no time to send
information to citizens. Tamil Nadu has more than one lakh PIOs, who also have
other important responsibilities,” said a PIO from Southern Railways, seeking
anonymity.
Meanwhile,
there is also a conflict of interest in the procedure. “The officer who sends
the information would not maintain transparency, if the questions pose any kind
of threat to the reputation or track record of his department. They try their
best to push it back,” notes Mahesh.
As the
outrage over access to information gets more intense with each passing day, it
is sad to see a powerful tool like the RTI being sidelined in Tamil Nadu. “Data
in the state is non transparent, leading people to suspect the data which is
available in the public domain,” feels Ramiah.
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