The Times of India: Bhubaneswar:Tuesday, May 22, 2012.
Seven years after the Right to Information (RTI) Act was implemented in 2005, several state government departments are yet to make voluntary disclosure under various sub-sections of Section 4 (1) of the Act.
The Odisha Information Commission (OIC) in January last year had asked the chief secretary to develop a suitable mechanism in each department for pro-active and timely disclosure of proposed programmes, plans and policies as well as proposed amendments to the existing laws and fresh legislation under Section 4 (1)(c). The sub-section requires that every public authority should publish circumstances which are taken into account while formulating policies and taking decisions that would affect the public.
Chief information commissioner Taran Kanti Mishra had said in his order that this should be a continuous process and there should be visible beginning within 30 days. The chief secretary was supposed to submit a compliance report to the commission.
"More than a year after the commission order, the government is yet to make such disclosures, critical to ensure transparency and accountability in the functioning of the public authorities," said Biswajit Mohanty acting on whose petition the OIC had passed the January 2011 order. "The commission is conspicuous by its silence on the issue," he added.
After the order, chief secretary BK Patnaik had convened a meeting of various departments last year. However, the government is yet to submit any affidavit of compliance before the commission.
The government has asked various departments to take expeditious steps, a senior government officer said.
The chief information commissioner, when contacted, declined to comment. Commission sources, however, said the CIC has again posted the matter for hearing in June when the chief secretary will be asked to explain what action the government had taken.
Though the CIC can ask the secretary to take steps to ensure the Section, there is no precedence in India of any commission imposing fine or taking any other such action against government functionaries for not making voluntary disclosure under Section 4 (1) (c).
RTI activists are peeved with the commission for its alleged failure to implement various Section 4(1). "The whole problem is because the commission is not imposing any fines on violators of the Section 4 (1) (a), (b), (c) and (d)," said Pradip Pradhan, an RTI activist. Pradhan has filed a public interest litigation in the Orissa high court, seeking direction from the court to the state government and the information commission for compliance of Section 4 (1) (b). Under the sub-section, the public authorities are required to voluntarily disclose 17 types of information.
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