Times of India: Chennai: Friday,
May 24, 2013.
No questions.
That's the stand of a state government department on the Right to Information
Act. The department has said that it will not furnish information under the RTI
Act if the application contains questions.
"Under
the RTI Act, 2005, your queries submitted to the public information officer
cannot be in question form... Under Section 2(f), which defines 'information' ,
questions have not been defined as information. Hence we cannot furnish the
information you had sought." This was the written response of the public
information officer (PIO) of the legal metrology department to four RTI
applications filed by TOI.
The legal
metrology department, part of the labour department, acts on complaints
regarding weights and measures and maximum retail price. Consumers often
complain of overcharging and under-measurement by traders as well as a lack of
response to complaints. TOI filed RTI applications seeking information on the
number of inspections conducted by the department and the number of shopkeepers
penalized for offences in the last five years. The PIO rejected the application
saying questions were not allowed.
RTI activists
said the response was a classic example of PIOs denying information without
valid reasons. "If we cannot ask questions, why do we need to file an
application under the RTI Act? The state information commission should impose a
fine or take action against such PIOs," said RTI activist M Thuyamurthy.
Former
bureaucrat M G Devasahayam said the RTI Act had failed in the state.
"There is no format for seeking information under the RTI Act. PIOs invent
excuses to deny information. They should be show more sincerity towards
implementing the legislation. The SIC should take stringent action against such
officials," he said.
State labour
commissioner Dr B Chandramohan said he was unaware of information being denied
to RTI applicants. "I will check with the officials concerned," he
said.
According to
Section 2(f) of the RTI Act, information means any material in any form,
including records, documents, memos, e-mails , press releases, circulars,
contracts, samples, models, data held in any electronic form and information
relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under
any other law in force.
HOW TO
FILE AN RTI APPLICATION ;
An RTI
application can be made on a sheet of plain paper and can have any number of
questions It should be addressed to the public information officer of the
department or organisation concerned 10 should be paid as application fee by
cash or through postal order, court fee stamp or demand draft Questions should
be direct and leave no room for the information officer to give vague replies Information
officer has to reply within 30 days of receipt of the application, failing
which he is liable to a fine of 250 per day Appeal can be filed with the head
of the department in which the application was filed, if the information
officer fails to reply within the deadline Second appeal can be filed before
the central or state information commission if applicant is not satisfied with
the replies.
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