Indian Express: Pune: Tuesday,
June 04, 2013.
The proposed
regulations for filing second appeals under the Right to Information Act (RTI)
have come under criticism from activists who claim they are detrimental to the
Act and serve to kill its very spirit.
The draft
regulations framed by the General Administration Department (GAD) of the
government of Maharashtra, if passed, would be applicable to second appeals
filed before the sate information commissioner (SIC). The regulations have been
sent to the RTI cell of Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development
Administration (YASHDA), for examination and discussion.
According to
the draft regulations, every appellant would have to file an annexure A to
declare that the information sought is not related to any court case. The
regulations also state that the applicant has to sent a copy of the second
appeal to the public information officer concerned and the first appellate
authority.
The rules
also state that notice of hearing, to the appellant and others involved, should
be served by the party itself by hand or head of the office or department by
displaying the hearing schedule on notice board or website, or sending it by
registered post. RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said, “Nowhere in the Act has it
been mentioned that information required for court cases cannot be sought under
RTI. Also, why should the applicant be burdened with the extra cost of sending
copies of appeals to both the public information officer and the first appellant
authority?” He stated that going by the lethargy most government departments
display, the information about hearings would most probably be put up on the
notice board.
He said, “How
would parties know about the hearing? Is every party expected to visit the
commission’s office regularly?”
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