DNA: Mumbai: Sunday, April 27, 2014.
There will be
some relief for citizens who have been waiting to get information for over two
years. A month after taking charge of the Brihanmumbai bench (looks after
Mumbai), state information commissioner Ajitkumar Jain spoke to Ashutosh Shukla
about the increasing appeals in his bench, his plan to reduce them, and
problems that pertain to implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Q. How do
you intend to bring down over 5,000 appeals, which are the second highest as of
March?
A. We are
hearing second appeals as old as 2012. There are over 1,000 of them. The chief
information commissioner and I intend to clear all the appeals of 2012 by July.
After that, the backlog of 2013 cases will be taken up. The second appeals of
that period is huge over 3,000. We will try to complete them as soon as
possible.
Q. What is
the target you have set for yourself?
A. I started
by hearing 10 appeals per day. That has increased to 15 now; by May, 20 appeals
will be heard daily. A target of clearing 300 appeals in a month is set. With
five days a week, 400 can be touched; but some cases are complex. They may take
time, but 300 can certainly be achieved. As of now, 148 appeals are cleared in
a month.
Q. As per
the RTI Act's preamble, applications should be minimum. That is possible only
through suo motu disclosures. What are the ways you envisage through which that
can be achieved? Mostly, the applications have been for personal details.
A. Voluntary
disclosures under section 4 is the crux of the Act. We will soon try to put up
all letters and orders on the website too. The state government has issued
guidelines to ensure that information like duty and other things be put up on
the RTI Act. If people want ration card details, all of it cannot be suo motu
declared; but there are a lot of applications that are grievance-based.
Complaints are not acted upon, hence, applications are filed. Public
authorities should take care of grievances to avoid this.
Q. In the
appeals you have heard, have PIOs justified denying information? Have you seen
first appellate authorities (FAA) shirking their responsibility?
A. It's been
a mix bag. Sometimes, PIOs have been able to justify. With respect to FAAs,
while I have not seen them shirking responsibility, improvement is needed at
that level. They are executive officers and at times they pass orders without
going into details of the case or applying their mind. They are an important
level at which appeals can be reduced. If FAAs are given guidance, appeals can
reduce. We are thinking of writing to government departments concerned through
the chief information commissioner on that.
Q. You
have just been out of the government. How do bureaucrats/officers view this
Act? It's said they resist it.
A. There is
no resistance. People are overburdened but they are committed to transparency.
Whether someone likes it or not, the Act cannot be resisted. But I do not think
there is any resistance.
Q. The Act
has become an interface and leveller of sorts between the government and
public. Your comment.
A. It is
certainly a game changer in a way. What has been completely confined within the
four walls of the government is now open and transparent. This has added to the
accountability manifold.
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