9 years on, RTI Act in state hamstrung by red tape, unhelpful officials

Times of India: Chennai: Monday, 13 October 2014.

It has been nine years since the RTI Act came into being on October 12, 2005, but activists in Tamil Nadu are disappointed. They say the state has not made much progress in implementing the act compared to the rest of the country.

RTI campaigners said facilities for online payment of application fees, proactive disclosure on government websites, revival of video conferencing and display of boards with details of Public Information Officers (PIOs) in government offices are still not available in the state.

Even the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission is lacking, they say. The commission receives about 56,000 appeals every year, but its website does not have any data on the number of appeals received, pendency and fines imposed. It has uploaded only three annual reports till 2008.

"The custodian of transparency itself violates the proactive disclosure clause of the Act. Many PIOs are rejecting RTI queries by misrepresenting provisions of the act. PIOs furnish vague or incomplete replies," said M Thuyamurthy, an RTI activist.

Earlier, video conferencing facility was available at the TNSIC office at Teynampet and in district collectorates but the panel is now insisting that activists appear in person. Creating severe hardship, especially for applicants from districts. State chief information commissioner K S Sripathi said video conferencing is time consuming. In contrast, Maharashtra has gone a step further and set up benches in six cities to prevent applicants from travelling all the way to the capital for hearings. Former central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi dismissed the excuse. "I disposed 3,000 appeals through video conferencing in a year when I was the commissioner. I am ready to share my experiences with TNSIC," he said.

In Madhya Pradesh, the commission conducts lok adalats to dispose RTI appeals. In Bihar, citizens can file RTI applications by simply dialling the Jaankari helpline number that was launched in 2007. The operator receiving the call drafts the application and sends it to the PIO concerned.