DNA: Mumbai: Wednesday, October 29, 2014.
This is not
the first time that the state government has tried to play a spoil sport
vis-a-vis RTI Act. Two of its latest notifications are only a continuation of
its earlier attempts to restrict the use of the RTI Act or kill its spirit.
While some
have had to be withdrawn, others have stayed put. The first serious attempt was
soon after the Act came into effect in 2006. The government moved to keep file
noting outside RTI ambit. That saw a number of RTI activist protesting and the
government beating a hasty retreat.
In January
2012, the state restricted the word limit and the subject matter of a RTI
application. That was followed by a directive from the information commission
on the building proposal department–withdrawn after public uproar–that
information should not be provided.
The two
recent notifications are now being slammed for mutually agreeable
"skin-saving" measures by politicians and bureaucrats. While the
circular on anti-corruption bureau (ACB) will save investigations on politicos
from coming out in the open, the other saves government servants (mostly) from
giving out information that partially needs to be provided.
"The
problem is that the state does not have any opposition party. All politicians
are trying to save one another. Bureaucrats are corrupt and they try save their
skin. All the information for which people file RTI should actually be on the
website. Through these notifications, they are trying to amend RTI Act through
the back door," said Vihar Durve, an RTI activist.
In Sept, the
government issued a notification removing ACB from RTI. In October, it put out
another circular that stated personal information should not be given if a
"public interest" is not proved.
"It's a
badly-drafted notification that does not state anything which has already not
been provided for in the Act. It being issued only puts question mark on the
motive behind it. In fact, the Act states that no information can be denied if
it cannot be denied to state legislature," said Vijay Kumbhar, an RTI
activist.
Activist have
now filed a complaint on the ACB notification and it's likely to come up for
hearing next month.
"RTI Act
is most widely used. It gave citizens self-respect and information that could
be derived without compromising on their esteem. In the last nine years, it has
been used exponentially. Maharashtra has had the distinction of having the most
number of applications filed even though there has been little to no effort to
create awareness on it. In accessing information, it has brought a lay man
closer to an elected representative. The two notifications look to put the
common man out of RTI ambit," added Prabhu.
Agencies
outside RTI Ambit:
State
Intelligence and its branches
Special
branches of all police commissionerates
All districts
and special branches of police superintendents
Anti
Terrorist Squad
Force One
Squad.
Attempts
to make Act ineffectual/weak:
Proposal to
keep file noting out (later withdrawn)
Setting word
limit on application
Application
on single subject matter
Little or no
awareness on RTI despite orders from information commissions, challenging them
in court.
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