Moneylife:
Pune: Friday, 29 May 2015.
There are
clear guidelines from the CIC for the PIO. So, the next time a PIO
dilly-dallies over the information you have sought use this
While the RTI
Act does empower the citizen to procure information from public authorities, it
is sometimes intimidating for him, when the Public Information Officer (PIO) to
who he submits the application, does not reciprocate as per his duties, laid
out in the Act.
Did your PIO
ignore the information you sought even after the mandatory 30 days? Did he
provide vague or insufficient answers? Did he not forward your application to
the relevant PIO in case the information that you asked for, did not fall under
his jurisdictions? For these and any other deficiency in giving you
information, there is no need to throw up your hands (the government would just
love if this happens). The Central Information Commission has spelt out the
role of a PIO, in detail, and it is important that you, as a RTI applicant
should be aware of it.
Time and
again, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has issued circulars and
guidelines to PIOs to be sensitive to the information sought. It has also
repeatedly directed all public authorities to strictly abide by the Section suo
motu disclosures. (check this out:
http://persmin.gov.in/DOPT/RTICorner/Compendium/COMPENDIUM_Final.pdf). However,
defiance to such directives continues but it would help, if the citizen is
aware of what the PIO SHOULD do for him.
Here
are some pearls of wisdom uploaded in CIC online at the website
http://rti.india.gov.in/ which need to reiterated considering the common
complaints of unfriendly PIOs
1.
PIO must know the RTI Act fully: The Central Public
Information Officer (CPIO) of a public authority plays a pivotal role in making
the right of a citizen to information a reality. The casts specific duties on
him and makes him liable for penalty in case of default. It is, therefore,
essential for a CPIO to study the Act carefully and understand its provisions
correctly. Following aspects should particularly be kept in view while dealing
with the applications under the Act
2.
The PIO MUST give you information in any of these
formats: A citizen has a right to seek such information from a public authority
which is held by the public authority or which is held under its control. This
right includes inspection of work, documents and records; taking notes,
extracts or certified copies of documents or records; and taking certified
samples of material held by the public authority or held under the control of
the public authority
3.
Your PIO should know that you can seek information that a
MP has access to: The Act gives the citizens a right to information at par with
the Members of Parliament and the Members of States Legislatures. According to
the Act, the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State
Legislature, shall not be denied to any person.
4.
The PIO should give you information in the format you
want: The information to the applicant should ordinarily be provided in the
form in which it is sought. However, if the supply of information sought in a
particular form would disproportionately divert the resources of the public
authority or may cause harm to the safety or preservation of the records,
supply of information in that form may be denied.
5.
PIO is duty bound to assist you: The Central Public
Information Officer has a duty to render reasonable assistance to the persons
seeking information. As per provisions of the Act, a persons, who desires to
obtain any information is required to make a request in writing or through
electronic means in English or Hindi or in the official language of the area in
which the application is made. If a person seeking information is not able to
make such request in writing, the Central Public Information Officer Should
render reasonable assistance to him to reduce the same in writing. Where access
to a record is required to be provided to a sensorial disabled person, the
Central Public Information Officer should provide assistance to such person to
enable him to access the information. He should also provide such assistance to
the person as may be appropriate for the inspection of records where such
inspection is involved.
6.
You can insist that the PIO follows Section 4 suo motu
disclosures: The Act makes it obligatory for every public authority to make suo
motu disclosure in respect of the particulars of its organisation, functions,
duties and other matters, as provided in section 3 of the Act. The information
so published, according to sub-section (3) of section 3, should be easily
accessible with the CPIO in electronic format. The CPIO should, therefore, make
concerned efforts to ensure that the requirements of the Section 3 are met and
maximum information in respect of the authority is made available on the
internet. It would help him in two ways. First, the number of applications
under the Act would be reduced and secondly, it would facilitate his work of
providing information inasmuch as most of the information would be available to
him at one place.
7.
The PIO has no right to ask you, the reason for your
seeking information: An applicant making request for information is not
required to give any reason for requesting the information or any other
personal details except those that may be necessary for contacting him. Also,
the Act of the Rules does not prescribe any format of application for seeking
information. Therefore, the applicant should not be asked to give justification
for seeking information or to give details of his job etc. or to submit application
in any particular form.
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