Indian
Express: New Delhi: Monday, 13 July 2015.
In a bid to
pre-empt Right to Information (RTI) queries seeking routine information, the
Centre has directed all ministries and departments to analyse information which
is sought most often and then suo-motu
disclose that on their websites.
It is
believed that the move to publish RTI requests and their replies on the
websites would seriously help in getting rid of “duplicitous” RTI requests.
Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005, also advocates the suo-motu disclosure of
maximum information by government departments.
The
directions regarding suo-motu disclosures under the RTI Act were issued by the
Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) following a Parliamentary
Standing Committee report on the issue.
The DoPT,
last week, wrote to all government departments and ministries and sought the
strict compliance of the Committee’s recommendations. The Committee, in its
report, had noted that they felt that all “ministries, departments and
organisations themselves must encourage suo-motu disclosure of relevant
information”.
“All
Departments must make an analysis of information which is sought most often
from applicants and provide it on their websites as suo-motu disclosure,” the
Committee had noted.
The DoPT had
in the past also advised ministries to take up suo-motu disclosure of
information to avoid large number of RTI queries. In April 2013, it had asked
all ministries and departments to appoint a senior officer of at least Joint
Secretary rank for ensuring compliance with the proactive disclosure
guidelines.
In October
2014, it had asked ministries and departments to upload the replies to RTI
applications and first appeals on their respective websites. However, most of these directions have not
been complied with.
According to
a senior government official, some ministries have started putting RTI queries
online but not everyone is doing it.
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