RTI

RESEARCH PAPER

TOPIC:RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT:A STEP TOWARDS MORE DEMOCRATIC INDIA

Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. JUSTIFICATION ........................................................................................................................................ 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................... 5 GOAL BASED ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Descriptive Research........................................................................................................................... 6 Exploratory Research .......................................................................................................................... 6 EXTENT OF INFORMATION...................................................................................................................... 7 Primary Research ................................................................................................................................ 7 Secondary Research ............................................................................................................................ 7 Quantitative Research ........................................................................................................................ 8 Qualitative Research ........................................................................................................................... 8 HYPOTHESIS ............................................................................................................................................ 9 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 10 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................. 16 ARTICLE 1: ......................................................................................................................................... 16

ARTICLE 2: ......................................................................................................................................... 16 ARTICLE 3: ......................................................................................................................................... 18 ARTICLE4: .......................................................................................................................................... 19 ARTICLE 5: ......................................................................................................................................... 20 ARTICLE 6: ......................................................................................................................................... 21 ARTICLE 7: ......................................................................................................................................... 21 ARTICLE 8: ......................................................................................................................................... 22 ARTICLE 9: ......................................................................................................................................... 23 ARTICLE 10:THE TIMES OF INDIA ...................................................................................................... 23 ARTICLE 11: THE TIMES OF INDIA ..................................................................................................... 25 ARTICLE 12: ....................................................................................................................................... 26 ARTICLE 13: ....................................................................................................................................... 27 ARTICLE 14: ....................................................................................................................................... 28 ARTICLE 15: ....................................................................................................................................... 29 QUESTIONNARE .................................................................................................................................... 31 ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ...................................................................................................................... 34 CONCLUSION............................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. ANNEXURE ............................................................................................................................................ 50

JUSTIFICATION The Right to Information Act 2005 is unique and one its kind. It has been enacted for the convenience of the citizens of the country and to maintain the transparency between the government working and the public who are the beneficiaries. As the Act aims at making the government transparent and more accountable, the effective use of it would, in a long run, curb corruption. If we do not have information on how our Government and Public Institutions function, we cannot express any informed opinion on it. Democracy revolves around the basic idea of Citizens being at the centre of governance. And the freedom of the press is an essential element for a democracy to function. It is thus obvious that the main reason for a free press is to ensure that Citizens are informed. Thus it clearly flows from this that the Citizens Right to Know is of apex importance. Right to Information is a Fundamental Right and guaranteed as per Article 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. It is part of the Fundamental Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression recognized by the Constitution and various Supreme Court decisions. This act has repealed the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. The Act does not emphasize active intervention in educating people about their right to access information- without widespread education and awareness about the possibilities under the new Act; it could just remain on paper. The Act also reinforces the controlling role of the government official, who retains wide discretionary powers to withhold information. However it can be said without any hesitation that India has finally woken up to realize that right to information is a key component in the attainment of economic, social and political rights of an individual as well as the community.

OBJECTIVE The objective of the study is to give an overview of the right to information act 2005. The act has been successful enough in making India a more democratic country. The Right to Information Act 2005 is unique and one its kind. It has been enacted for the convenience of the citizens of the country and to maintain the transparency between the government working and the public who are the beneficiaries. As the Act aims at making the government transparent and more accountable, the effective use of it would, in a long run, curb corruption. The study gives us what this act is and its purpose and benefits to the citizens of India.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Methodology is a means or manner of procedure, especially a regular and systematic way of accomplishing any research. It refers to various ‘methods’ by which a research is taken out and thus enables an in-depth study. Methodology includes various types; in this research several methodologies are selected.  Goal BasedDescriptive Research and Exploratory Research  Extent of Information – Primary Research and Secondary Research  Property of SubjectQuantitative Research and Qualitative Research

These methodologies will let us find various ways in which the study can be done. A detailed study with all methods will give us a thorough knowledge of the long term as well as the short term impacts of the topic.

GOAL BASED Descriptive Research This type of research is conducted to study the behaviour or characteristic of a group of people/ crowd. The main goal of this type of research is to describe the data and characteristics about what is being studied. The idea behind this type of research is to study frequencies, averages, and other statistical calculations.

Exploratory Research As the term suggests, exploratory research is often conducted because a problem has not been clearly defined as yet, or its real scope is as yet unclear. It allows the researcher to familiarize him/herself with the problem or concept to be studied, and perhaps generate hypotheses (definition of hypothesis) to be tested. This type of research is conducted to get an insight about the topic. Thus is done to gain knowledge and awareness. It is used to identify and obtain information on a particular problem or issue.

EXTENT OF INFORMATION Primary Research A primary source is an original document, raw material or first-hand information. Primary sources include eyewitness accounts, results of experiments, pieces of creative writing, and art objects. The most common primary research basically includes questionnaires, surveys and various observations. In respect to the topic, the primary data collection would help us to know the behaviour or characteristic of different groups of people through questionnaires.

Secondary Research A secondary source is something written about a primary source. Secondary sources include comments on, interpretations of, or discussions about the original material. Secondary sources are basically second-hand information. These materials can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines, book or movie reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate someone else's original research. Thus, secondary resources that are used in this in-depth study are internet data, television advertisements and other sources like journals.

PROPERTY OF SUBJECT Quantitative Research Quantitative research generates numerical data or data that can be converted into numbers. Objective of quantitative research is to develop mathematical models and theories. Quantitative data is any data that is in numerical form such as statistics, percentages, etc. This means that the quantitative researcher asks a specific, narrow question and collects numerical data from participants to answer the question. The researcher analyzes the data with the help of statistics. Therefore, quantitative research deals with racial numbers, facts and figures.

Qualitative Research Qualitative research is used to explore and understand people's beliefs, experiences, attitudes, behaviour and interactions. It generates non- numerical data. This data cannot be a theory or model, it relates to one’s own choices, likes and dislikes. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behaviour and the reasons that govern such behaviour. Therefore, qualitative research deals with preferences, emotions.

HYPOTHESIS The right to information act has been a step towards more democrartic india.

INTRODUCTION Right to Information is a Fundamental Right and guaranteed as per Article 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. It is part of the Fundamental Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression recognized by the Constitution and various Supreme Court decisions. The Right to Information Act 2005 (Act No. 22/2005)is a law enacted by the Parliament of India giving citizens of India access to records of the Central Government and State Governments. The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir - which is covered under a State-level law. Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen (including the citizens within J&K) may request information from a "public authority" (a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally. The RTI Laws were first successfully enacted by the state governments — Tamil Nadu (1997), Goa (1997), Rajasthan (2000), Karnataka (2000), Delhi (2001), Maharashtra (2002), Madhya Pradesh (2003), Assam (2002) and Jammu and Kashmir (2004). The Maharashtra and Delhi State level enactments are considered to have been the most widely used. The Delhi and J&K Right to Information Acts are still in force. The first draft of the Right to Information Bill was presented to Parliament on 22 December 2004. After intense debate, more than a hundred amendments to the draft Bill were made between December 2004 and 15 June 2005, when the bill finally passed. The Act came fully into effect on 13 October 2005. The Act covers the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir. It is applicable to all constitutional authorities, including the executive, legislature and judiciary; any institution or body established or constituted by an act of Parliament or a state legislature. It is also defined in the Act that bodies or authorities established or constituted by order or notification of appropriate government including bodies "owned, controlled or substantially financed" by government, or nonGovernment organizations "substantially financed, directly or

indirectly by funds" provided by the government are also covered in the Act's ambit. The ideal status the right to information deserves is that of a fundamental right under our Constitution .With the Constitutional guarantee to conform to, the Act could have been used as an instrument constituting the requisite authorities, apart from laying down the quintessential exceptions to granting information, such as national security and parliamentary privilege. An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Act consists of six chapters and two schedules – preliminary, right to information and obligations of public authorities, the central Information commission, the state Information commission, powers and functions of the Information Commissions, appeal and penalties, and Miscellaneous. The Right to Information Act basically has two Parts-(a) Substantive law, and (b) Procedural law. Section 3 could coupled with some other provisions like sections 8, 9, 18, 19 and 20 of the Act deal with substantive law while section 6 along with some other provisions like section 7 of the Act deal with procedural law. Thus the Act is a completed Code in itself. The core of the enactment is that the citizen can obtain such information he needed from public authorities. It is the mandate of sections 3 and 4 of the Act to provide information to the citizens. Definition: Information The Act defines information in sec. 2(f) as any material in any form, including the records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, log books, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information relating to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any law for the time being in force. Sec. 2(i) defines the word ‘record’ as including (a) any document, manuscript and file, (b) any microfilm, microfiche and facsimile copy of a

document, (c) any reproduction of image or images embodied in such microfilm and (d) any other material produced by a computer or any other device. The information under this Act includes any mode of information in any form of record, document, e-mail, circular, press release samples, samples of electronic data, etc. The most welcoming feature of this enactment is that the information can be obtained within a fixed time frame of 30 days and if the information relates to life or personal liberty, then it can be obtain within 48 hours. No such time frame provision has been made in any Act or code till this date. There are certain limitations or exemption under section 8 of the Act which precludes the citizen getting such information. Subject to the limitation narrated under section 8, every public authority is under an obligation to provide the information on request both written and oral. The Act made provisions for the Constitution of Central Information and State Information Commissions for the respective States as the appellate authorities and for monitoring the proper working of this Act. The Act provides for appointment of Public Information Officers in each of the public authorities at different levels. They are appointed by designation of their existing staff. Assistant Public Information Officers are also similarly designated in every division and subdivision of the administrative units. The first step to be taken by the citizen seeking information is that he may send the application for information to the Assistant Public Information Officers who will transmit it within 5 days to the Public Information Officer. The application so transmitted shall be attended to and disposed of by the Public Information Officer within 30 days of its receipt by him. Here disposal of application means a real and substantial disposal. He should make available the full information in the form it is requested. If the entire material is not available he must make available so much of information as is available with him in the first instance and transmit within 5 days, the rest of the application to the concerned Public Information Officer for disposal who should in his turn shall comply with the request within 30 days as originally fixed. If the information is partly made available and the rest is rejected, the Information Officer shall state the reasons thereof.

The next stage is that if the Public Information Officer refuses to make the information either partly or fully or fails to respond or respond in an unsatisfactory manner, the applicant for information may file an appeal before the officer higher in status over the Public Information Officer. This appeal before the higher officer is called the First Appeal. Second Appeal is the third stage. The authority to entertain the Second appeal is the Central/State Information Commission. The powers of Information Commission are very extensive. If the appeal is allowed the Commission may direct the Information Officer to furnish the information in the manner asked for. If the Commission finds the Information Officer to be at fault, the Commission may levy on him heavy penalties and may also direct initiation of disciplinary proceedings against him to the original Appointing Authority. The mechanism thus created for making the information available to the citizen is four-tired commencing from Assistant Public Information Officer, above him, the Public Information Officer, then Senior Officer who is the Appellate Officer and finally the Information Commission that is the Second Appellate Authority. In addition to making the application for information, the Citizen has another right to file a complaint to the Central/State Information Commission direct if the services being provided under the above chain of officers are found to be wanting in any respect. The Commission while disposing of the complaint may in addition to granting the reliefs as applied for, may further issue General Orders for rectifying the deficiencies in the system complained against by the citizens. While that much is the procedure to be followed by the citizens in obtaining the information from public authorities, the Central/State Commissions, which are independent statutory bodies, have overall control over the whole system. The Commissions have power to supervise the work of Information Officers and call from them the reports. The Commission will prepare an Annual Statement of the work done, the number of applications for information received and the method of their disposal. The Commission while submitting its own report containing the above particulars to the Government may also include the action taken by the Commissions against erring officers. The Act is complete code in itself as it is having penalty clause. Section 20 of the Act authorized the Central/States Information

Commission to impose penalty of Rs.250 up to Rs.25,000, on erring officials, by giving an opportunity to them. More so the commissions are also authorized to recommend for disciplinary action against the erring public authorities as well as for non-complying the provisions of the Act, under the service rules applicable to them. However, Central Intelligence and Security agencies specified in the Second Schedule like IB, RAW, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Directorate of Enforcement, Narcotics Control Bureau, Aviation Research Centre, Special Frontier Force, BSF, CRPF, ITBP, CISF, NSG, Assam Rifles, Special Service Bureau, Special Branch (CID), Andaman and Nicobar, The Crime Branch-CID-CB, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Special Branch, Lakshadweep Police are excluded from disclosures. Agencies specified by the State Governments through a Notification will also be excluded. The exclusion, however, is not absolute and these organizations have an obligation to provide information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human rights violations. Further, information relating to allegations of human rights violation could be given but only with the approval of the Central or State Information Commission. Another anomaly that is noticeable is the omission in the statute that the rule making power of the Competent Authority may be subject to the approval or ratification by the Government. Here the power to make rules is vested in the Supreme Court, High Court, Speaker or Chairman of the Parliament/Legislatures. While the rules made by the Government are subject to the rule of laying them on the Table of Legislature, the rules made by the Competent Authority are not required under this Act to be laid before the legislature nor are they made subject to the supervisory control of the Central or State Governments or the legislature. It is possible that the rules made by Competent Authorities may sometimes conflict with those of others made by the Central or State Governments. Hence it is suggested that the rules that may be made by the Competent Authority shall be subject to either prior permission or subsequent ratification by the concerned Governments. Another feature of this Act is that judicial intervention is prohibited i.e. the Court has no power to entertain any suit or application or other proceedings in respect of any order made under this Act. The Act

provides for rule making power to both Central and State Governments and such rules that were framed shall be laid before parliament in case of Central Govt. and State Legislature in case of State Govt. Objective of right to information act: 1. To promote transparency and accountability in working of every of public authority 2. To preserve confidentiality of sensitive information 3. To contain corruption and to hold government and public authorities accountable to public

LITERATURE REVIEW ARTICLE 1: . Right to Information Act 2005 (Used or Misused) THE PASSAGE of the Indian Right to Information Act 2005 replacing Freedom of Information Act, 2002, is a landmark piece of legislation that could change the relationship of the citizen with the state. It is one of the best-drafted RTI laws in the world. (There are 55 countries that have comprehensive laws to protect the citizens’ right to information.). The right to access information and dissemination of such information will equip citizens to fight corruption, inefficiency, and the arbitrary use of power in a democratic scenario. Aim of RTI It provides right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. Benefits The passing of the Right to Information Act has been welcomed from all quarters of the society as it is a significant step towards establishing a regime that guarantees citizens’ right to know. Provisions of the Act that assign specific time limit for providing the information sought and serious penalties for noncompliance would go a long way in increasing transparency and accountability in the government departments. RTI – an instrument to "settle scores" and ―blackmailing‖. Just around two years after the act has come into effect; i feel that many for serving vested interests are misusing the act. BY:VINOD KURAOKOSE ARTICLES.COM

ARTICLE 2:

THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE (Legislative Department) New Delhi, the 21st June, 2005/Jyaistha 31, 1927 (Saka)

The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 15th June, 2005, and is hereby published for general information:— THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 No. 22 of 2005 [15th June, 2005.] An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. WHEREAS the Constitution of India has established democratic Republic; AND WHEREAS democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital to its functioning and also to contain corruption and to hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed; AND WHEREAS revelation of information in actual practice is likely to conflict with other public interests including efficient operations of the Governments, optimum use of limited fiscal resources and the preservation of confidentiality of sensitive information; AND WHEREAS it is necessary to harmonise these conflicting interests while preserving the paramountcy of the democratic ideal DEMOCRACY

ARTICLE 3: Shailesh Gandhi The Right to Information Act comes into force all over the country on October 12. Citizens should make use of it to ensure transparency and good governance triumph. A SIMPLE yet very powerful example of the use of the Right to Information (RTI) is of a slum dweller who applied for a new ration card. He was told he would have to give a bribe of Rs.2000 to obtain it. Our friend — an RTI-empowered citizen — smiled, and just went ahead and applied for the ration card without offering any bribes. His neighbours warned him he would never get his ration card. They also told him how he would now have to keep visiting the rationing office. Some well meaning friends praised him for being courageous. They suggested he should approach some non-governmental organisation to take up his case, so that ultimately he would get his ration card. Our citizen had decided to become an enforcer of good governance. He found out in how many weeks everyone who paid bribes got their ration cards. He waited for an extra four weeks after applying for his card, and then applied for information under the RTI. Using the simple format with an application fee of Rs.10, he delivered it to the Public Information Officer of the Food and Supply office. He had asked up to which date applications for ration cards had been cleared and the daily progress report of his application. This shook up the officials, since they would have to acknowledge in writing that they had given ration cards to others who had applied after him, which would be conclusive evidence that they had no justification for delaying his card. Happy ending: the ration card was given to him immediately. No bribes, no endless visits. Our citizen was able to use the might of the Right to Information. This story has been repeated a thousand times to get a road repaired, an electricity connection, admissions to educational institutions. The Right to Information is derived from our fundamental right of expression under Article 19. If we do not have information

on how our Government and public institutions function, we cannot express any informed opinion on it. This has been accepted by various Supreme Court judgments, since 1977. All of us accept that the freedom of the press is an essential element for a democracy to function. It is worthwhile to understand the underlying assumption in this well entrenched belief. Why is the freedom of the media considered one of the essential features of a democracy? Democracy revolves round the basic idea of citizens being at the centre of governance — rule of the people. We need to define the importance of the concept of freedom of the press from this fundamental premise. It is obvious that the main reason for a free press is to ensure that citizens are informed. If this is one of the main reasons for the primacy given to the freedom of the press, it clearly flows from this that the citizens' right to know is paramount. Also, since the government is run on behalf of the people, they are the owners who have a right to be informed directly.

ARTICLE4: Right to Information Act, 2005 Right to information is more or less a universal concept. The concept of Right to know and right to Information, and right to make a demand for certain documents with the public authorities had been dealt with, and have been appraised. The idea that governments withhold information for the public’s benefit has become outdated. During the last decade, many countries have enacted legislations on freedom of information, giving their citizens access to governmental information, and thus, opening way to true democracy. In India, the Official Secrets Act 1923 was enacted to protect the official secrets. The new information law intend to disclose information, replacing the ‘culture of secrecy’ in administration. It will promote public accountability which is a part of governance. Where the accountability is exposed, the malpractice, mismanagement, abuse of discretion, bribery etc are trimmed down. The right to Know flows directly from the guarantee of free speech and expression in Art 19(1)a of the Constitution of India. Yet, it requires fair and efficient procedures to make the freedom of information work. The first and most well known right to information movement in India was by the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan(MKSS) in Rajasthan during the early 1990’s.

MKSS’s struggle for the access to village accounts and transparency in administration is widely credited and sparked off the right to information movement in India. The Right to Information Act, 2005 provides the procedure by which the public can make requests for information held by the public authorities. It also provides for the set up of Information Commissions to deal with complaints and appeals arising in the information system. The Act provides for the openness of the governmental activities and to publish regular information. The Act also provides minimal exceptions to the right to information where national security, public order, privacy etc are concerne. BY:MJ KUDAVI

ARTICLE 5: India: Right to Information Act, 2005 

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According to an article in the Hindustan Times, Bombay, Nov. 3, the Indian navy has objected to being included under the RIA and has asked for exemption. The article states that the Army and Air Force are also subject. This article opens vistas to new ideas. We can use the Indian RIA to gain information from the Government of Maharashtra, successor to the Presidency of Bombay and Bombay State which surrounded Goa on three sides (Ratnagiri, Belgaum, North Canara) and also Dadra & Nagar-Aveli, Damao and Dio. At least, we can try. Another interesting fact is the report of the Pandit Sunderlal Commission set up by Nehru to investigate the crimes of the Indian forces while invading and subjugating the State of Hyderabad. According to

William Dalrymple, thousands of Muslim women were systematically raped for over a week, and between 2,00,000 to 3,00,000 people were murdered by the Indians (http://www.travelintelligence.com/wsd/articles/art_832.html).

ARTICLE 6:

Right to Information Act needs to be used more effectively in State: Misra. Article from: The Hindu (English) | October 11, 2009 | Copyright Byline: Staff Reporter BANGALORE: Despite years of struggle for a law like the Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005, activists and public officials agree that its implementation, especially in the State, has been disappointing. The s uo motu disclosure under Section 4 (1) (b) of the RTI Act, which was supposed to have been implemented in 120 days of the Act coming into being, has not taken place even after four years, members of various civic and organisations pointed out at a review 'RTI: where do we stand?' here on Saturday. Among the civic agencies in the city, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has furnished the most details on its ..

ARTICLE 7:

Lacunae in the Right to Information Act, 2005 † “A rights-based enactment is akin to a welfare measure. [It] should receive a liberal interpretation.[1]”

The Right to Information Act boosts transparency and eliminates exceptions provided under the Freedom to Information Act, 2000 and the Official Secrets Act, 1923 which take away accountability.Since its enactment in 2005, the RTI Act has played a significant role in increasing transparency in government offices.

It requires government officials to furnish information requested by citizens and provides for computation of services[2]. It gives people the power to exercise far greater control over corrupt and arbitrary power and thereby to enforce transparency and accountability[3]. Indeed, the most effective check on corruption would be where the citizen has the right to take the initiative to inquire about the activities of the state. In a recent case the Under- Secretary of the Finance Ministry Jagbir Sigh Phaugat said while deeming a settlement between the Central Bank of India and a whistleblower, Abhijit Ghosh, illegal that “The agreement debars Ghosh from his constitutional rights of freedom of press and no one can debar A person form invoking the provisions of the RTI Act.”

ARTICLE 8:

Sonia on activists' side, puts RTI changes on hold TNN Mar 6, 2010, 03.17am IST

NEW DELHI: Plans to amend the Right to Information Act have been put on ice, with the Congress leadership taking up with the government the complaint of activists that the proposed changes would lead to dilution of the information law. Senior sources said the amendments will have to wait till the time government has dispelled fears of rights activists of the law being weakened.

ARTICLE 9:

SC refuses to give details of Dinakaran case under RTI TNN Mar 3, 2010, 02.09am IST

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has refused to disclose details regarding the decision on elevating Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran to the apex court, which has since been stalled following allegations of land grab against him. "I write to inform you that the information sought by you is confidential and is exempted under section 8(1)(e) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. You have no right to access the said information under section 2(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005," additional registrar Raj Pal Arora said in reply to an RTI application seeking details and file notings of the decision to elevate Dinakaran to the SC. ARTICLE 10:THE TIMES OF INDIA 15 Oct 2011,19:47 IST

The national campaign for people's right to information (NCPRI) has condemned the statement of PM Manmohan Singh that RTI was causing inefficient functioning of bureaucrats. "We reject the suggestion that transparency makes bureaucrats inefficient. The government has always been inefficient. Papers accessed by us through RTI has proved this", said noted activist Aruna Roy 10 Dec 2010,18:21 IST

The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Government of India, has invited proposals from professionals from the field of journalism, civil society and research and training in the field of Right to Information (RTI) for grant of five short-term fellowships. 19 Dec 2012,22:07 IST

Stating that the state government was sensitive to the needs of the poor,fisheries minister, Avertano Furtado said that the Forest Rights Act would be implemented in Goa by January 26, 2013. 22 Jul 2012,22:55 IST

The special gram sabhas held on Sunday under the forest rights Acr, while inviting claims from the tribals - over ownership of land as well as community rights - under the Act, have authorized the forest rights committees to accept those claims. All claims are required to be submitted to the FRCs within three months. 22 Jul 2012,22:53 IST

While FRCs were constituted in many panchayats of these talukas on Sunday, the rest of the panchayats will do so at the gram sabhas to be held in the coming days. The FRCs, as per the Act, should consist of 10 to 15 members, 1/3 rd of which should be from scheduled tribes and 1/3 rd women. 22 Jul 2012,22:52 IST

The process of implementing the Forest Rights Act by the state government gathered steam on Sunday, as several village panchayats in the tribaldominated talukas of Sanguem, Quepem, Canacona and Dharbondara areas, held special gram sabhas to elect forest rights committees (FRC) as required under the Act. 21 Jul 2011,20:06 IST

Amravati: Hundreds of tribal farmers of Melghat, alleging injustice by the administration and demanded that the Forest Rights Act be implemented in Melghat region at the earliest. To make their voice heard, the tribal farmers staged a demonstration in front of President Pratibha Patil's house in Amravati. 15 Feb 2011,20:15 IST

Haryana Police has registered a case under Copy Right Act and section 420 of the Indian Penal Code against two partners namely Bhagat Singh Mor and Surender Kumar of Shiv Cable Network based at Vikas Nagar, Gohana and recovered from their possession a large quantity of material used in cable operation. 26 Mar 2013,21:30 IST

Irked by the state government's inability to take action on its recommendation to shift a wine shop in the state capital, Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) has decided to file a petition in Madhya Pradesh high court. The MPHRC had recommended shifting of wine shops located in residential areas. 24 Mar 2013,21:17 IST

Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) has recommended that money spent on food provided to indoor patients in government hospitals be raised. Currently, there is a provision of Rs 30 per patient per day, which the commission has asked the government to raise to Rs 75. 20 Mar 2013,15:41 IST

Justice (retd) V K Jain, chairman of the Haryana Human Rights Commission has stressed upon the need to sensitize cops towards Human Rights. Jain is chairing the state level meeting of Human Rights in Chandigarh. 09 Mar 2013,19:02 IST

SDM Law College and Centre for Postgraduate Studies and Research in Law has organised public debate on Right to Education act - 2009 at its premises in Mangalore on March 12 at 10.30am. 18 Feb 2013,19:16 IST

Dr MV Shetty College of Social Work in association with National Human Rights Commission has organised a seminar on "Youth for Human Rights

Advocacy" at its premises in Mangalore on February 19. Ashok G Nijagannavar, principal district and session judge, Mangalore will inaugurate the seminar. 08 Feb 2013,22:32 IST

Madhya Pradesh human rights commission (MPHRC) on Friday recommended the state government to register FIRs against the engineers who are issuing quality certificates to road contractors not complying with the quality guidelines. 08 Feb 2013,15:30 IST

City Union Bank has completed its rights issue totaling Rs 258 crore. &ldquoThe issue of shares is over and we have received half of the amount,&rdquo N Kamakodi, chief executive officer, City Union Bank said.

ARTICLE 11: THE TIMES OF INDIA 4 cops provided security to Ram Kadam, 2 still guard Salvi TOI 28 Mar 2013, 02:09 IST

...in the city guard over 100 MPs, MLAs other politicians and their families, according to details obtained under the Right To Information Act Overall, around 316 cops provide cover to around 175 people including businessmen, film personalities and builders.... Cops high on spending, poor on security TOI 26 Mar 2013, 07:00 IST ...department furnished details of Government Orders (GO), which were marked confidential, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act recently. The GOs reveal details of the money spent on training and procuring arms and ammunition and also sophisticated equipment.... Police manual is not confidential, rules info chief TOI 26 Mar 2013, 04:52 IST

...police manual is confidential or otherwise. In a landmark order on Monday, Gaikwad held that within the meaning of the Right to Information Act, the police manual is not a confidential document and a copy of it should be provided to applicant P K Tiwari. "The... Murder of RTI activist in Bihar re-ignites calls for whisteblower protection act TOI 25 Mar 2013, 17:28 IST ...The murder of yet another Right to Information (RTI) activist, this time in Bihar, has re-ignited the calls for a national legislation to protect the rights of whistleblowers. Ram Thakur (48), a member of the Bihar NREGA Watch (to monitor the working of the... Nobody's children: Report slams the state of juvenile justice in conflict zones TOI 24 Mar 2013, 09:08 IST ...and be produced before the JJB, which invariably delays justice. In Assam, replies received from JJBs under the Right to Information Act showed that not a single review of the pendency of cases before the JJBs has been conducted by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate..

ARTICLE 12:

Saving the right to information miracle VIDYA SUBRAHMANIAM

The HinduIn

this Nov. 14, 2009 photo, Magsaysay Award winner and Right To Information activist, Aruna Roy and CPI leader D. Raja, along with others, stage a protest against amendments to the RTI Act in New Delhi. File Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

The RTI juggernaut has begun to roll over Indian babudom. Let us not turn the clock back. Over the past week, there have been reports that the Prime Minister's Office, responding to Sonia Gandhi's muscular intervention, is backing off on the dreaded amendments to the Right to Information Act, 2005.

On the other hand, it is worth remembering that the amendments scare has never been too far away. It resurfaced as recently as April 30, 2010 — this time in the benign form of a friendly letter to an RTI applicant. The letter, from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), was in response to his application seeking details of the amendments under consideration, and it confirmed that farreaching changes were in fact under way. And yet, whatever the outcome of this see-sawing confrontation between the government and the growing band of RTI stakeholders — activists, Information Commissioners, ordinary citizens — one thing is clear. Almost against its will, official India

ARTICLE 13: TOI 15 Oct 2011,19:47

The national campaign for people's right to information (NCPRI) has condemned the statement of PM Manmohan Singh that RTI was causing inefficient functioning of bureaucrats. "We reject the suggestion that transparency makes bureaucrats inefficient. The government has always been inefficient. Papers accessed by us through RTI has proved this", said noted activist Aruna Roy TOI 10 Dec 2010,18:21

The Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Government of India, has invited proposals from professionals from the field of journalism, civil society and research and training in the field of Right to Information (RTI) for grant of five short-term fellowships. TOI 19 Dec 2012,22:07

Stating that the state government was sensitive to the needs of the poor,fisheries minister, Avertano Furtado said that the Forest Rights Act would be implemented in Goa by January 26, 2013.

Neermarga GP secretary fined for RTI lapse TOI 2 hrs ago

...panchayat in Mangalore taluk has been slapped with a fine of Rs 2,500 for failing to furnish information under the Right to Information Act to an applicant, who sought the certified copy of an internal audit report pertaining to the village. Applicant Prakash...

4 cops provided security to Ram Kadam, 2 still guard Salvi TOI 2013-03-28 02:09:00

...in the city guard over 100 MPs, MLAs other politicians and their families, according to details obtained under the Right To Information Act Overall, around 316 cops provide cover to around 175 people including businessmen, film personalities and builders....

Cops high on spending, poor on security TOI 2013-0326 07:00:00

...department furnished details of Government Orders (GO), which were marked confidential, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act recently. The GOs reveal details of the money spent on training and procuring arms and ammunition and also sophisticated equipment....

Police manual is not confidential, rules info chief TOI 2013-03-26 04:52:00

...police manual is confidential or otherwise. In a landmark order on Monday, Gaikwad held that within the meaning of the Right to Information Act, the police manual is not a confidential document and a copy of it should be provided to applicant P K Tiwari. "The...

Murder of RTI activist in Bihar re-ignites calls for whisteblower protection act TOI 2013-03-25 17:28:00

...The murder of yet another Right to Information (RTI) activist, this time in Bihar, has re-ignited the calls for a national legislation to protect the rights of whistleblowers. Ram Thakur (48), a member of the Bihar NREGA Watch (to monitor the working of the.

ARTICLE 14:

Unfortunate Suggestion by J & K CIC GR Sufi to weaken RTI Act Misuse of RTI act can be checked: J&K CIC 10th/March/2013, Zee News

Aurangabad: Chief Information Commissioner of Jammu and Kashmir GR Sufi on Sunday said that the misuse of RTI act can be checked if a provision is made in the law that any information or record would be open for access to public only

for three years.

GR Sufi, Chief Information Commissioner, J & K

Sufi was speaking at a meeting at Dr Rafiq Zakaria Campus here today. He said that the way out could be if information under RTI is allowed to be accessed only for three years to public and later only if there is judiciary requirement or any such important reason. http://zeenews.india.com/news/jammu-and-kashmir/misuse-ofrti-act-can-be-checked-jandk-cic_834245.html

ARTICLE 15: SUNDAY, AUGUST 09, 2009

Lacuna in the Right to Information Act Since its enactment in 2005, the Right to Information Act has been lauded as a significant measure for the achievement of a more accountable and transparent government and bureaucracy. In a guest post on this

blog recently, Yamini Aiyar has discussed the infrastructural weaknesses and the mindset problems which threaten the future of the RTI. My own experience with using the RTI Act for obtaining information has revealed a curious lacuna in the law that to my knowledge has not been the subject of discussion in the news media before. Section 6(1) of the Act provides that any person who desires certain information may make a request in writing to the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) or the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) of the concerned public authority. If the public information officer (PIO) fails to provide the information within a period of thirty days, then he is deemed to have refused to provide the information. According to section 19(1) of the Act, if the person requesting the information either does not receive the PIO’s decision within the stipulated time period of 30 days or is aggrieved by the PIO’s decision, he can prefer an appeal (first appeal) to an officer who is senior in rank to the PIO in the concerned public authority. Section 19(6) stipulates that such a first appeal must be disposed off within a period of thirty (30) days of receipt of the appeal or within an extended period not greater than forty five (45) days of filing of the appeal. Section 19(3) provides that a second appeal may be preferred against the decision rendered under section 19(6) before the Central Information Commission (CIC) or the State Information Commission. However, unlike the first appeal, there is no stipulated time frame for decision by the CIC or the SIC of a second appeal .

QUESTIONNARE Personal information: Name: Contact no: Address: Qualification: Profession: Age: 1. Below 18 2. 18-30 3. 30-45 4. 45-60 5. more than 60 Awareness and belief: Q1.Have you ever heard of right to information act (RTI) ? 1. Yes

2.No

Q2.Please select which of the following policies/acts/legislations of the government have you heard of 1.right to ask for information provided about anyorganisation operating within the boundary of india 2.right to ask for information related to government bodies and public sector enterprises 3.right to ask for information about the private sector 4.right to ask for information related to tv,newspaper,internet,radio etc.

5.any other (please specify) Q3.Please tell from where did you come to know about the RTI ? 1.television programmes/radio broadcasts 2.newspaper /printy/magazines 3.internet/website 4.word of mouth(friends ,relatives etc. 5.any other (please specify) Q4.Are you aware of the issues or areas one can use the RTI for oneself? 1.Yes

2.No

Q5.Which of these issues or areas have you?would like to use the RTI act for? 1.education related information(school colleges marksheets,scrutiny related information) 2.quasi judicial information(municipal bodies,civic departments,pamnchayats etc..) 3.government ministries/departments(fule,electricity,telephone,water,sales tax ,income tax) 4.business needs(licenses ,bank dealings) Q6.How many applicants have you been in touch till date? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 More than 20

Q7.Do you have any apprehensions in using this act? 1.i need more knowledge about the act 2.it rquires a lot of hassles and is long process 3.i will come into trouble asking government bodies 4.it would require a lot of visits to the concerned office for getting desired information Q8.You know you can file RTI application online? 1.Yes

2.No

Q9.You are aware to whom the application should address to and where you have to submit ? 1. Yes

2. No

Q10.You are aware that you can file a first appeal within 30 days from the day recovering the information,if the information provided to you is incomplete or no information provoded at all ? 1.Yes

2.No

Q11.You are aware that you can file an appeal within 90 days from the day of receveing the information afer filling the first appeal to the concerned authorities,if the information provided to you is incomplete? 1.Yes

2.No

Q12.What suggestions do you have to enable so that citizens make use of it? 1.there should be a facilitation center explaining the details of the process for filing an RTI application

2.there should a user guide present in every department where RTI applications are filed 3.advertisements in prominent newspapers/televisions 4.prominent display in all government offices spreading awareness about RTI 5.any other(please specify) ANY OTHER EXPERIENCE YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE REGARDING YOUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT RTI:

ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS SAMPLE SIZE : 50 SAMLING METHOD : RANDOM SAMPLING Q1.Have you ever heard of right to information act (RTI) ?

YES NO

All the people who were given the questionnaire had an idea about the RTI.

Q2.Please select which of the following policies/acts/legislations of the government have you heard of 1.right to ask for information provided about anyorganisation operating within the boundary of india 2.right to ask for information related to government bodies and public sector enterprises 3.right to ask for information about the private sector 4.right to ask for information related to tv,newspaper,internet,radio etc.

OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTION 4 OPTION 5

Q3.Please tell from where did you come to know about the RTI ? 1.television programmes/radio broadcasts 2.newspaper /printy/magazines 3.internet/website 4.word of mouth(friends ,relatives etc. 5.any other (please specify)

OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTION4 OPTION5

Q4.Are you aware of the issues or areas one can use the RTI for oneself?

YES NO

Q5.Which of these issues or areas have you?would like to use the RTI act for? 1.education related information(school colleges marksheets,scrutiny related information) 2.quasi judicial information(municipal bodies,civic departments,pamnchayats etc..) 3.government ministries/departments(fule,electricity,telephone,water,sales tax ,income tax) 4.business needs(licenses ,bank dealings)

OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTION 4

Q6.How many applicants have you been in touch till date? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

1-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 More than 20

OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTION 4 OPTION 5

Q7.Do you have any apprehensions in using this act? 1.I need more knowledge about the act 2.It rquires a lot of hassles and is long process 3.I will come into trouble asking government bodies 4.It would require a lot of visits to the concerned office for getting desired information

OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTON 4

Q8.You know you can file RTI application online?

YES NO

Q9.You are aware to whom the application should address to and where you have to submit ?

YES NO

Q10.You are aware that you can file a first appeal within 30 days from the day recovering the information,if the information provided to you is incomplete or no information provoded at all ?

YES NO

Q11.You are aware that you can file an appeal within 90 days from the day of receveing the information afer filling the first appeal to the concerned authorities,if the information provided to you is incomplete?

YES NO

Q12.What suggestions do you have to enable so that citizens make use of it? 1.there should be a facilitation center explaining the details of the process for filing an RTI application

2.there should a user guide present in every department where RTI applications are filed 3.advertisements in prominent newspapers/televisions 4.prominent display in all government offices spreading awareness about RTI 5.any other(please specify)

OPTION 1 OPTION 2 OPTION 3 OPTION 4 OPTION 5

CONCLUSION This Act is designed to facilitate and further its end i.e., empowerment of public to know what is going on under the guise of administration and should not be treated as an enactment providing penalties and punishments. Without any hesitation it can be said that this Act should be the voice of so called voiceless in our society. Lastly, remind everybody that one should not be crazy about rights only and one should also be mindful about ones duties. Rights and duties are the two sides of a coin. In recent years, there has been an almost unstoppable global trend towards recognition of the right to information by countries, intergovernmental organizations, civil society and the people. The right to information has been recognized as a fundamental human right, which upholds the inherent dignity of all human beings. Moreover, the Right to Information Act is for the smooth functioning of the government by maintaining transparency between the government working and the public who are the beneficiaries. In nutshell it can be said that this piece of legislation is unique in many aspects. It entitled the citizen to know the details of governance subject to certain limitations. It will further reduce the gap between the rulers and ruled.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 .http://www.google.co.in/#hl=en&sclient=psyab&q=right+to+information+act+lovely+professional+university&oq =right+to+information+act+lovely+professional+university&gs_l=hp. 3..33i21.7173.21017.0.21355.55.40.0.6.6.3.1264.25259.4-3j14j14j 2. http://csmrs.nic.in/RTIACT.pdf 3. http://www.csi-sigegov.org/1/31_327.pdf 4.timesofindia e-newspaper 5. hindustantimes e-newspaper 6. Wikipedia/RTI 7. Right to information act – 2005, Delhi Law Times 8. http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/righttoinfoact.aspx 9http://www.1888articles.com/right-to-information-act-2005-used-ormisused-0mz9028qd6.html 10.http://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/pdf/RTI.pdf 11http://www.caluniv.ac.in/Global%20mdia%20journal/WINTER%2 02010%20ARTICLES/Article%204.pdf 12. http://righttoinformation.gov.in/rti-act.pdf 13.http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/07/stories/2005100703631000.htm 14. http://colonelashok.blogspot.in/2010/09/right-to-information-act2005.html 15.http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/24/stories/2006082403461000.htm 16. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-0306/india/28126691_1_amendments-ncpri-information-act 17. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-0303/india/28144466_1_dinakaran-information-act-rti-act

18. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/right-to-information-act 19. http://business.highbeam.com/437657/article-1G1209462837/right-information-act-needs-used-more-effectively-state 20. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/goancenter/message/896

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