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Right to
Information Act, 2005, has been passed by the
Indian parliament. What does it mean? What are
the implications? Where exactly is it aimed at?
The dragon head of corruption rises at the
confluence of public money and private
enterprise. Public money is not the money of any
one in particular and so the controls are
generally lax. It is this fact that entices
government officials to become corrupt.
Tendering process are manipulated, greasy
parties are favored by bending rules etc.
The Act addresses the fundamental right to know.
The purpose of the Act is to bring in
transparency in the functioning of Government
offices. It is a bold step towards stopping
corruption. The Act makes it compulsory for
government offices to give information about
their functioning to any one from the public who
desires to have the information. No questions
are to be asked as to why the information is
needed. It is a powerful tool that enables
citizens to get information held by the
government. The Act lays down penalties for
unjustifiably withholding information.
The bureaucracy is in a tizzy. They are bent
upon sabotaging the Act. So long they had
enjoyed unchallenged discretion to make
decisions without accountability. Scams were
executed and wealth was amassed with impunity.
This is a major blow to their freedom. Efforts
are on to get exemptions for sensitive papers
like note sheets. The note sheet is that part of
the file where the concerned officers in the
decision making hierarchy put down their views,
advice and recommendations. The file travels
down the decision-making hierarchy and notings
are added during the journey. The note sheet
carries the noting and signatures of
individuals. The intention of individual
officers comes out clearly. It can be easily
seen whether the noting is unbiased and as per
rules or whether there are hidden malicious
intentions. If these note sheets are made
public, pin-pointed responsibility can not be
avoided. While this has the potential to destroy
the dishonest, it also has the potential to
protect honest officers.
Why is the bureaucracy seeking to wriggle out
then by getting exemptions? One does not need to
be an Einstein to deduce the reasons. These
efforts must be foiled or else the very soul of
the Act will be ruined. The implementation of
the Act also places a crucial responsibility on
the public and especially the Press. Now, if
there are scams, the Press can not simply get
away by pointing a passive finger at Government
officials. The right information has to be
extracted at the right time to prevent
corruption. The sword has been handed over and
now the public and the Press have to use it to
cut down dishonest people. Hopefully scams and
corruption will be a thing of the past soon.
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Comments: |
No
doubt, the Right to Information Act
has come into force. But our
enthusiasm will prove to be that of
a naive. Bureaucracy, which has all
along been instrumental in
withholding information from the
general public, has already taken
over the Act from the very
beginning. Or, what else can explain
the appointment of retired and
retiring IAS officers as Principal
Information Commissioner/Officer at
the centre and in the states?
Electors may be rest assured that
they would continue to be kept
ignorant about government facts and
information for many many years. -
Keshav Prasad - Oct. 23, 2005
I
am very keen on finding out the
names and addresses of the officials
in Police Department, Electricity
Department and Patna Municipal
Corporation so that I can ask them
to furnish information about
specific cases.
I have tried to gather information
about RTI Act in Bihar Govt offices
but drawn a blank. But, I have been
told by NCRTI Chief Mr. Shankar
Singh that since Parliament has
passed this bill, whole of India is
covered (except J & K) under it.
Some links on net point to a
committee being formed by Jharkhand
Govt but Bihar govt. is silent!
If We Biharis are keen on utilising
this RTI Act then this is the time
to get going.
Any information is more than
welcome. - Saroj Kumar - Oct. 23,
2005 |
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