CIC set for expansion as RTI cases mount: Activists Want Eminent Names On Board

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date:2008 Aug 19; Section:Times Nation; Page Number 13

Manoj Mitta | TNN
New Delhi: Given the manner in which RTI has caught on in less than three years, the government has decided to enlarge the Central Information Commission (CIC) adding four members to the existing five. Since the process of appointments under the transparency law has however been shrouded in secrecy, RTI activists have thrown a spanner in the works by proposing eminent persons who are willing to serve as information commissioners without taking salary, allowances or even government bungalow.
Their credentials to sit in judgment on RTI appeals are formidable. Jagdeep Chokkar and Trilochan Sastry are IIM professors who fought for the electoral reform that makes candidates declare their assets and criminal antecedents. Shailesh Gandhi, an engineer from IIT Bombay, is the convener of ‘‘national campaign for people’s right to information’’ spearheading the RTI movement. H Sudarshan, a doctor who was awarded Padma Shree for his work in rural areas, has been vigilance director with Karnataka’s Lokayukta (ombudsman).
The ones who proposed their names in a letter to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on August 17 are no less eminent: Anna Hazare, Medha Patkar and Magsaysay awardees Arvind Kejriwal and Sandeep Pandey. According to the letter, Chokkar and the other three are willing to draw a token salary of Re 1 per month —their sole motive in taking up the assignment of information commissioner being ‘‘to further the cause of transparency in governance’’.
The unusual strategy adopted by civil society of suggesting alternative names may put pressure on the department of personnel and training (DoPT), which faced flak in 2005 when four of the five information commissioners appointed by it turned out to be ex-bureaucrats. The present babu-domination is despite a broad provision in the RTI Act that the information commissioners shall be ‘‘persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology, social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance’’.
The RTI activists chose to address the letter to Sonia Gandhi because she is credited with pushing the historic legislation in the face of resistance from ministers and bureaucrats. Pointing out that the country has no dearth of eminent people who are willing to work selflessly as information commissioners, the August 17 letter says: ‘‘It is high time that the government stopped confining its choice to retiring bureaucrats or to people who cultivate powers that be in anticipation of getting such posts.’’
While confirming that it has decided to enlarge CIC, the minister in charge of DoPT, Prithviraj Chavan, told TOI that the appointments were being made according to the prescribed procedure which involves a selection committee consisting of himself, the prime minister and the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha. As for the civil society’s grievance about the lack of transparency in the appointments, Chavan said: ‘‘That can’t be a public process.’’
But how can appointments under RTI be secretive? ‘‘RTI does not mean that the names have to be disclosed while the process is still on,’’ Chavan said. For the same reason, the minister declined to comment on the apprehension expressed by RTI activists that one of the candidates under consideration was DoPT secretary Satyananda Mishra. If that does happen, it would set a pattern as even in 2005 DoPT had appointed its then secretary, A N Tiwari, as one of the information commissioners.
The RTI activists on their part have written that if the government rejects the eminent persons proposed by them, then it should explain to the nation how their candidates were found less suitable than its own nominees.

RTI Group Website (www.rtigroup.org) Statistics

We are happy to share RTI Group Website Statistics: No. of unique visitors on 12th August=171; Visitors came from 14 countries including USA, India, UK, France, Finland, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Saudia Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait etc. and 42 cities around the world

Sonia wants Bihar model for RTI call centre

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date:2008 Aug 11; Section:Front Page; Page Number 1 ; Manoj Mitta | TNN

New Delhi: This is one Sonia Gandhi suggestion that may not go down well with her ally, RJD chief Lalu Prasad. Striking a nonpartisan approach to governance, the UPA chief has called upon Congress chief ministers to adopt the model of an RTI call centre run by the NDA government in Bihar to make information more accessible to the poor and illiterate. But the UPA government seems to be weighing as to what extent it should replicate the example at the Centre.

Despite giving an “in principle” clearance to the call centre, the department of personnel and training (DoPT), the nodal agency for RTI, is unsure whether it should, following the Bihar model set up in early 2007, bear the cost of converting a phone call into an RTI application.

Personnel minister Prithviraj Chavan told TOI that what the Centre was drawing from the Bihar model was the concept of filing of RTI applications over the telephone. ‘‘We have not yet taken a call on whether the applicant should be spared the cost of the call centre,’’ he said.

If the government decides to pass the cost of the call centre to the applicant, then the charge he would have to bear, besides the regular fee of Rs 10 per RTI application, is estimated to be Rs 35. Similarly, for the two layers of appeal, which normally do not entail any fee, the RTI applicant would have to pay Rs 35 as the call centre charge for each appeal. Thus, for taking the call centre route, the amount he would end up paying for the entire RTI process is Rs 115 instead of the usual Rs 10.

If the government bears the cost of the call centre, all that it would levy through the phone bill is the RTI fee of Rs 10 and the regular call charge. This option would be in tune with the letter Gandhi wrote on April 17 to party CMs commending the Bihar model to them ‘‘for taking the RTI Act to the doorstep of poor and illiterate masses through the use of information technology’’.

HOW CALL CENTRE WORKS

Even an illiterate person can file an RTI application as one simply has to dial and say over phone what information is required

Call centre executive drafts the application on the basis of the taped phone call

Now, UTI will also come under RTI purview

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date:2008 Aug 11; Section:Times Nation; Page Number 15 ; Viju B | TNN

Mumbai: This will bring cheers to lakhs of mutual fund investors who are worried about their investment parked with various pubic sector financial institutions in the country. In a landmark order, the Central Information Commission (CIC), ruled that Unit Trust of India Asset Management Company is a public authority and thus it has to comply with the provisions of section 4 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

UTIAMC is the investment manager for UTI mutual funds which in turn invest public money in stock markets and debt instruments. The CIC order on August 6, will now make it mandatory for UTIAMC to comply with section 4 for the RTI Act which states that public authorities need to maintain its records so that applicants can inspect or even ask for copies of the records.

The order comes after Dombivali resident Vijay T Gokhale approached CIC when UTI and SEBI replied to his RTI queries stating that UTI was not a public authority. ‘‘I approached the commission after UTIAMC replied that all its three entities, UTI mutual funds, UTI trustee company and UTI asset management company, do not fall under the ambit of the RTI Act,’’ Gokhale said.

When the case came up for hearing at CIC, UTI officials argued that it was not a public authority as it is incorporated under Companies Act and SEBI. ‘‘Even though the entire share capital of UTIAMC is held by four public sector banks, UTIAMC is a company registered under the Companies Act and is neither financed by the government nor controlled by it,’’ the UTI official said. The CIC then asked them to furnish copies of balance sheet, memorandum and articles, mode of appointment of directors, profit sharing pattern of the company and also reasons for retaining the UTI logo.

The CIC, in its order, said UTIAMC has been sponsored by public sector institutions and banks like SBI, PNB, LIC and Bank of Baroda. ‘‘In other words, UTIAMC is owned by four public authorities. An institution wholly owned by a public authority could be considered to be a public authority under the RTI Act,’’ the CIC order said.

‘‘From the purpose and object of the RTI Act, it is crystal clear that there should be transparency in the functioning of any institution in which public money is deployed,’’ the order said. The CIC, while passing the order directed UTIAMC to designate PIOs and appellate authorities to comply with the provisions the RTI Act in the next 30 days.

CIC to decide if MPs/MLAs should reply to RTI queries

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date:2008 Aug 13; Section:Times Nation; Page Number 13; Himanshi Dhawan | TNN

New Delhi: Are Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi expected to reply to Right to Information queries that are addressed to them in their capacity as Members of Parliament? In a decision that could have far-reaching ramifications, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has decided to ascertain if elected representatives like an MP or MLA can be recognised as a ‘‘public authority’’ in his or her own right.
This follows a growing number of complaints that MPs and MLAs have not been responding to RTI queries regarding their work as public representatives.
UP resident Awadesh Mishra had sought information from Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi related to recommendations made by the latter on assistance to NGOs. When Mishra did not receive any reply, he approached the Lok Sabha secretariat which held that the MP was not a public authority as defined under the RTI Act. The secretariat said the information was not held by it and could only be made available by the MP.
Similar requests for information have been filed by Lucknow residents Girish Chandra Mishra and Radhey Shyam with Rae Bareli MP and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. Delhi resident Sartaj Ahmed had sought information from his area MLA Saheb Singh Chauhan regarding development work in his constituency.
However, when there was no satisfactory reply to their queries, the respondents approached the CIC. The commission, on its part, has recognized that a MP has been given specific authority by the Constitution in return for which he receives public funds.
The information watchdog has issued a public notice for opinions on the issue adding that it would take a ‘‘view to decide whether the information sought by these applicants can qualify as information sought under the RTI Act’’. The submissions are expected to be given by August 30 and a hearing is likely to be held in September.

File RTI appeals on CIC website, but pay via post

New Delhi: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has introduced online acceptance of RTI appeals and complaints, allowing applicants to file their queries on the Internet. This comes at a time when the Bihar state information commission has already introduced acceptance of applications on the phone and the Centre is planning a call centre as well.
Speaking about the online facility, chief information commission Wajahat Habibullah said, “This will hopefully increase the awareness of RTI and its use. It’s mainly designed for appeals and complaints.” There is a catch, however. If the person is filing for information to the CIC, the RTI query will be accepted but must be followed by a postal order of Rs 10.
Online payments are still a long way off. According to the CIC, the government feared that the system was not strong enough to handle credit card payments. “There is fear of Internet fraud when money transactions are conducted on the net,” admitted Habibullah.
As of now, when applicants log on to the CIC website, the online link will provide them with a form to apply online. The form includes ‘mandatory fields’ like name, address, contact details and the ministry, department or public authority that the appeal is against.
Verification code, citizenship status (whether you are an Indian or NRI) will have to be filled. Other details include if the person has applied to the public information officer (the first official authorised to address the appeal) and whether the issue at hand is a matter of life or liberty.
Applicants can also upload documents relevant to their argument. For the Internet savvy, this is likely to save time and resources. But the most to benefit from this are people living outside Delhi and Indians abroad who do not have to depend on the postal department to file their complaints. Habibullah said he had already received complaints online and queries on how to file them.

Publication: Times Of India Delhi; Date:2008 Jul 29; Section:Times Nation; Page Number 15 Himanshi Dhawan | TNN

CIC Directs AMU to Open up Entrance Test Records