Vidya Subrahmaniam, In the nine months since the enactment of the Right to Information Act, 2005, the Government's Ministries have done much to undermine the Central Information Commission and, by implication, the Act itself.
THE PROPOSED amendments to the Right to Information Act, 2005, including an amendment to keep file notings secret, have been called off — at least for now. So what are the chances that they will return in one form or another? Indeed, how strong is the official resistance to the RTI Act as it exists?
The RTI story on the ground is the story of small successes. It is about men and women who got their entitlements by filing or just threatening to file an application under the Act. It is about Bihar's Mazloom Nadaf, a rickshaw-puller, who got the usual run-around on his plea for a home under the Indira Awas Yojana, but who was treated like a king once he had filed an application under the RTI Act: Could he please come to the Block Development Office and collect his cheque? While at it, could he also be so kind as to drop his complaint? It is about Nannu, the East Delhi mazdoor, who having done the rounds for a duplicate ration card, filed a complaint under the RTI Act seeking the names of officers who drove him round the bend. Nannu might have waved a magic wand judging by the swift invite from the Food and Civil Supplies office, where officers fussed over him, gave him tea — and his ration card. As a beaming Nannu departed, his new friends called after him: Would he please drop his complaint?
The moral of all this: Don't ask us questions. Don't ask which officer did what. Just take your ration card, telephone connection, passport, and so forth. Indeed, the larger battle for file notings must be viewed against these smaller victories. Babudom would rather redress your complaint in double quick time than have you track the inside story. And file notings take you precisely where you are not meant to go — into the forbidding and shadowy world of governmental decision-making.
A visit to the website of the Central Information Commission — the final authority under the RTI Act on disclosure of official information — is revealing. The Commission first allowed access to file notings on January 31, 2006, in the Satyapal case. Its reasoning was impeccable. Firstly, that file notings were essential to understand why the Government came to a particular decision: "...[Governmental] decisions are mostly based on the recording in notesheets and even decisions are recorded on the notesheets. No file would be complete without notesheets having `file notings'..." And secondly, that the Act as it stood permitted access to file notings: "... a combined reading of Sections 2(f), (i) and (j) would indicate that a citizen has the right of access to a file of which file notings are an integral part..."
In the seven months since the Satyapal case, the CIC has ruled in favour of file notings in more than 40 cases. The appellants knocked on the Commission's doors because one or another Ministry or Department had refused to part with file notings. This raises the obvious question. Why was the Commission enjoined to decide again and again on file notings when it had already settled the issue in January 2006?
Consider the big guns that turned away applicants seeking file notings under the RTI Act: Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Company Affairs, Department of Consumer Affairs, Central Board of Excise and Customs, not to mention the Department of Personnel and Training — on paper the nodal agency for facilitating information under the RTI Act but in practice the most reluctant to parcel out information. The DoPT's response to the CIC's Satyapal ruling was to put up a website posting unilaterally declaring file notings out of bounds for RTI applicants, refusing to take it off to this day. It is this posting that the Ministries and Departments cited when they refused disclosure of file notings to RTI applicants.
The Commission's word on file notings ought to have been treated as final by the Government and its Departments. After all, the Commission's status as the final appellate body under the RTI Act would be sustainable only if it had the freedom to enforce the Act as it understood it. It can hardly have been the Act's intention that its provisions must be interpreted by the government of the day. If that were the case, then it could be left to the government to decide when, how much and to whom information could be given without the need for an appellate body — indeed without the need for a Right to Information Act.
Curiously, it is this situation that prevails today. On paper, the Government has withdrawn the proposed amendments to the RTI Act, including the amendment to disallow file notings. That it was considering an amendment to prohibit file notings is in itself admission that the Act permits them. It also means that the CIC's interpretation of the Act on file notings was correct. Yet the DoPT, whose Minister paradoxically announced that the amendments had been shelved, remains unyielding on the issue. Thus, the CIC might cry itself hoarse on the validity of file notings, the Government might say it has backed off on the amendment on file notings, but the Government's Ministries and Departments will behave as if the amendment was in place.
The CIC gave vent to its exasperation in its June 23, 2006, decision allowing file notings in a case filed by Mahendra Gaur against the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). Mr. Gaur, who alleged malpractice in the sale of 2T oil in Rajasthan, took recourse to the RTI Act after he failed to get a hearing. The DCA's Chief Public Information Officer, C.S. Khurana, refused him access to file notings; so in his appeal to Rinchen Tempo, the designated Appellate Authority, Mr. Gaur appended the CIC's Satyapal decision on file notings. Ms. Tempo dismissed the appeal, citing the DoPT's website posting on file notings. Said the Commission: "The question whether file notings are exempt or not has been put to rest by this Commission in Satyapal versus TCIL ... and this decision is in the website of this Commission. In terms of Section 19 (7) of the said (RTI) Act, while the decision of this Commission is final and binding on the parties in that case, in the matter of interpretation of the provisions of the Act, the said interpretation is binding on all the public authorities. Curiously in her decision, she [the Appellate Authority] has ignored to refer to the decision of the Commission even though the appellant has referred to the same in his appeal."
Three days later, it was the Railway Ministry's turn to get an earful from the CIC. Noting that the PIO concerned had denied access to file notings to the applicant only because of the DoPT's website instructions, the Commission said: "... clarifications by the Department of Personnel and Training ... cannot override the statutory provisions of the RTI Act of 2005." Finally, in sheer helplessness and faced with mounting and completely unnecessary appeals against non-disclosure of file notings by various Ministries and Departments, the CIC ordered the DoPT to remove its website posting, which was creating "unnecessary and avoidable confusion in the minds of Public Authorities" who were denying access to file notings even though the RTI Act "does not exempt file notings from disclosure."
Clearly, information is power for the Government — RTI Act or no RTI Act. There can be two sides to the grand battle being fought on the sanctity or otherwise of file notings. It is possible that the Government genuinely fears that access to file notings will, to quote the Prime Minister's Office, "inhibit the expression of frank views by officers ... place him [an officer] under threat or danger." It is a disputable position but not a dishonest position. What is unacceptable is that the Government should repeatedly override the CIC and the RTI Act — in this and other matters. Forget file notings, Government Ministries and Departments have so far shown no inclination to file the mandatory annual reports on the implementation of the Act. The DoPT leads the pack of rebels: It has misinterpreted the Act, encouraged other Ministries to follow this misinterpretation, slighted the CIC over and over, refused to hand over papers to it even though the Act requires it do so and done everything to preserve the regime of secrecy that arms the Government but disarms the people.
© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2006083007361100.htm&date=2006/08/30/&prd=th&
For More Info Log on to www.rtigroup.org
|
Subscribe to RTI Group | |
| Browse Archives at groups.google.com | ||
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Central Information Commission criticised
Staff Correspondent
"There have been delays in hearing applications"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First hearing of a case held only three to four months after application was filed
Under RTI Act cases must be decided within 30 days of receipt of appeal
CIC says its staff strength has been improved
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW DELHI: Six months after the Central Information Commission was constituted, its record in dealing with complaints and appeals under the Right to Information (RTI) Act came in for severe criticism.
Addressing a meeting on the RTI Act, organised here by the All-India Management Association in collaboration with the IC-Centre for Governance here on Saturday, Arvind Kejriwal from Parivartan, an organisation that has been spearheading the RTI campaign in Delhi, said the Commission's performance had become a matter of serious concern. Pointing to delays in hearing applications, he said the first hearing of a case filed before the Commission was held only three to four months after the first application was filed. "This renders irrelevant the requirement in the RTI Act for cases to be decided within 30 days of the receipt of the appeal," said Mr. Kejriwal.
No penalties
Mr. Kejriwal said the Commission was yet to impose a single penalty on Public Information Officers (PIOs) who had refused to provide or given misleading information. Under Section 20 of the RTI Act, if the CIC was of the opinion that a PIO had, without reasonable cause, refused to entertain an application for information, or had given misleading information, it had to impose a penalty of Rs. 250 a day till the information was supplied.
Chief Central Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said that he welcomed public criticism of the functioning of the Commission but an evaluation of the CIC had to be done over an extended period. He said the Commission had received over 600 appeals and it had taken decisions in 99.
On the implementation of the RTI Act's penalty clause, he said a show cause notice had to go out and an investigation conducted to determine if the PIO was in the wrong "without reasonable doubt."
"There are two to three cases where such investigations are being conducted," he said.
Mr. Habibullah said the CIC's staff had been strengthened, and included an officer of the secretary level and a judicial officer.
Speaking at the seminar, Convenor of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) Shekhar Singh said the Government must ensure awareness about the contents and scope of the RTI Act. He said Section 2(f) of the Act effectively expanded the scope of the Act beyond public and Government bodies to include private bodies as well.
Section 2(f) defines information as relating to "any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any law for the time being in force."
Date:16/04/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/04/16/stories/2006041604501000.htm
© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu
"There have been delays in hearing applications"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First hearing of a case held only three to four months after application was filed
Under RTI Act cases must be decided within 30 days of receipt of appeal
CIC says its staff strength has been improved
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW DELHI: Six months after the Central Information Commission was constituted, its record in dealing with complaints and appeals under the Right to Information (RTI) Act came in for severe criticism.
Addressing a meeting on the RTI Act, organised here by the All-India Management Association in collaboration with the IC-Centre for Governance here on Saturday, Arvind Kejriwal from Parivartan, an organisation that has been spearheading the RTI campaign in Delhi, said the Commission's performance had become a matter of serious concern. Pointing to delays in hearing applications, he said the first hearing of a case filed before the Commission was held only three to four months after the first application was filed. "This renders irrelevant the requirement in the RTI Act for cases to be decided within 30 days of the receipt of the appeal," said Mr. Kejriwal.
No penalties
Mr. Kejriwal said the Commission was yet to impose a single penalty on Public Information Officers (PIOs) who had refused to provide or given misleading information. Under Section 20 of the RTI Act, if the CIC was of the opinion that a PIO had, without reasonable cause, refused to entertain an application for information, or had given misleading information, it had to impose a penalty of Rs. 250 a day till the information was supplied.
Chief Central Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said that he welcomed public criticism of the functioning of the Commission but an evaluation of the CIC had to be done over an extended period. He said the Commission had received over 600 appeals and it had taken decisions in 99.
On the implementation of the RTI Act's penalty clause, he said a show cause notice had to go out and an investigation conducted to determine if the PIO was in the wrong "without reasonable doubt."
"There are two to three cases where such investigations are being conducted," he said.
Mr. Habibullah said the CIC's staff had been strengthened, and included an officer of the secretary level and a judicial officer.
Speaking at the seminar, Convenor of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) Shekhar Singh said the Government must ensure awareness about the contents and scope of the RTI Act. He said Section 2(f) of the Act effectively expanded the scope of the Act beyond public and Government bodies to include private bodies as well.
Section 2(f) defines information as relating to "any private body which can be accessed by a public authority under any law for the time being in force."
Date:16/04/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/04/16/stories/2006041604501000.htm
© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu
HC frames rules for smooth implementation of Act
TIMES NEWS NETWORK Chandigarh: People facing hurdles while seeking information under the RTI Act can hope for some relief. They can now approach the courts to seek information under RTI. Almost two years after the Act came into force in the country, the HC has framed rules for its smooth implementation in both the states. HC Registrar (rules) SK Garg said the rules have been notified this week by the court and that gazette was being published. The HC rules will determine the fee to be charged from the applicants for providing information and will lay down the procedure to be followed while disclosing information.
Courts to clear-up all applications
Chandigarh: The rules will also decide who will be designated as public information officers, assistant public information officers and appellate authority in various courts of Punjab and Haryana.
Under the provisions of the RTI Act, state government, Vidhan Sabha and the high court are to frame rules for the implementation of the Act. While Punjab government framed rules after the Act came into force, the high court delayed it. The delay in framing the rules resulted in a backlog of hundreds of applications filed under the Act in various courts. After much dilly-dallying, the HC finally set up a committee early this year for framing the rules which submitted its report recently.
A Punjab state information commission officer said the absence of these rules acted as an impediment in providing information to the public as the courts in both the states refused information on this ground. According to a court official, with the HC notifying these rules the courts will start clearing all applications filed under the Act. The court will also post all information, including that on PIOs and APIOs, on its website.
Publication: Times Of India Chandigarh; Date:2007 Aug 31; Section:Front Page; Page Number 1
Courts to clear-up all applications
Chandigarh: The rules will also decide who will be designated as public information officers, assistant public information officers and appellate authority in various courts of Punjab and Haryana.
Under the provisions of the RTI Act, state government, Vidhan Sabha and the high court are to frame rules for the implementation of the Act. While Punjab government framed rules after the Act came into force, the high court delayed it. The delay in framing the rules resulted in a backlog of hundreds of applications filed under the Act in various courts. After much dilly-dallying, the HC finally set up a committee early this year for framing the rules which submitted its report recently.
A Punjab state information commission officer said the absence of these rules acted as an impediment in providing information to the public as the courts in both the states refused information on this ground. According to a court official, with the HC notifying these rules the courts will start clearing all applications filed under the Act. The court will also post all information, including that on PIOs and APIOs, on its website.
Publication: Times Of India Chandigarh; Date:2007 Aug 31; Section:Front Page; Page Number 1
RTI officer pulls up court
Rohit Mullick | TNN Chandigarh: In a big leap for RTI activism, the Punjab State Information Commission (PSIC) has in a landmark stricture pulled up a district court for not facilitating information sought by a retired bank officer.
In its order on August 13, the Commission came down heavily on the Amritsar district court and said there is no excuse for holding information sought by K S Kathuria, a retired AGM of Punjab and Sindh Bank. The Commission’s order came after Kathuria, an Amritsar resident, turned to the PSIC when the court denied him information on records that junior judicial officers had allegedly tampered with.
Dismissing the court’s plea that information was denied because there wasn’t any public information officer (PIO) appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, chief information commissioner (CIC) Rajan Kashyap asked the court to reply to Kathuria’s queries.
‘Rules framed to aid execution of statute’
Chandigarh: Asking the court to reply to Kathuria’s queries after dismissing the court’s plea, CIC Rajan Kashyap said: ‘‘A judge is a public authority and in the absence of a PIO he has to act as an information officer.’’ The CIC further told the court that ‘‘the implementation of the RTI Act cannot be kept pending because of delay in formation of rules by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The rules are framed to aid and not to obstruct the implementation of the statute.’’
The Commission also rejected another plea put forward by the court that the sought information was not provided as ‘‘it was of personal nature having no relation with any public activity.’’ To this the CIC shot back saying, ‘‘The sought information is not of personal nature but is in public interest and the proper maintenance of judicial record is of utmost importance. It would be naive to classify such information as personal information having no relationship to any public activity or interest.’’
Kathuria had demanded information on certain records which, according to him, were tampered by junior officials of the Amritsar court to frame him in a criminal case of foodgrain theft dating back to 1998. According to him, the court had directed the police to re-investigate the case against him but on both occasions he had been absolved.
Publication: Times Of India Chandigarh; Date:2007 Aug 31; Section:Front Page; Page Number 1
In its order on August 13, the Commission came down heavily on the Amritsar district court and said there is no excuse for holding information sought by K S Kathuria, a retired AGM of Punjab and Sindh Bank. The Commission’s order came after Kathuria, an Amritsar resident, turned to the PSIC when the court denied him information on records that junior judicial officers had allegedly tampered with.
Dismissing the court’s plea that information was denied because there wasn’t any public information officer (PIO) appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, chief information commissioner (CIC) Rajan Kashyap asked the court to reply to Kathuria’s queries.
‘Rules framed to aid execution of statute’
Chandigarh: Asking the court to reply to Kathuria’s queries after dismissing the court’s plea, CIC Rajan Kashyap said: ‘‘A judge is a public authority and in the absence of a PIO he has to act as an information officer.’’ The CIC further told the court that ‘‘the implementation of the RTI Act cannot be kept pending because of delay in formation of rules by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The rules are framed to aid and not to obstruct the implementation of the statute.’’
The Commission also rejected another plea put forward by the court that the sought information was not provided as ‘‘it was of personal nature having no relation with any public activity.’’ To this the CIC shot back saying, ‘‘The sought information is not of personal nature but is in public interest and the proper maintenance of judicial record is of utmost importance. It would be naive to classify such information as personal information having no relationship to any public activity or interest.’’
Kathuria had demanded information on certain records which, according to him, were tampered by junior officials of the Amritsar court to frame him in a criminal case of foodgrain theft dating back to 1998. According to him, the court had directed the police to re-investigate the case against him but on both occasions he had been absolved.
Publication: Times Of India Chandigarh; Date:2007 Aug 31; Section:Front Page; Page Number 1
Functioning of SIC under scanner
Vaivasvat Venkat | TNN Ludhiana: The functioning of State Information Commission has come under scanner for its careless attitude towards discharging its duties.
The situation is such that irked by the attitude of the Commission, the information seekers are being forced to take certain steps out of sheer frustration and harassment. The startling fact came to light in a recent case in which an information seeker, Yogesh Dewan, finally requested the Commission to dismiss his case . “Being totally dissatisfied with the partial and lenient attitude of the SIC towards the Ludhiana municipal corporation, I here by request to dismiss my case,” reads out the submission of Dewan to the Commission.
The much disgruntled Dewan alleges that SIC has defeated the purpose of RTI Act 2005. Dewan says according to rules the information should be given to the seeker within 30 days, but in his case even after 300 days the information wasn’t provided. “SIC rarely imposes penalty on bureaucrats, following which bureaucrats indulge in persistent delays in supplying information to applicant, resulting in harassment,” rues Dewan.
Dewan informs it was on 06-03-07 that he had appealed to SIC under section 19 of RTI Act against public information officer (PIO) of LMC, but till now no information has been provided. He says information hasn’t been given even after 130 days of the appeal before SIC. The Commission kept warning PIO but he continued with the delay.
Publication: Times Of India Chandigarh; Date:2007 Sep 02; Section:Punjab Haryana; Page Number 3
The situation is such that irked by the attitude of the Commission, the information seekers are being forced to take certain steps out of sheer frustration and harassment. The startling fact came to light in a recent case in which an information seeker, Yogesh Dewan, finally requested the Commission to dismiss his case . “Being totally dissatisfied with the partial and lenient attitude of the SIC towards the Ludhiana municipal corporation, I here by request to dismiss my case,” reads out the submission of Dewan to the Commission.
The much disgruntled Dewan alleges that SIC has defeated the purpose of RTI Act 2005. Dewan says according to rules the information should be given to the seeker within 30 days, but in his case even after 300 days the information wasn’t provided. “SIC rarely imposes penalty on bureaucrats, following which bureaucrats indulge in persistent delays in supplying information to applicant, resulting in harassment,” rues Dewan.
Dewan informs it was on 06-03-07 that he had appealed to SIC under section 19 of RTI Act against public information officer (PIO) of LMC, but till now no information has been provided. He says information hasn’t been given even after 130 days of the appeal before SIC. The Commission kept warning PIO but he continued with the delay.
Publication: Times Of India Chandigarh; Date:2007 Sep 02; Section:Punjab Haryana; Page Number 3
Netas stay healthy, you paid for it
Rakesh Prakash | TNN Bangalore: For these MLAs, health is truly wealth. Unlike the poor in their constituencies, they get the best medical treatment without spending even a single rupee from their wallet.
Of the 225 members in the Karnataka assembly, a total of 108 MLAs have claimed medical allowances to the tune of Rs 82.88 lakh in just two years. Their principal sponsors: the taxpayers.
According to the documents procured by The Times of India under the RTI Act, some of those who have claimed medical reimbursements are ministers with a cash-rich background. While industries minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, whose monthly personal income is Rs 5.04 lakh, has claimed a medical reimbursement of Rs 1.35 lakh from the government, forest minister C Chennigappa has claimed Rs 2.9 lakh, despite his personal income being a whopping Rs 10 lakh per month. In the list are 11 other ministers. “These leaders are quite rich and can afford to undergo medical treatment at their own cost. That way, they will be saving public money which can be used to help the poor. Unfortunately, they are not that magnanimous,’’ an official rued.
According to the Karnataka Legislature (Members Medical Attendance) (Amended) Rules-1997, MLAs and members of their families are entitled to free medical treatment in all government hospitals and 53 private hospitals across the state. In Bangalore, they can get treatment in 31 private hospitals. They can also undergo treatment at five private super-speciality hospitals in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Vellore.
A scrutiny of the medical reimbursement claims made so far throws up some interesting facts. First, the medical expenditure incurred by the MLAs has been on the rise — from Rs 20.15 lakh in 2004 to Rs 27.44 lakh in 2005 and Rs 35.28 lakh in 2006. Second, a majority of the claims have been made by young MLAs and not the veterans who are visibly weak. Third, while some MLAs have claimed reimbursements on an annual basis, those like R Ashok and Jagadish Shettar have stopped it after becoming ministers.
On the veracity of the claims, a secretariat official chose not to comment. “There is no ceiling on MLAs’ medical expenses. We just receive the bills and refund the amount, we don’t even get to know for what disease the amount has been spent,’’ he said. In case of claims for refund of expenses incurred on account of purchase of special medicines, the MLAs have to produce a essentiality certificate countersigned by a medical officer authorised by the directorate of health services. With the government recently extending the medical allowances to the family members of former MLAs too, there is a need to streamline the system of refunding claims, the official said.
MLAs are NOT entitled to ...
l Buy spectacles or get dentures fixed. They can only get treatment and prescription from dentists and opticians.
l Get dentures made of special material like gold or silver.
l Free treatment at any government hospital for venereal diseases or any disease brought about by their intemperance. In other words, they will not receive treatment for AIDS at government cost.
l Claim refund for food and articles, like tonics, toiletries and disinfectants that do not have therapeutic value.
Publication: Times Of India Bangalore; Date:2007 Sep 03; Section:Times City; Page Number 6
Of the 225 members in the Karnataka assembly, a total of 108 MLAs have claimed medical allowances to the tune of Rs 82.88 lakh in just two years. Their principal sponsors: the taxpayers.
According to the documents procured by The Times of India under the RTI Act, some of those who have claimed medical reimbursements are ministers with a cash-rich background. While industries minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, whose monthly personal income is Rs 5.04 lakh, has claimed a medical reimbursement of Rs 1.35 lakh from the government, forest minister C Chennigappa has claimed Rs 2.9 lakh, despite his personal income being a whopping Rs 10 lakh per month. In the list are 11 other ministers. “These leaders are quite rich and can afford to undergo medical treatment at their own cost. That way, they will be saving public money which can be used to help the poor. Unfortunately, they are not that magnanimous,’’ an official rued.
According to the Karnataka Legislature (Members Medical Attendance) (Amended) Rules-1997, MLAs and members of their families are entitled to free medical treatment in all government hospitals and 53 private hospitals across the state. In Bangalore, they can get treatment in 31 private hospitals. They can also undergo treatment at five private super-speciality hospitals in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Vellore.
A scrutiny of the medical reimbursement claims made so far throws up some interesting facts. First, the medical expenditure incurred by the MLAs has been on the rise — from Rs 20.15 lakh in 2004 to Rs 27.44 lakh in 2005 and Rs 35.28 lakh in 2006. Second, a majority of the claims have been made by young MLAs and not the veterans who are visibly weak. Third, while some MLAs have claimed reimbursements on an annual basis, those like R Ashok and Jagadish Shettar have stopped it after becoming ministers.
On the veracity of the claims, a secretariat official chose not to comment. “There is no ceiling on MLAs’ medical expenses. We just receive the bills and refund the amount, we don’t even get to know for what disease the amount has been spent,’’ he said. In case of claims for refund of expenses incurred on account of purchase of special medicines, the MLAs have to produce a essentiality certificate countersigned by a medical officer authorised by the directorate of health services. With the government recently extending the medical allowances to the family members of former MLAs too, there is a need to streamline the system of refunding claims, the official said.
MLAs are NOT entitled to ...
l Buy spectacles or get dentures fixed. They can only get treatment and prescription from dentists and opticians.
l Get dentures made of special material like gold or silver.
l Free treatment at any government hospital for venereal diseases or any disease brought about by their intemperance. In other words, they will not receive treatment for AIDS at government cost.
l Claim refund for food and articles, like tonics, toiletries and disinfectants that do not have therapeutic value.
Publication: Times Of India Bangalore; Date:2007 Sep 03; Section:Times City; Page Number 6
CIC: Don’t seek reason before giving info under RTI
New Delhi: For any “public authority” to ask for reasons before disclosing information under the Right to Information Act is against the spirit of the legislation, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has held.
The commission Bench headed by information commissioner O P Kejariwal has expressed surprise over a Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) circular prohibiting disclosure of its recruitment results to anyone except the candidates concerned.
“The commission stands surprised at the circular because it seems to be against the spirit of the RTI Act which in no way lays down that the respondents (public authorities) will ask the appellant (information seekers) for reasons for disclosure of any information or his locus standi in the case,” it observed in a recent order.
Amitava Choudhury, a resident of Howrah in West Bengal, had moved an RTI application with South-Eastern Railway seeking inspection of files and records relating to selection for the post of train ticket collector through an examination held on May 23, 2003.
The application was forwarded to RRB, Kolkata and it had denied inspection of the details on the ground that Choudhury did not have a locus standi in the matter.
The RRB during the hearing, supported its claim by producing before the commission a board circular of June 12 last year which prohibited disclosure of examination results to anyone except the candidates concerned.
Strongly disapproving with the Board’s circular, the CIC asked it to open up all the relevant records to Choudhury by September 15 and has further directed it to immediately withdraw the circular.
“Since the circular gives a totally distorted picture of the RTI Act, commission directs the appropriate authorities for immediate withdrawal of the circular,” it said. AGENCIES
Publication: Times Of India Bangalore; Date:2007 Sep 05; Section:Times Nation; Page Number 14
The commission Bench headed by information commissioner O P Kejariwal has expressed surprise over a Railway Recruitment Board (RRB) circular prohibiting disclosure of its recruitment results to anyone except the candidates concerned.
“The commission stands surprised at the circular because it seems to be against the spirit of the RTI Act which in no way lays down that the respondents (public authorities) will ask the appellant (information seekers) for reasons for disclosure of any information or his locus standi in the case,” it observed in a recent order.
Amitava Choudhury, a resident of Howrah in West Bengal, had moved an RTI application with South-Eastern Railway seeking inspection of files and records relating to selection for the post of train ticket collector through an examination held on May 23, 2003.
The application was forwarded to RRB, Kolkata and it had denied inspection of the details on the ground that Choudhury did not have a locus standi in the matter.
The RRB during the hearing, supported its claim by producing before the commission a board circular of June 12 last year which prohibited disclosure of examination results to anyone except the candidates concerned.
Strongly disapproving with the Board’s circular, the CIC asked it to open up all the relevant records to Choudhury by September 15 and has further directed it to immediately withdraw the circular.
“Since the circular gives a totally distorted picture of the RTI Act, commission directs the appropriate authorities for immediate withdrawal of the circular,” it said. AGENCIES
Publication: Times Of India Bangalore; Date:2007 Sep 05; Section:Times Nation; Page Number 14
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)