MOST IMMEDIATE

1 1/43l2008-IR

Govemment of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance & Pension
Department of Personnel & Training
{.** * ** +
North Block, New Delhi
Dated I 3th February, 2OO9
To

pz--fhe
- Comm ittee Offi cer,
(Ms.Niagkhannem Guite)
Rajya Sabha Sectt
Parliament House, I

New Delhi-l1001.
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Subject:- Implementation of RII Act. 2005 : Memoranda (Nos.1-25) received from
indMduals/organisations containinq sussestions on the implemenation of the RTI Act.
2005 reeardinsr

Madam,

I am directed to refer to Rajya Sabha Secretariat letter No.RS.2\6/2007-P&L dated 9th

January, 2009 and to inform that a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on Right to Information
under the chairmanship of Dr.E.M.Sudarsala Natchiappan was held on 3.2.2009. The issues
raised in the representations came up for discussion in the FGD. A report of the FGD is
forwarded herewith for information and further necessary action.

Yourq faithfullY,

\fi,,P
(R.K.Girdhar)
Under Secretary * rn.rff;:
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"l Report of the Focus Group Discussion on Right to Information for the lr
Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel,
Public Grievances, Law and Justice
Introduction
The Department Related Parliamentary Committee on Personnel, Public

Grievances, Law and lustice, Headed by Dr. E. M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, M. P',

has taken up the subject "Implementation of the Right to Information Act, 2005" in
various Ministries, Depaftments/ Organizations/Institutions/PSUs etc.' for
examination and report. The Committee desires to explore the merits, shortcomings,
use/misuse of the act, which may necessitate amendments, if necessary, ;in the
Right to Information Act, 2005. Hence the Committee decided to invite memoranda
containing suggestionsl views/ comments of individuals/ institutions/ organizations,
interest in the above subject. The comments were called for in various news papers
on 22.11.2008.
In response to this a number of representations were received from both
individuals and various Civil Society Groups. During one of the hearings conducted
by the Department Related Parliamentary Standlng Committee on Personnel, Public
Grievances, Law and Justice, it was desired that the Department of Personnel and
Training may organize a meeting/ workshop with all the individuals/ Civil Society
representatives who had submitted memoranda. A Focus Group discussion was thus
held on 3'd February, 2009, at the India International Centre Annex under the
Chairmanship of Dr. E. M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, M.P. The'Agenda and a list of
attendees is attached at Annexure'A'and'B'.

Methodology
The workshop was flagged off by a welcome address by the Dr. S, K. Sarkar,
loint Secretary in-charge of RTI Division in Depaftment of Personnel and Training,
Government of India. Welcoming the participants, Dr. S.K.-,Sarkar, appreciated the
way the RTI legislation has progressed since its inception in 2005. He expressed his
enthusiasm in its further strengthening with the formulation of a Centrally Sponsored
Scheme with the objective to strengthen SICs , lgiry.ln'rp Stakeholder, awareness
generation through various means including interventidns in educational medium.
Dr. Sarkar also announced that an independent study is also underway on the
subject.
In his key note address, Dr. Natchiappan reminded the participants that
despite the time constraints the Parliamentarians have, they could formulate a
marvellous piece of legislation. He however expressed his unhappiness as some
Ministries/ Departments have failed to update their websites from time to time.
While inviting the recommendations of the civil society, Dr. Natchiappan said the
Parliamentary.Comrnittee did not want to amend the Act. The Committee desired to
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and Guidelines' He further added

that he
amend where necessary to the Rules
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would favour the abolition of the RTI application

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received and to enable

.

considering the large number'of representations

participants, four major issues were
identified
interaction and consultation by all
Department Related Parliamentary
from the representations received by the
Law and lustice' These are discussed
committee on Personnel, PUblic Grievances,
below.

Recommendations
TheparticipantsWeredividedintofour.focusgroupsonthebasisofthe
chosen randomly
of the focus groups were
representations received. The members them
from the participants. The four focus groups and issues placed before
among ,c,. The recommendations from the groups are as
for discussion are at Annexure
follows:

Group I: Issues relating to Access to Information by Information

Seekers.

Recommendation 1: Fee- amount and modes

DifferentCompetentAuthoritieshaveprescribeddifferentfeestructuresunder
the Act. Likewise, some PIOs also insist
of accepting application fees by way of
refuse to accept the same by cash'
It was
Demand Draft or Postal order and
must be uniform in all Public Authorities
suggested by the group that the fee
includingHighCourts-beitaninstrumentalityofCentralGovernmentorofState
some members of the
Authority. Though
Government or under any other competent
that can be affixed on the RTI
group felt that there should be a RTI Fee stamp
applicationasapplicationfee,thegroupstronglyfeltthat.l.'o:Y:':pmentofacall
such problem of
in Bihar' wouldteliminate
centre on the lines of lankari Call Centre file
Call centr' bY which people can
payment of fee. The development of a RTI
through phone, can also lead to simplifying the process of seeking
applications
information.

Recommendation 2: Format of application

Thegroupfeltthattheprescriptionofapplicationformatisnotagoodidea.
the format would
application' Developing
There should not be any format for filing to
to the imprementation of the Right to Information Act' It is difficult
be regressive in remote
in every public office for people living
access the Public Information officer
areas.sornemernberssuggestedthatthePostofficesbedesignatedtoactasPlos
and Right to Information Kiosks can
be
for all Public Authorities- central or state,
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\:i t opened in every post office, where a designated officer can extend all assistance to
the information seeker including helping him in drafting his application.

Recommendation 3: Role of Proactive disclosure

The group suggested that there should be specific time lines for
implementation of this provision of proactive discourse. The Government should be
asked to provide budgets wherever necessary. The status of implementation of this
section from each public authority under Central Government should be calle'd for.
Section a(lXbXxvii) of the RTI Act, 2005 requires that the information showld be
updated every year, which is not happening in many cases, The Government ghould
prescribe more and more categories of information to be published suo motu so that
people have to resoft least to filing of RTI requests. Each depaftment should be
required to do an annual review of all RTI requests received by them. The issues on
which most people have sought information should be disclosed suo motu under this
section. The group felt that there very few public authorities in the country, has
implemented Section 4(1) (c) and 4(1)(d). Implementation of these provisions would
enable large scale paticipation of people in formulation of Government policies. If
implemented properly, it would also substantially reduce the number of RTI
applications. Fufther all public authorities should be asked to observe at least half a
day every week as public disclosure day and throw open all its records for public
inspection without needing to file RTI applications. The group felt that senior most
officer or any designated officer in every Public Authority must be made accountable
for implementation of the disclosure under section 4. If the proactive disclosures are
not updated or revised, accountability of the officer responsible for non-
implementation must be fixed. On the issue of implementation of section + id the
organisations listed in second schedule or covered under section 24, the group felt
that such organisations must also implement section 4 of the Act and disclose all
such information that is not concerning security. r
Recommendation 4: Time lines for disposal of request

The group felt that the prescribed time limit for disposal of request by the
Public Information Officer is sufficient. But there is a need to prescribe a time limit
for the Information Commission to dispose of the appeals and complaints. Section 20
provides that the Commission "shall" impose a penalty if there is a delay in providing
information without reasonable cause or if any other ingredients of this provision are
fulfilled. But the information Commissions are not initiating any penalty proceedings.
The group felt that there should be an automatic mechanism of enquiry and notice
under section 20 of the Right to Information Act, if any of the provisions of section
20 are found in the .complaints/ appeals filed by the information seeker, The rules
must be framed to make it mandatory for the Informati,on Commissioners to initiate
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'! an enquiry for imposing penalty, if any of the provisions of section 20 exists. After l

conducting such enquiry, the Information Commissioner may decide to implement

penalty or drop it, but he should pass a reasoned order explaining rationale of his io

decision.
On the issue of disclosure of information under "Life and Liberty" clause of
the Right to Information Act, the Public Information Officer is required to disclose
information within 48 hours. But the discretion of accepting any application under
this clause is on the Public Information Officer. If the Public Information Officer
decides not to deal with such application under "Life and Libefty" clause, he can give
a reply within 30 days. He is not required to communicate this decision'of not
t'Life
dealing with such application under and Liberlry" Clause. The group felt ffrat the
guidelines should be framed to define "Life and Libefi" provision, and thd Public
Information Officer should also be required to communicate the decision of not
dealing with application under "Life and Libefi" clause within 48 hours. Further, the
time limit to deal with appeals and complaints for applications under Life and Liberty
claim must also be set for Appellate Authority and Information Commission.
The group also felt that the Information Commission must also be made more
accountable and sensitive to the information seeker.

Recommendation 5: Providinq adequate resources for implementation of RTI.

The group suggested that:

a) Fee paid by the citizen to the Public Authority for seeking information (including
photocopying charges) is not available for spending to the PIO, as the same but
goes to the consolidated fund of the centre/state, PIO has to use up his office
expenses to provide information. And if the information sought iS bulky, it eats
up a huge portion of his funds. This fee paid under RTI should be directly
available to the PIO to provide information.
b) Existing field officials have been designated as PIOs and are expected to do RTI
work also. If the numbers of applications are few, $rey can do it. But with
passage of time, these numbers are bound to rise. The group suggested that
there should be guidelines that if the number of RTI applications in a public
authority exceeds a particular number, new posts would be created for PIO. That
each PIO would handle only a particular number of RTI applications and appeals,
and if the number being handled by him/her exceeds that number, additional
posts would be created

GROUP II: Issues relating to information providers.

Recommendation 1: Number of Public Information Officers per Public Authority.

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a The group suggested that with regard to number of PIOs for public authority,
the public authority should clearly delineate the jurisdiction of each PIO on his web
site. Secondly there should be single window system at district and tehsil levels to
receive applications even in states. The concerned department should appoint
assistant pIOs in different units of a depaftment, and post offices should function as
APIOs for all public authorities of central and state governments.

Recommendation 2: Level of official/officer designated as PIO

After considering the issue of the level of officer/official designated'as PIO

and Appellate Authority, the group of the view that the officer second in ran{ or one
with sufficient authority to summon record must be designated as a PIO. Secondly,
the officer senior in rank should be designated at Appellate Authority'

Recommendation 3: Role of the Appellate AuthoriV

The group considered the role of the Appellate Authority and suggested that
the Appellate Authority must be targeted for training sensitization programmes.
ACRs of the pIO who has been penalised, must reflect this fact, and the Appellate
Authority must communicate this fact to the reviewing officer. Heads of the
Appellate authority should monitor the role of the first appeal.

Recommendation 4: Role of Information Commissloners

On issue of role of Information Commissioners, the group felt that the appeal
rules/information commission regulations should specify the time limit for the first
hearing and the final decision. Secondly, the Information Commissioners should
issue penalty show cause notices to PIOs in every case where the order of disclosure
of information is not obeYed.

Recommendation 5:
seeker.

On issue of mind set of information provider/information seekers, the group

suggested more training and sensitisation to the information providers secondly they
felt that a multi stake holders advisory monitoring committee should be set up at all
levels from central to the tehsils which should include the representatives of the
governments, civil society organization, media and the information commissions.

Recommendation 6: Other issues

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The other issues that the group discussed were, penalty recovery should be
streamlined by making relevant Rules; PAs should repoft compliance about
recovery; ICs must become approving authorities for content and manner of
penalty
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proactive disclosure; and no fees should be charged for appeals process as this is
illegal (6 states charge appeals fee).
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Group III: Issues , relating to Awareness Generation and Capacity I

Building i

Based on the experiences of the group.members with regard to the yaY the
Act is being implemented the following recommendations were qiven regarding
awareness campalgns:

. For awareness generation the mass media must be used such as T.V' spots,
documentary fiims, slide shows which could be shown in cinema halls,
Doordarshan, radio programmes on Vividh Bharati/All India Radio which has
a

wide outreach. Good examples are those that have'been developed for
NREGA, pulse polio campaign, total literacy mission etc;
' Use of popular educationil methods such as posters, leaflets, pamphlets,
street ptays, songs can be used to spread the message of RTI;
. At the village le-vel and in small towns as well as in the larger cities, RTI
hoardings c-an be put up by the government in prominent places' In villages
wall wr'rlings on RTI can be done in different places similar to_what political
parties do before elections. This can also be done at places frequented by
people such as the Gram Panchayat office, ration shops, primary health
centre, school etc.;
RTI fllms can be produced in different languages for different audiences'
These films can be based on real life success stories;
Use of mobile phones (sms messages) can be used for spreading awareness
about RTI;
. Each state government depending on the availability of funds must
produce
RTI user grld.r in simple language which can be egsily understood by all;
. RTI stallican be put up at local village fairs as r,rlell as at the larger fairs in
the bigger towns'and cities. These stalls will nOt only provide information
about RTI Act and sell books but also have trained volunteers who could
assist citizens in drafting RTI applications, appeals and complaints;

Capacity Building and Training

. The Central Government as well as the state governments should draw up a
plan for institutionalizing RTI trainings in its various training institutes
(Rdministrative Training lnsUtutes, State Institute for Rural Development,
for
Departmental training institutes). Sufficient resources must be allocated
conducting RTI training programmes.for officers at the central, state and
loca.l

. levels on a. regular basis.

. Organise effective training programmes for CPIOs, SPIOs, APIOs and
ap[ellate authorities at all levels. Quality of tlie training programmes must be
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ensured and efforts must be made to conduct follow-up trainings. Regular
meetings with master trainers must be done in order to ensure continuity;
. Guidance manuals explaining the key sections of the Act, especially
interpreting Section B can be developed for the government officers (PIOs)

Role of Civil SocietY

Over the last few years, many NGOs and other civil society actors have
gathered a lot of experience regarding implementation of the RTI Act at the field
level, the problems faced by both the supply and the demand side, obstacles in
effective implementation of the Act etc. Thgy have also carried out awareness
generation programmes using innovative methods. At the centre as well aS in the
states, the NGOs can partner with the government in carrying out awareness
programmes as well"as build capacities of public authorities. The civil society and the
government together can identify a pool of resource persons at the central and state
level who could be the'pTI Expert Group'to impart training on the issue. They could
work on a RTI training module, training manual as well as educational materials.
Ideally these modules, manuals and educational materials should be made at the
state level in the local language by the state level RTI expert group. These materials
could be published by the respective state government;

Inclusion in School and College syllabus

Incorporation of RTI in syllabus at different levels: All the education boards at
the central and state level, universities, and colleges must include a chapter on RTI
in the syllabus. In the school syllabus, especially, other than teaching the theory of
RTI, the students can also carry out practical projects on RTI .by applying for
information and taking the information obtained to its logical conclusion. By this,
they will understand the impoftance and value of this revolutionary act

Use of E-governance Tools

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. The website of each public authority and government depadment could start
with the RTI Act explaining its value and particularly the role of the public
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authority, pIO, APIO and appellate authority. The salient features of the Act
could be explained in a simple manner easily understood by all;
. A government website could be developed exclusively on RTI. This website
could have links to all the Information Commissions, state level and central
level public authorities, success stories etc'
. The Jankari Call Centre in Bihar has been a great success story as it has made
it very easy for people living in different parts of the state to file their RTI
applications, This e-gorernante tool could be replicated in other states as well
as the centre as well.
. A training CD could be developed .for use by the government officials at
different levels, especially at the central ad state level. This could be a useful
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way of imparting knowledge about RTI and how to implement the same,
since it may not be possible to conduct training programmes for all due to the
high costs. CDs could be specifically made for the PIOs in order for them to
understand their role;

Group IV: Issues related to delay in disposal;

Recommendation 1: Filing of RTI applications and appeals !

The process of filing an application or an appe.al under RTI Act should be simplified,
so that every citizen can file it easily. At present it is extremely difficult to filg an RTI
application or to file an appeal. In order to take RTI to masses, it is extremely
impoftant to simplify these procedures.

, Recommendation 2: Full and Correct information

The group stressed that there are instances where despite the Information
Commissioners' orders people have not got any information. They pass orders
directing the PIO to provide information and close the case. PIOs still do not provide
information. Keeping this in view, Information Commission should not close any case
by merely passing an order directing the PIO to provide information. Normally, after
passing an order the case is closed and an applicant is expected to approach the
Commission again if the order is not complied with. After passing the above order,
the group suggested, another date of hearing should be fixed wherein the PIO
should be directed to report compliance and the citizen should repoft satisfaction.
The case should not be closed till such time as a citizen repofts satisfaction. In every
hearing, next date should be fixed during the hearing only.
Information Commissioners have powers under section 18 to sUmmon officials
and seek production of records. Even when public authorities repeatedly fail to
'provide information,
the Commissioners, rather than using these powers, merely are
sending reminders. A case should not be closed after first hearing. Next date should
be given for compliance. If the officials fail to provide full 4nd correct information in
the next hearing, the CIC should summon records undeF section 18 and provide
them to the citizen in the next hearing. The group suggested Model Rules, which are
annexed as Annexure-D.

Recommendation 3: Receipt of Information on Time

The Group expressed concern over the fact that the Commissions are facing a huge
pendency within three years of enactment of RTI Act. There should be strict time
lines for PIOs and first appellate authorities to ensure that people got information in
time. A similar time frame should be prescribed for Information Commissions also.
The Information Commissioners should ensure that the flrst hearing should take
place within two months of receipt of an RTI application.

Recommendation +: Arbitrary rejection of cases by Information Commissions.

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The management rules and appeal format by CIC are too cumbersome. CIC should
be directed to withdraw its management rules.

Recommendation 5: Failure to penalize guilty officials

The group suggested that the strict enforcement of section 20 and imposing of
penalty is key to better implementation of the provisions of the RTI ACT.

Recommendation 6: ,

The process of appointment of the Information Commissioners is completety opaque

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and arbitrary. The group suggested that there should be a process, which is
transparent and participatory for the appointment of Information Commissioners.

Recommendation 7: Removal of Information Commissioners.

The process of removal of Information Commissioners is not clearly defined under

the Act. It needs to be clarified. The group suggested laying down of procedures for
dealing with public complaints against Information Commissioners.

Recommendation B: Life and liberty cases.

Rightto Information Act provides that the application dealing with the Life and
Libe0 of a person shall be replied within 48 hours. If the PIO does not respond
within 48 hotrrs, no such time limit is fixed for the first Appellate Authority or for the
Information Commission. If anyone invokes the life and liberty clause, CIC should
pass a speaking order within 48 hours of receipt of complaint whether it is a case of
life and libety. If it is, CIC should ensure that the person receives full and correct
information within next 48 hours.
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Recommendation 9: National Advisory Council

The group suggested that a national RTI Advisory Council should be formed, which
should consist of representatives of DOPT, some PIOs, the Chief Information
Commissioner and some RTI activists. Such a Council should meet regularly and
deliberate on all the problems faced by PIOs and citizens.

Recommendation 10: Audit

The group suggested that a comprehensive audit needs to be done with regard to
compliance of the provisions of the RTI Act in the Public Sector Undertakings. An
RTI audit shall allow the PSU Management to enforce accountability and
transparency. Since the provisions of the RTI Act have standard procedures, a
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fol'mal mechanism to audit them and a certification like ISO 9001 can be thought of
for the PSUs.

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