New Delhi News.Net
Thursday 21st January, 2010 (IANS)

Central Information Commission (CIC) chief Wajahat Habibullah, who is waiting to head the Jammu and Kashmir information commission, has advised Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to move on with implementing Right To Information (RTI) in the state.

Habibullah, who is yet to be relieved of his duties at the centre, has urged Abdullah to appoint other information commissioners so that at least the commission can start functioning in insurgency ridden Jammu and Kashmir.

'I have advised Chief Minister Abdullah to go ahead and appoint other information commissioners so that the Jammu and Kashmir information commission starts functioning,' Habibullah told IANS.

Habibullah, who became the first chief of CIC in 2005, resigned from the post in October last year to head the State Information Commission (SIC) in Jammu and Kashmir following Abdullah's request for properly implementing the RTI Act passed by his government.

More than three months have passed since his resignation as the CIC, sent to President Pratibha Patil, but he has not been able to go as the government is yet to zero in on his successor.

'Yes, I resigned in October. There was a meeting between the prime minister and leader of opposition (Lok Sabha) but nothing happened. Once I am relieved from my post here, I will join there,' Habibullah said.

A member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of the 1968 batch, Habibullah has served in Kashmir in several capacities.

He was divisional commissioner of nine districts in the state between 1991 and 1993. The assignment was abruptly terminated by a near fatal road accident while negotiating with militants occupying the Hazratbal shrine in Kashmir in October 1993.

In the absence of information commissioners, RTI appeals are piling up in Kashmir.

Unhappy with RTI answer? Move the consumer forum
Jehangir B Gai14 December 2009, 02:07am IST

It is common knowledge that public information officers often do not furnish the information sought by the applicant

Information Act (RTI). Is an appeal to the appellate authority of the Information Commission the only
remedy? Or would failure to furnish information without valid reason constitute a deficiency in service for which compensation can be sought by filing a consumer complaint? This issue has been decided by the National Commission in a trendsetting judgment.

Case Study: Dr S P Thirumala Rao, a consulting physician in Mysore, was upset that some agency had dug up the footpath in front of his clinic for laying telephone cables through PVC pipes but had failed to restore it after completion of the work. The damaged footpath and the projecting pipe was causing obstruction to his patients as well as to pedestrians. He submitted two RTI applications to the Mysore City Municipal Corporation seeking information about the telephone service provider who was responsible for this.

As the information was not furnished within the prescribed period, he filed a consumer complaint before the District Consumer Forum claiming compensation and costs from the municipal corporation. In its defence, the corporation claimed that the information could not be furnished within the prescribed period due to heavy workload. It also claimed that the work was carried out by Reliance and the Government of India through the Department of Telecommunications, and hence the corporation could not be held responsible for the same. The jurisdiction of the consumer forum was also challenged.

The forum observed that the RTI Act bars the jurisdiction of courts, but not the consumer fora as the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) is meant to be an additional remedy. Further, the RTI Act does not deal with compensation for deficiency in service. Hence, a complaint filed to claim compensation for deficiency in service for failure to furnish the information would be maintainable under the CPA. Since delay was admitted, the forum awarded token damages of Rs 500 and costs of Rs 100.

The corporation challenged this order before the Karnatake State Commission. It argued that since the RTI provided for an appeal against failure to furnish the information sought, the proper remedy would have been to approach the appellate authority, and not the consumer forum. Hence, the complaint ought to be dismissed. The State Commission upheld this contention, allowed the appeal and dismissed the complaint.

Dr Rao then approached the National Commission by filing a Revision Petition. Being a matter of public importance, the commission appointed advocates Aditya Narain and Astha Tyagi as amicus curaie. In its judgment delivered by Justice R K Batta, presiding member, on behalf of the Bench comprising himself and S K Naik, the commission observed that the settled law was that even if a particular law barred the jurisdiction of courts, a complaint could still be filed under the provisions of the CPA as it provided an additional remedy.

The RTI Act did not bar the jurisdiction of the consumer fora. Also, the provision for appeal under the RTI Act was restricted to the failure to furnish the information sought, but there was no provision to claim compensation for deficiency in service. An applicant under the RTI Act has to pay fees for getting the information, and hence he acquires the status of a consumer. If there is any deficiency in service in respect of providing such information, a complaint could be filed under the CPA for claiming compensation.

With this reasoning, the National Commission set aside the order of the State Commission and restored that of the District Forum. [Judgment dated 28.05.2009 in the case of Dr S P Thirumala Rao v/s Municipal Commissioner, Mysore City Municipal Corporation.
This landmark and historic judgment is a new milestone, both for RTI as well as consumer activists, for holding the authorities accountable to the citizen.

The author is a consumer activist and has won the Govt of India’s National Youth Award for Consumer Protection. His e-mail is jehangir_gai@indiatimes.com

No amendments to RTI now: CIC
New Delhi: , Dec 5, DH News Service

Allaying fears of activists like Aruna Roy, Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah on Saturday said there was no urgency to bring amendments to the Right to Information Act.

While the UPA government was keen to amend the much-debated act, activists had been apprehensive that these changes might ultimately lead to the dilution of its provisions.
“It is too early to bring in amendments as adequate time should be given for its full evolution. Dilution of this law should not be accepted,” Habibullah told a group of women journalists here.

He also informed that the government was not averse to disclose file notings of the Cabinet after a decision was reached on a particular issue.

Commending the role of the judiciary in the evolution of the RTI Act, Habibullah said high courts like the Delhi High Court were helping the Commission to widen the contours of the act through a number of path-breaking judgements.

Rejecting allegations that the judiciary was not doing enough to bring in transparency in issues like the appointment of judges, he said there would always be issues where the limitations of the act would be put to test. “Judiciary is also forthcoming, they are not holding back information,” Habibullah said.

When asked about the Supreme Court stay on an order passed by the CIC directing its registry to furnish information about a Union Minister who allegedly approached Justice R Raghupathy of the Madras High Court to influence his decision in a case, Habibullah said: “No one contests it as the Supreme Court is supreme.”

Habibullah, who will take over shortly as the Chief Information Commissioner in Jammu and Kashmir, said the assassination attempt on Hurriyat Conference leader Fazal Haq Qureshi would not be a setback to the peace talks.

The senior bureaucrat, who had spent a major part of his career in the 90’s in Kashmir, said the prospects of bring about an enduring peace in the valley through dialogue was very bright.

“My motto there will be to give information to the people down in the villages, which is their due, and from which they have been deprived,” Habibullah said.

RTI delay: Mohali official fined

Express News Service
Tags : RTI
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009 at 0516 hrs
Chandigarh:

Hailing a recent order of the State Information Commission imposing a penalty of Rs 10,000 on the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority PIO, the coordination committee against paying guests said on one hand shops and commercial establishments in residential areas were banned, and on the other paying guest accommodations were doing a roaring business.

In March last year, P S Virdi of Mohali had sought information regarding shifting of paying guest accommodations from residential areas of Mohali. After not getting any response, he filed an appeal with the State Information Commission in March this year. Complete information was provided 11 months after initial request was submitted. Since there was a delay, the respondent PIO was directed to submit an affidavit by October 12 and a show-cause notice was served.

H S Sodhi, Superintending Engineer-cum-PIO, replied that since vast information was sought, the area of responsibility was divided among four superintendents. It also emerged that some of the documents pertained to policy branch too, which was also requested to forward it, he said, adding that since information had to be gathered from the field staff, it was a time consuming exercise. State Information Commissioner Lt Gen P K Grover (retd) said the reply reflects the lackluster approach of GMADA towards citizens and law, under which 30 days have been provided to supply information. “But strangely, the authority took about a year to gather the information, which was available at GAMDA’s office under one roof,” he said.

As govt plans to amend RTI, protests grow louder

Himanshi Dhawan, TNN 16 November 2009, 02:32am IST

NEW DELHI: With the government's tacit acceptance of the fact that amendments to Right to Information Act (RTI)
were on the agenda, activists are planning to step up protests and garner support from political parties.

On Saturday, DoPT secretary Shantanu Consul admitted that the government was deliberating on amendments to the Act even as he assured activists that the changes would only be finalised after a public consultation.

National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI) member and RTI activist Nikhil Dey said that even as it waited for the government's draft version, organisations were working to gather support at state level. "We will be organising state level agitations to resist changes to the Act and also petition political parties to take public position against amendments,'' Dey said.

He added that the "threat'' to changes in the legislation were very real but the battle was far from over.

The NCPRI had organised a protest march in Delhi on Saturday and hopes to keep up the momentum. "If it requires, we will approach the Congress leadership. We have reason to believe that there are sections within the party who do not support the amendments even as there are some who are determined that these changes come through,'' Dey said.

Among the proposed amendments that are currently being considered by the government are discouraging "vexatious and frivolous'' requests for information and exempting matters that are "discussions or consultations before a decision is arrived at'' -- a euphemism for "file notings.''

RTI activists pointed out that two current nation-wide studies, one under the aegis of the Centre and the other by people's organisations (RaaG and NCPRI), have both concluded that the main constraints faced by the government in providing information is inadequate implementation, the lack of training of staff and poor record management. They have also identified lack of awareness, along with harassment of the applicant, as two of the major constraints that prevent citizens from exercising their right to information.

Neither of these studies, despite interviewing thousands of PIOs and officials, has concluded that the occurrence of frivolous or vexatious applications is frequent enough to pose either a threat to the government or to the RTI regime in general. "Certainly, no evidence has been forthcoming in either of these studies that access to "file notings" or other elements of the deliberative process has posed a major problem for the nation. On the contrary, many of the officers interviewed have candidly stated that the opening up of the deliberative process has strengthened the hands of honest and sincere officials,'' an activist said.

Amendments to RTI Act on the anvil
Vidya Subrahmaniam

The Department of Personnel and Training (Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance and Pensions) has admitted that the government is considering amendments to the Right to Information Act, 2005.

The admission, which came at a meeting between RTI activists and DoPT Secretary Shantanu Consul on Saturday, ended the suspense over whether or not the government was contemplating amendments to the RTI.

Speculation in this regard started following a meeting that the DoPT had with Information Officers on October 14 where a proposal for the amendments was formally put on the table. However, the government refused to confirm or deny the move, leading to a growing anxiety in RTI circles.

Significantly, Mr. Consul assured the delegation led by Aruna Roy of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), that the amendments will only be introduced after hearing the views and objections of civil society groups. He said the department would initiate a “transparent and consultative process,” including putting up the draft amendments on the DoPT website, to enable public and civil society participation in their implementation.

Mr. Consul also said the amendments would not go through if civil society groups were able to convince the government that they were not necessary, and the purpose for which they were being considered could be met in other ways.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of activists from the NCPRI and other organisations gathered at Jantar Mantar to warn the government against tinkering with the RTI Act, 2005.

The delegation that met Mr. Consul presented him a letter containing their misgivings over the proposed amendments. The letter was signed. among others by Ms. Roy, Nikhil Dey and Shekhar Singh of the NCPRI and Annie Raja of the National Federation of Indian Women.

The signatories said they had apprehensions that the government was moving towards amending the RTI and cited as evidence the October 14 meeting between the DoPT and Information Officers.

The RTI activists also wrote to the Prime Minister on October 20, which was signed by dozens of public-spirited citizens. The letter argued that the proposed amendments — envisaging exemption from disclosure for official discussions and consultations (previously known as file notings) and prohibition of frivolous and vexatious complaints — far from strengthening the Act, as promised by the President in her June 4 address to Parliament, would in fact emasculate the Act.

The letter quoted two nation-wide studies, “one done under the aegis of the government,” to make the point that RTI was constrained, not by issues being considered for amendment such as frivolous complaints and file notings, but by inadequate implementation, lack of trained staff, and poor management. There was no suggestion in either of the studies that RTI work was hampered by “frivolous or vexatious” applications or by disclosure of “file notings,” it said.

The letter said: “This government gave its citizens the RTI Act, and there has been no crisis in government as a result of its enactment. In fact… its use by ordinary people is helping change its (the country’s) image to that of an open and receptive democracy. An amendment in the Act would be an obviously retrograde step, at a time when there is a popular consensus to strengthen it through rules and better implementation...”

Freedom of Information Act 2002 a bad law, says Husain Naqi

By Amar Guriro

KARACHI: Famous human rights activist, senior journalist and convener of the South Asia Media Commission, Husain Naqi, said on Friday said that the Freedom of Information Act 2002 is a bad law. He said that the law allowed suppressing of information and Pakistan needs a more democratic law that provides maximum disclosure and minimum concealment.

Addressing a lecture titled “The promise of and demand for freedom of information in Pakistan” arranged by the Sindh Independent Media Association (SIMA) in collaboration with the HRCP, Naqi said that a new law should be formulated based on alternative proposals presented by the civil society.

Naqi said that the Indian freedom of information law is much better in comparison with its Pakistani counterpart.

“As many as 30 million Indians exercise their right of access to information. In a country like India, this number is small but nevertheless it is promising,” he said.

He said that the information ministry is nothing less than a “disinformation ministry” and a burden on the national exchequer.

“Annually, the information ministry issues advertisements worth Rs 6-8 billion to newspapers, majority of which are dummy papers,” he said.

In the past, this ministry issued advertisements that were used for political patronage, he added.

During former army dictator Ayub Khan’s regime, every member of the basic democratic system was given declarations of newspaper, whereas genuine journalists were denied, he recalled.

He said that the right to information was as essential as the right to live and the right to shelter.

Talking about media icons, he said that not everyone in the contemporary media knows about the great writers and editors of the past.

Naqi questioned the development paradigm followed by the government in Balochistan. “It is a pity that you have money to build cantonments, but not health and education facilities,” he said.