THESE headlines in UP newspapers show that the power of governance has at last reached the doorstep of the common man, never mind that it has taken six decades. The enactment of the Right to Information Act, 2005 was a truly historic event, giving citizens the right to access information “held by or under control of” the public authorities. The Act sought to establish transparency as the norm and secrecy as an exception in the working of every public authority. This will contain corruption and ensure accountability to the governed.
However, the RTI is also being put to use by various people to serve their own ends. In the recent Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, Opposition politicians, especially of the Congress, resorted to the RTI to gather information about the BJP Ministers for use in the poll campaign. Members of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party called it an innovative idea, which they too would use in the next elections.Congresswoman Jamuna Devi, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, took the lead in employing RTI to collect information about the omissions and commissions of the BJP Ministers. She called RTI a powerful weapon to expose the corruption and false promises of the ruling BJP. The Congress splashed the information gathered through RTI in election advertisements and posters. The scenario repeated itself in UP where the Congress created an RTI cell under the dynamic Shailendra Singh, former provincial police services officer, and started a campaign against the Mayawati government. This helped the Congress gain much momentum in the Parliamentary election, winning 21 seats.
DURING the two years of its existence, the call centre has received 22,600 calls of which 7,070 were to submit applications under RTI, 3016 for filing first appeal and 1,400 for filing second appeals before the State Information Commission, according to Amir Subhani, Principal Secretary, Personnel. The number of applications from rural areas was less than the number from Patna. Subhani admitted that this was due to not enough effort being made to disseminate awareness about the programme and also the poor connectivity of BSNL landlines. Remedial steps are being taken.
Bihar is the first state to implement the Jankari project, the brainchild of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The state won the national e-governance award for 2008-09 for this initiative.
In UP, RTI has also been in the news for other reasons. The state’s Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), MA Khan, was suspended by the Governor for alleged misconduct and irregularities in some appointments. Then, the file recommending Ram Kumar, a controversial retired IAS officer, for the CIC’s post was returned by Governor TV Rajeswar who asked the state government to reconsider its decision. Rajeswar said Ram Kumar’s appointment would go against the spirit of a Constitutional post. He is the only IAS officer in UP whose services were terminated on charges of corruption and possession of disproportionate assets. But the new CIC, Ranjeet Singh Pankaj, is also a tainted bureaucrat and a PIL against his appointment has been filed with the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court.
The Mayawati government also tried to eliminate 14 subjects from RTI jurisdiction, including appointment of the Governor and Ministers, and the latter’s code of conduct. After strong protests from all corners, the decision was rescinded. Now the State Information Commission is inundated with appeals and complaints. Till March 2009 it had admitted 67,346 appeals and complaints, including 32,025 cases filed in 2008. Information Commissioner Gyanendra Sharma points out that people approach the SIC in frustration over the indifferent attitude of government departments.
An RTI application filed by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal revealed that the Centre spent a paltry Rs 2 lakh on publicity about the RTI Act last year through DAVP/ Prasar Bharti. It was also revealed that there were no plans to spend the Rs 300 crore allotted earlier for the purpose. Money has been spent on photo advertisements for publicity of political rulers.
At a recent two-day RTI workshop in Lucknow, the UP Chief Secretary joined rights activists in the demand for the RTI Act to be given more teeth and stated that the government was ready to provide any information. “I have advised all government departments to keep their doors open to anyone seeking information under the RTI Act, which is a law to protect the interests of common people. People in government must realize that they will also be like ordinary citizens once they retire. Therefore they must put themselves in the shoes of the common man while dealing with RTI requests,” he said.
Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, who was the chief guest at the workshop, attributed the tendency among officials to conceal information to the British Raj mindset. Over 50 countries now have freedom of information laws and another 15-20 are actively considering adopting one, he pointed out.
Unfortunately, despite RTI’s successes, there are innumerable blots. In Bihar, bureaucrats have learnt to respond to RTI with harassment. Purushottam Prasad of Nalanda district had sought details of land reforms, and was implicated in a false case of theft of kerosene drums. Retired Armyman Chandradeep Singh spent 23 days in jail, charged with attempting to rape a woman in Maner under Patna district. He had sought information about the murders of his son and daughter from the police.
ACCORDING to Parveen Amanullah, co-ordinator of the Bihar Right to Information Manch, government officials are known to lodge false cases against those who dare to expose corruption. There are at least 14 instances the Manch knows about. State Information Commissioner PN Narayanan has ordered an inquiry. Dr Sachin Agrawal, an RTI activist from UP, knows of the harassment of a farmer, Bajrang Bahadur Singh, who filed an RTI on land reforms and allotment in Jaunpur district in 2007. He was reportedly thrashed by the then District Magistrate, Anurag Yadav, in his office. Later, the harassment was exposed and a case is pending in Allahabad High Court. The farmer cycles 90 km to attend hearings in Allahabad High Court. His appeal is also pending with the State Information Commission.
“A close study of such cases would probably show that the corrupt bureaucracy is bent on rendering the RTI Act useless,” adds Agrawal, a lecturer in Jaunpur University.
However, the RTI is also being put to use by various people to serve their own ends. In the recent Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, Opposition politicians, especially of the Congress, resorted to the RTI to gather information about the BJP Ministers for use in the poll campaign. Members of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party called it an innovative idea, which they too would use in the next elections.Congresswoman Jamuna Devi, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, took the lead in employing RTI to collect information about the omissions and commissions of the BJP Ministers. She called RTI a powerful weapon to expose the corruption and false promises of the ruling BJP. The Congress splashed the information gathered through RTI in election advertisements and posters. The scenario repeated itself in UP where the Congress created an RTI cell under the dynamic Shailendra Singh, former provincial police services officer, and started a campaign against the Mayawati government. This helped the Congress gain much momentum in the Parliamentary election, winning 21 seats.
Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah attributed the tendency among officials to conceal information to the British Raj mindset. Over 50 countries now have freedom of information laws and another 15-20 are actively considering adopting one.
These instances have shown that till now the people lacked a means to haul up the administration and political leaders. The RTI has filled this gap. It is also serving to educate the common man about his rights. Initiative is also being shown by those on the other side of the divide. A call centre in Patna, aptly named Jankari, helps the rural population of Bihar to file RTI applications and get information from all government departments in Bihar. Members of the public can submit RTI applications by dialling 155311. The call centre executives draft the applications and send them to the authorities.- Bureaucracy in UP shaken over SIC directive to disclose moveable and immoveable assets of its members on its website within six weeks
- UP Chief Secretary summoned and slammed for not implementing RTI.
- In response to an RTI plea exposed 36 ex-MPs are yet to vacate bungalows.
- NHRC seeks report on raw deal to RTI activist.
- 60 marble elephants at the Ambedkar Memorial constructed at Lucknow by Mayawati government are worth Rs 52 crore, exposed in an RTI reply
DURING the two years of its existence, the call centre has received 22,600 calls of which 7,070 were to submit applications under RTI, 3016 for filing first appeal and 1,400 for filing second appeals before the State Information Commission, according to Amir Subhani, Principal Secretary, Personnel. The number of applications from rural areas was less than the number from Patna. Subhani admitted that this was due to not enough effort being made to disseminate awareness about the programme and also the poor connectivity of BSNL landlines. Remedial steps are being taken.
Bihar is the first state to implement the Jankari project, the brainchild of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The state won the national e-governance award for 2008-09 for this initiative.
In UP, RTI has also been in the news for other reasons. The state’s Chief Information Commissioner (CIC), MA Khan, was suspended by the Governor for alleged misconduct and irregularities in some appointments. Then, the file recommending Ram Kumar, a controversial retired IAS officer, for the CIC’s post was returned by Governor TV Rajeswar who asked the state government to reconsider its decision. Rajeswar said Ram Kumar’s appointment would go against the spirit of a Constitutional post. He is the only IAS officer in UP whose services were terminated on charges of corruption and possession of disproportionate assets. But the new CIC, Ranjeet Singh Pankaj, is also a tainted bureaucrat and a PIL against his appointment has been filed with the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court.
The Mayawati government also tried to eliminate 14 subjects from RTI jurisdiction, including appointment of the Governor and Ministers, and the latter’s code of conduct. After strong protests from all corners, the decision was rescinded. Now the State Information Commission is inundated with appeals and complaints. Till March 2009 it had admitted 67,346 appeals and complaints, including 32,025 cases filed in 2008. Information Commissioner Gyanendra Sharma points out that people approach the SIC in frustration over the indifferent attitude of government departments.
A call centre in Patna, aptly named Jankari, helps the rural population of Bihar to file RTI applications and get information from all government departments in the state
Yet, lack of publicity remains a major loophole in the effective implementation of this Act. A recent survey conducted in 10 states by a group of voluntary bodies claimed that over a fourth of government officials designated for disseminating information under the RTI Act were unaware of their duty.An RTI application filed by activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal revealed that the Centre spent a paltry Rs 2 lakh on publicity about the RTI Act last year through DAVP/ Prasar Bharti. It was also revealed that there were no plans to spend the Rs 300 crore allotted earlier for the purpose. Money has been spent on photo advertisements for publicity of political rulers.
At a recent two-day RTI workshop in Lucknow, the UP Chief Secretary joined rights activists in the demand for the RTI Act to be given more teeth and stated that the government was ready to provide any information. “I have advised all government departments to keep their doors open to anyone seeking information under the RTI Act, which is a law to protect the interests of common people. People in government must realize that they will also be like ordinary citizens once they retire. Therefore they must put themselves in the shoes of the common man while dealing with RTI requests,” he said.
Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah, who was the chief guest at the workshop, attributed the tendency among officials to conceal information to the British Raj mindset. Over 50 countries now have freedom of information laws and another 15-20 are actively considering adopting one, he pointed out.
Unfortunately, despite RTI’s successes, there are innumerable blots. In Bihar, bureaucrats have learnt to respond to RTI with harassment. Purushottam Prasad of Nalanda district had sought details of land reforms, and was implicated in a false case of theft of kerosene drums. Retired Armyman Chandradeep Singh spent 23 days in jail, charged with attempting to rape a woman in Maner under Patna district. He had sought information about the murders of his son and daughter from the police.
ACCORDING to Parveen Amanullah, co-ordinator of the Bihar Right to Information Manch, government officials are known to lodge false cases against those who dare to expose corruption. There are at least 14 instances the Manch knows about. State Information Commissioner PN Narayanan has ordered an inquiry. Dr Sachin Agrawal, an RTI activist from UP, knows of the harassment of a farmer, Bajrang Bahadur Singh, who filed an RTI on land reforms and allotment in Jaunpur district in 2007. He was reportedly thrashed by the then District Magistrate, Anurag Yadav, in his office. Later, the harassment was exposed and a case is pending in Allahabad High Court. The farmer cycles 90 km to attend hearings in Allahabad High Court. His appeal is also pending with the State Information Commission.
“A close study of such cases would probably show that the corrupt bureaucracy is bent on rendering the RTI Act useless,” adds Agrawal, a lecturer in Jaunpur University.
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