Quarterly Newsletter : June-July-August 2013 (Volume I)

From the CIC's Desk

While relinquishing the Chief Information Commissioner's office on 4th September 2013, I feel proud in releasing this first ever Quarterly Newsletter of the National Federation of Information Commissions of India (NFICI). making a powerful impact on checking corruption and misconduct in public authorities, even at the very initial stage of filing first RTI petition with Public Information Officers of public authorities covered under the Act. However, at the same time, we must also accept that the implementation of the RTI Act in many parts of India is still in its infancy, with most people, including the Government machinery, not knowing enough about it. There is a general consensus that a lot still needs to be done urgently to make the public aware of the power of the RTI Act, including its how to aspects. We must therefore strive to. To reflect upon my tenure as the Chief Information Commissioner, I would submit that I am a firm supporter of citizens fundamental rights, and I am convinced that closer interaction between the citizens and the Government machinery is necessary for greater transparency in the long run. We have been proceeding steadily and slowly on the path towards complete transparency. I am of the view that this needs to be hastened, especially to ensure effective and participatory Governance. In this regard, it is a matter of satisfaction for me, that over the past five years I have generally been in a position to do justice to the CICs chair, and to the trust which the President of India had conferred upon me while appointing me to that position. To conclude, I would express my earnest gratitude to all concerned for their valuable contribution in keeping our great nation informed under the powers of RTI. I believe that the citizens right to information is as much a treasure to each of you, as it is to me. And therefore, I do hope you will all strive to take the RTI to even greater heights, acceeding to this parting request of mine. Thank you all once again, and au revoir. Let those in power be truthful.

I also take this opportunity to thank every one of you who have been working hard to strengthen the Citizens Right to Information from Information Commissioners to PIOs, and from RTI activists to our humble citizens. I took oath as the Chief Central Information Commissioner, the highest office in the realms of RTI, on 5th September 2008. Since then, I have been watching RTI grow from infancy to adolescence. Over these years, the Act has set out the practical RTI regime for citizens to secure access to information from public authorities, and has been promoting transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. The CIC and the SICs have also been constituted under the same Act. And now, after 65 years of the country's independence, time has come when all concerned should decide that every information relating to Governance must be made available to the general public. You will all agree that the RTI Act has been a great success in creating fear psychology amongst the erring officers of public authority. It has been

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Deepak Sandhu likely to be next CIC New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) : Mrs. Deepak Sandhu, a retired Indian Information Service (IIS) officer of 1971 batch, presently serving in Central Information Commission as Information Commissioner is likely to be appointed as next Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) to succeed Satyanand Mishra who retires on 5th September 2013. It is learnt that the Committee under the chairmanship of Prime Minister has cleared this appointment and the file recommending her name has been sent to the President's office for approval. The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2013 introduced in Lok Sabha New Delhi : The issue of amending the Right to Information Act 2005 came to limelight after a 3 June 2013 Central Information Commission (CIC) Full Bench order. In its order CIC stated that six national political parties namely, INC, BJP, CPI(M), CPI, NCP, and BSP would be brought under the RTI Act as they were public authorities, receiving significant funding from the government. The order of the CIC had evoked sharp reactions from political parties, especially Congress which has been credited with bringing in the transparency law. The Union Minister of State for Personnel and Training V Narayanasamy on 12 August 2013 introduced The Right to Information

(Amendment) Bill 2013 in Lok Sabha. The Union Cabinet approved the amendments to the RTI Act 2005 on 2 August 2013. The Bill was introduced to amend the Right to Information Act, 2005, to exclude the political parties from the definition of Public authority for the purpose of the Act. Highlights of the RTI (Amendment) Bill 2013 1.The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2013 seeks to insert an explanation in Section 2 of the Act which states that any association or body of individuals registered or recognised as political party under the Representation of the People Act, 1951 will not be considered a public authority. 2.Referring to the CIC order of June, the bill also makes it clear that anything contained in any judgement, decree or order of any court or commission will not affect the status of political parties recognised under the Representation of the People Act. 3.With a view to remove the adverse effects of the Central Information Commission decision, the bill states that it is necessary to give retrospective effect to the proposed amendment. 4.The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, states that the government considers that the CIC has made a liberal interpretation of Section 2 (h) of the said (RTI) Act in its decision. 5.The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill also points that there are already provisions in the RP Act as well as the Income Tax Act which deal with transparency in the financial aspects of political parties and their candidates.

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Unique workshop on RTI Act Pune : A special workshop held by BARTI on the provisions of the RTI Act 2005. Section 26 (1), throws light on the immense power that common man can have because of the right to information Under Section 26 (1), the appropriate government is mandated to develope awareness programs and trainings for the backward and under privileged sections, thus leading to overall fulfillment of the goals of the Act. With a view to create awareness about the right to information, the Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI), Pune, organized a one- day workshop at the Yashada campus, Pune on August 31, 2012. The unique workshop was held as part of a series of programmes under an awareness campaign started by the Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra, Mr. Ratnakar Gaikwad, who had urged the BARTI to create awareness about the provisions of the RTI Act 2005 Section 26 (1) among various sections of the society and among the citizens from disadventaged sections on priority. In response to this communication, the Director General of BARTI, Pune had shown great interest and willingness to organize various awareness programmes about the RTI Act. The BARTI is indeed an organization dedicated to the cause of training and development of the underprivileged sections working the department of Social Justice, State of Maharashtra, he had stated. Thus, a series of workshops was planned and delivered. The Workshop: A state level one of its kind workshop, this initiative saw a participation of 109 participants from various underprivileged and ill informed sections like scheduled castes,

scheduled tribes, migrating tribes, other backward castes, physically challenged sections etc. Representatives from scheduled tribes like Mahadev Koli, Warli, Katkari, Pavra, Pardhi, Kokani etc. also attended the workshop. Participants were also present from the Naxalite prone and remote areas of Gadchiroli district of the state. The workshop saw a presence of various officials from government and semi government organizations like; Dr. Sanjay Chahande, Director General, Yashada, Dr. D.R. Parihar, Direcrtor General, BARTI Pune, Mr. Ashok Dhivare, retd. Addl DGP, Mr. Pralhad Kachare, Director,Center for Right to Information, Yashada, Pune, Mr. Vivek Velankar, RTI activist, Pune. Speaking on the occasion, the State Chief Information Commissioner, Mr Gaikwad stressed on the need to bring about a culture of awareness as he said the right to information is in line with the fundamental and constitutional rights provided by the Indian Constitution. Speaking on the importance of creating awareness about the provisions of the RTI Act Section 26 (1), he said The RTI Act can help people understand the provisions for spending, budgetary allocations and the money spent for the cause of tribal and other development issues. This will be helpful to bring the tribals into the mainstream. He said teams of about 10 volunteers from each taluka and about 100 participants from each district can be set up for the purpose of creating awareness about the provisions of the RTI Act 2005. He also mentioned that a small booklet can be published on the topic for use by all. The team of experts present on the occasion upheld the importance of creating awareness about the RTI Act 2005 and recommended a few things as, mentioned below :-

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 Workshops must be held at all levels like taluka, district, state level. Information on the RTI Act 2005 should be included in the school curriculum and awareness workshops must be held for school and college students. The respective district collectors should be informed by the Information Commissioners about conducting these workshops. The information about the RTI Act 2005 should be published in booklets in local and tribal languages that can be read by all sections in society. A paradigm shift should be made from the overall thought pattern that the common man does not get fair justice and the RTI Act should be used as a tool to help the masses. All the Panchayati Raj and Zilla Parishad representatives should be informed and trained about the RTI Act. Special workshops should be held for designated scheduled tribes and groups like Pardhi, Katkari, Gond, Madiya etc. A special team of trainers for the RTI workshops can be created at district levels with about ten trainers for each district. BARTI can lead this initiative and hold the workshops/training sessions. The trainers should be provided with proper training material. The District Planning Commission should take care of funding the training initiative. Instill hunger for information - Lalhuma Kohima: Nagaland Chief Information Commissioner Lalhuma Thursday appealed government officials to create an environment where there was hunger for seeking more information by the public.

He was addressing the concluding day of the 3day training on Right to Information Act 2005 for AA/PIO/APIO and other officers at the conference hall of the Administrative Training Institute (ATI), Kohima Thursday. Lalhuma said the RTI was a very powerful tool to check corruption in the society. He said transparency in the system would elevate the stature of good governance and the same could be achieved if there was political will. He advised the Public Information Officers (PIO) not to harass the public unnecessarily while seeking information. He also asked the gathering to ponder on why Tuensang district had the highest number of RTI applicants with 220 in 2011-12 while Kohima and Dimapur districts with many intellectuals had just 63 and 55 applicants respectively during the same period. The resource persons of the 3-day training programme included Dr. S. Rongsen Longkumer on concept and salient features of RTI Act 2005 and role of public information officers and assistant public information officers; Dr. Hovithal N.Sothu on the topic obligation of the public authorities and role of appropriate government and classification of information; L.Youdang Jamir on appeals & penalties, appellate authority fee structure and time limits and W. Ezung on how to handle RTI and effective implementation of RTI Act. Supreme Court stays part of its verdict on appointments in Information Commissions New Delhi: While hearing an interim application filed by former Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi and activist Aruna Roy, the Supreme Court has stayed a part of its own judgment in Namit Sharma v. Union of India (2013(1) SCC 745) which mandated

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that only a sitting or retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a Supreme Court judge could head the Central and State Information Commissions. The stay order was passed on 15th April 2013 by a Division Bench of Justices A.K.Patnaik and A.K.Sikri and it will continue during the pendency of the review petition filed against the judgment in Namit Sharma [Review Petition (C) No. 2309 of 2012.] The apex court passed the interim order, saying it will be subject to the outcome of the petitions filed by the Centre and others seeking review of its verdict on appointment of information commissioners. "We make it clear that subject to orders that may be finally passed after hearing the review petitions, the competent authority will continue to fill up the vacant posts of information commissioners in accordance with the Act and in accordance with the judgement ... except subparas which we have stayed.

The stayed sub paras of the apex court's September 13, 2012 judgement had stipulated that information commissions should work in benches of two members and each bench should comprise of a legally trained member, who is to be appointed in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and chief justices of the high courts of states concerned. The bench also clarified in its order that "the chief commissioners already functioning will continue to function until the disposal of the review petitions". For detailed information, please visit our website http://www.nfici.org. If information is denied, first appeal is the lawful remedy Bangalore: Applicants seeking information under the Ri ght to Information Act cannot directly approach the State Information Commission on being refused information by

"This is to ensure that functioning of the information commissioners in accordance with the Act and the judgement is not affected during the pendency of the review petitions," it said.

public information officers (PIOs). The High Court of Karnataka ruled that applicant will have to first exhaust the lawful remedy under the provision for the first appeal before the first appellate authority within the public authority concerned And, the State Information Commission cannot directly entertain a complaint against the PIOs or initiate action against them for refusing to provide information

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if the complainant has not used the first appeal provision. Justice S. Abdul Nazeer of the High Court issued the directions while allowing petitions filed by Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (BESCOM) and three of its officers. The petitioners had challenged the action of the State Information Commission in imposing a penalty on the officers besides permitting the applicant, S. Naresh Kumar, to inspect the records that he had sought through PIOs of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Ltd. (BESCOM). While original applicant had claimed that he had approached the State Information Commission as the authorities failed to provide him the information, BESCOM contended that its officers had provided the information to the applicant. It was contended on behalf of BESCOM that the applicant should have approached the first appellate authority, and the State Information Commission cannot entertain a complaint when the applicant had not availed himself of the appeal provision. The High Court said, The procedure adopted by the first respondent Karnataka State Information Commission is clearly not permissible in law. If the second respondent i.e. original applicant is aggrieved by the PIO, then he has lawful remedy available to file an appeal under Section 19(1) before the first appellate authority and if aggrieved by the action or inaction of the first appellate authority, then has to file an appeal under Section 19(3) before the second appellate authority. Filing of an application under Section 18(1) of the Act complaining of alleged inaction of the PIO is clearly not permissible in law. For detailed information, please visit our website http://www.nfici.org.

All Central ministries will now accept online RTI applications New Delhi: Filing online RTI applications in all central ministries and departments through a common web-based platform has now become a reality. This facility is now available only for 40 ministries, departments and commissions. Now, the government will extend this facility to all central institutions, including ministries, departments and commissions, which are covered under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005. The minister of state for personnel, V Narayanasamy, formally launched this facility here on 22nd August. The government had launched an exclusive portal, https://rtionline.gov.in, for this purpose earlier this year, initiating this facility only for the questions asked from the ministry of personnel. This facility was subsequently extended to other ministries, including home, health, external affairs and agriculture, President Secretariat, Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and the Vice-President's Office. The portal is now open to entertain questions under the RTI Act for all the remaining ministries. The entire website is prepared in such a way that the system would provide online reply to all RTI applications. This portal, developed by NIC, is a facility for Indian citizens to file online RTI applications and first appeals and also to make online payment of RTI fees. A department of personnel and training (DoPT) note said, "The prescribed fees can be paid through Internet banking of State Bank of India and its associate banks as well as by credit or

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debit cards of Visa or Master, through the payment gateway of SBI linked to this site". The RTI Act mandates timely response (within 30 days) to citizens' requests for government information. An information-seeker has to pay a

for any future reference," said the department's guidelines. No RTI fee is required to be paid by any citizen who is below poverty line as per RTI Rules, 2012. 4,222 RTI applications in Mizoram since 2006 Aizawl : Mizoram Information Commission (MIC) and the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) -Mizoram Regional Branch yesterday organized a workshop on Right to Information Act-2005 at Zarkawt YMA Recreation Centre Hall here in Aizawl. Mizoram Chief Information Commissioner Lal Dingliana gave a detailed explanation on the meaning and implication of RTI Act-2005 and how it came to be used in India and Mizoram. In Mizoram, from 2006-2007 till August 20 this year, 4,222 RTI applications have been received, he said. Stating that this legislation was formulated with the objective that the common people in a true democratic government may know the government systems, he said the RTI is being used in 90 countries in the world. RTI is a tool by which the people may help prevent corruption and misuse of power by the elected representatives as well as the government servants. It is also a law by which one may seek information related to the government, the Chief Information Commissioner said.

fee of Rs 10 for getting the information. Giving details of the guidelines for informationseeker, the department said that the text of the application that can be uploaded at the prescribed column (on the website) was limited to 500 words only. "In case, an application exceeds more than 500 words, then it can be uploaded as an attachment," it said. If additional fee is required, covering the cost for providing information, the CPIO will intimate the applicant about the same through the portal. The first appeals filed through the website will also reach electronically to the nodal officer of the DoPT who would transmit the appeals to the First Appellate Authority (FAA). "Though optional, the mobile number can be provided by the applicant/appellant in order to receive SMS alerts. On submission of an application, a unique registration number will be issued, which may be referred by the applicant

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Lal Dingliana also said that in order to make the most use of the RTI, the people on their part need to know all the rules associated with it, adding, in this connection, RTI Awareness Campaign has been organized a number of times within the State. He also mentioned that in partnership with Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Department, RTI Week has been organized since 2011 in Aizawl and other District Headquarters. To widen the knowledge of the people and the government workers, Guidelines for State Public Information Officers and Information Seekers/Appplicants, Guidelines for Public Authorities- State Public Information Officers and State Assistant Public Information Officers, Guidelines for Information Seekers/Appplicants and Guidelines for Public Authorities: DAAs; SPIOs; SAPIOs have been published in the form of booklet by Mizoram CIC, he added. Beneficiaries of PM relief fund should not be disclosed: CIC New Delhi : The Central Information Commission has allowed the PMO to withhold information on beneficiaries of Prime Minister's Relief Fund saying assistance given out of this fund cannot be classified as subsidy which needs to be disclosed under the RTI Act. "We understand that the Prime Minister's Relief Fund does not receive any budgetary assistance from the Central Government or from any of the central government public undertakings and is fully made of voluntary donations given by individual citizens or private bodies. "Therefore, the assistance given out of this fund cannot be classified as subsidy at the same level at which other subsidies are treated," Chief

Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra said. The case relates to SC Agrawal who sought details of assistance given from the relief fund on the recommendations of the then Speaker of Lok Sabha. Agrawal argued that anybody who wanted an assistance from a public fund should be prepared to get his name known to the public. "The fact is that when an individual citizen, often in an indigent condition, seeks assistance from the Prime Minister's relief fund, he does not expect that this fact would be advertised in the public," Mishra said. "Had the Prime Minister's relief fund been created out of funds provided by the central government from out of its budget, the assistance should be treated like any other subsidy and fully covered under the provisions of Section 4(1)(b) of the Right to Information Act and, even, pro-actively disclosed. Here, it is not so," he said. PMO refuses to release files on Netaji's widow, daughter Kolkata : Turning down an RTI appeal, the Prime Minister's Office has said releasing secret files about Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's widow Emilie Schenkl and daughter Anita Bose may upset relations with foreign countries. Chandrachur Ghose who runs the website www.subhaschandrabose.org had appealed under the RTI Act to provide access to letters written by Netaji's widow and daughter to the government. "The three files in question are classified and disclosure of the documents contained in them would prejudicially affect relations with foreign countries," the PMO said in its reply.

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Signed by Rajeev Topno, director (PMO), the response said these files were therefore exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(a) read with section 8(2) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. "Based on the reasons given above, no further action is called for on your appeal and the same is accordingly disposed of," it said. Ghose, who is writing a biography on the leader, said the life and times of Netaji, who had disappeared in 1945, is a mystery since many files relating to it are held by various government departments. In an earlier disclosure under the RTI appeal made by 'Mission Netaji', a Delhi-based research trust, the PMO had admitted that it was holding 33 secret files on Netaji. "The only reason why the Government is able to keep files about Netaji secret in this age and time is that there is no one to apply pressure on it. No political party of consequence or a state government stands up for Netaji today, unlike other national icons such as Bhagat Singh, Sardar Patel and Babasaheb Ambedkar," said Anuj Dhar, author of two books on Netaji. When under house arrest by the Britishers, Netaji had escaped from India in 1941 to seek international support for India's freedom struggle. After organising the Indian National Army with Japanese help he went missing in 1945, giving birth to India's most debated and puzzling mystery. The Mukherjee Commission had rejected the opinion that he died in a plane crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945.

Army housing body comes under RTI Act, rules CIC New Delhi : The Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled that the Army Welfare Housing Organization is an extension of the Army and comes under the ambit of the Right to Information Act. "We hold that the AWHO, though on paper a separate entity, is nothing but an extension of the Army by virtue of being under the all pervasive control of senior serving Army officers, including the AG. We, therefore, hold that the AWHO is public authority under... the RTI Act," the commission said. The full bench of the commission comprising chief information commissioner Satyananda Mishra and information commissioners M L Sharma and Vijay Sharma said regular deputation of Army officers to AWHO on the terms and conditions determined by the defence ministry also reinforced the impression that in quintessence the AWHO was an Army organization. AWHO was opposing bringing it under the ambit of the RTI Act arguing that it was a society registered with the Registrar of Societies with the objective of providing dwelling units to serving and retired Army personnel and their widows on 'no profit no loss' basis. Aided education institutions come under RTI Chennai : In a significant order with farreaching consequences, the Madras High Court has brought aided private educational

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institutions under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The case pertains to the Thiagarajar College of Engineering in Madurai and the court held that it was indeed a public authority as defined in the RTI Act and hence could not deny information with regard to its functioning to those who seek it. Given that Tamil Nadu has a number of such aided private institutions whose functioning has time and again been questioned by educationists, the order clearly provides an opportunity to usher in greater transparency.

determined the status of the college on the basis of the letter head which declared it to be a government-aided college without giving sufficient chance for the college to make its case. He said that college was not a government body or an instrument of the State, which alone can be brought under the purview of the Act and though the college received 37 per cent of the total expenditure as aid from the government, it could not be deemed as substantial funding. Counsel for the respondents contended that the college was indeed substantially funded by the government. Once aid is received from the government, that alone is sufficient to hold that it is a public authority, the counsel submitted. Passing orders, Justice S Manikumar observed that imparting education was not an independent activity. It is an activity supplementing the principal work carried out by the State through the educational institutions established by it.

Thiagarajar College of Engineering receives aid from the State government for payment of salary to teaching and non-teaching staff. In 2009 one T K Ravindranath made an application under the RTI Act seeking information on the fee structure of certain courses. In reply the college registrar maintained that the institution was not a public authority and hence did not fall under the purview of the RTI Act. An appeal was preferred by Ravindranath with the Tamil Nadu Information Commission, which directed the college to provide the information. Subsequently, the college filed the current writ petition challenging the order. Senior counsel G Masilamani, appearing for the college, argued that the commission had pre-

The judge held that any interested person could seek information on how grant-in-aid was spent. If the college receives any concession from the government or receives a grant or sanction for disbursement of fee concession to any underprivileged person and if the same is not fully paid or is partly paid, then the aggrieved student or any person, with a pro bono interest can seek information, Justice Manikumar said. As such, the judge held that the college could be brought under the ambit of the RTI Act and dismissed the petition.

IFFCO does not come under RTI Act: CIC

New Delhi : Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) does not fit in the definition of public authority and cannot come

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under the purview of RTI Act because subsidy cannot be construed as substantial financing, the Central Information Commission has held. A full-bench of the Commission pondered over the issue of government's financing of the fertliser manufacturer to conclude that Union government had high financial stakes in the paid-up share capital till 2004 but does not have any stake at present as it remitted the capital in that year. The Bench of Information Commissioners Sushma Singh, Basant Seth and M L Sharma agreed that the cooperative was getting huge subsidy from the central government but those concessions are being given to private sector players and is not unique to IFFCO. "The provisioning of subsidy is to keep the sale price of fertilisers low in the open market so as to keep it within the reach of farmers. Subsidy is not a grant. It is only a mechanism to pay the difference between the cost of production and the sale price of fertilisers," the Bench said. The Bench said that a number of PSUs were divested by the central government not too long ago but they cannot be deemed to be public authority unless there is evidence of control or substantial financing by the appropriate government. "In the factual matrix of the case, it is evident that the central government has not share capital in IFFCO as of now. Nor has it nominated any Director in the IFFCO's board of directors," the bench said. Rejecting the appeal of S C Agrawal and Dr M Haroon Siddiqui, it said subsidy cannot be construed as substantial financing of IFFCO.

"We have no hesitation in coming to conclusion that IFFCO is not a public authority under section 2(h) of the RTI Act," it said. Whistleblower protected, guilty punished in Jamnagar village Rajkot : Rughabha Rathod - a casual labour from Nandana village Jamnagar district and Right to Information Act applicant was threatened by former village Sarpanch for seeking information under RTI Act. Rughabha Rathod, then filed "voice complaint" at Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), which runs RTI helpline in Ahmedabad. Rughbha also lodged complaint at local police station but advised to move to safer place to ensure safety as Sarpanch is very close relative of political leaders. MAGP referred Raghabha's voice complaint immediately with urgent note, and documentation of the case to Gujarat State Information Commission, District Superitendent of Police and other concerned departments. "We demanded the immediate disclosure of information which Rughabha sought under RTI and ensure protection of citizen. After the intervention and intervention from Gujarat Information Commission, village Sarpanch was arrested," said RTI activist Pankti Jog. Jog said that Sarpanch was released on bail after two days. Delhi Police rapped for information on RTI query obstructing

New Delhi : The Central Information Commission has slapped Delhi Police officials with show-cause notices for obstructing the supply of information to a Right to Information (RTI) petitioner.

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Petitioner Subhash Chandra Agrawal had asked 14 questions to Delhi Police in his RTI query filed on Aug 19, 2011, regarding activist Anna

Criticising the present CPIO at the PHQ, K.K. Vyas for failing to appear for hearing, the commission directed him to answer all the remaining queries within three weeks. The CIC has issued notices to Kashyap as well as Vyas asking them to show cause why penalty under section 20(1) of the RTI Act should not be imposed upon them.

Hazares agitation for Jan Lokpal bill in Delhi. However, the assistant public information officer (PIO) at the police headquarters (PHQ) Aug 26 transferred the application to six different PIOs namely crime, west district, east district, north-west district and north district. A letter dated Aug 29 by Mangesh Kashyap, the then central PIO at the Police HQ, informed Agarwal of the transfer which led to Agarwal filing a petition before the CIC complaining that police had only answered four of the 14 questions. During the hearing, the PIOs of the six departments informed the commission that questions one to three and eight to fourteen pertained to the PHQ and that they were taken aback by the transfer of the RTI query to them. After hearing the submission and perusal of records, the commission observed that the CPIO of the PHQ had obstructed the supply of information to the appellant by transferring the whole RTI application to the PIOs, who were not concerned with the subject matter of the queries. It appears from records that the CPIO, PHQ, had avoided to answer the RTI application of the appellant and had simply transferred the same to the PIOs the CPIO had not even bothered to read the contents of the RTI application, said the CIC.

The habit of CPIOs, PHQ, of routinely transferring RTI applications to the district units when queries clearly are to be answered by them is a serious malady of the RTI set-up in Delhi Police headquarters, observed the CIC. Stop dodging RTI: commission to HUDA State information

Gurgaon : The State Information Commission (SIC) has warned the administrator of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) to give reply to an RTI application sent to his office and not to unnecessarily transfer it from one department to other. HUDA administrator Praveen Kumar has been specifically asked to give his reply on the "poor quality of road work and rain harvesting system." The applicant had specifically asked whether Kumar was aware of the execution of substandard work and the action taken against the contractor and HUDA staff. Haryana chief information commissioner Naresh Gulati noted that the complainant had sought information from the state public information office (SPIO) of Gurgaon HUDA administrator, whereas the respondent SPIO transferred the RTI application to various HUDA departments. The commissioner warned the SPIO office to be careful in future in transferring RTI applications

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within the various branches of the public authority and directed the former to furnish the requisite information to the appellant within two weeks. The date of hearing was June 28. Moreover, the administrator was directed to send a compliance report to the state information commission by August 20. RTI applicant Aseem Takyar said he is yet to get a reply from HUDA administrator even after the order. In an RTI query dated December 25, 2012, Takyar had sought information from the HUDA administrator about the "substandard" work being carried out by the authorities under his office jurisdiction and what actions have been taken to check the quality of the ongoing works. However, no response was received either from administrator's office or from the offices where the application was transferred to despite filing of first appeal. On perusal of the RTI application, the commission noted that the appellant had sought information from the SPIO, office of Gurgaon HUDA administrator, whereas the former has wrongly transferred the RTI application superintendent engineers, HUDA circle I and II and executive engineer HUDA Division II. Further, the superintending engineer, HUDA, Circle I and II transferred the application to the executive engineer, HUDA, Division Nos. I, II, III, IV, V and VI. The representatives of the respondents present submit that the requisite information was furnished to the appellants by the SE-I and all the concerned executive engineers.

Online RTI facility now extended to MHA, Agriculture Ministry New Delhi: In a step towards enhancing transparency, the Centre has extended facility of e-filing of RTI applications to ministries of Home Affairs and Agriculture. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which acts as nodal ministry for implementation of Right to Information Act, has launched-- www.rtionline.gov.in --to facilitate e-filing of applications and payment of fees. As a pilot project, the facility was restricted to DoPT only. "This facility is being extended to Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Department of Consumer Affairs and Department of Food and Public Distribution from May 22, 2013," the DoPT said in an office memorandum. The Centre's flagship Right to Information Act, which was enacted in 2005, mandates timely response -- within 30 days-- to citizen requests for government information. One has to pay a fee of Rs 10 for seeking information. The portal, developed by NIC, is a facility for Indian citizens to online file RTI applications and first appeals and also to make payment of fees for seeking information. The prescribed fees can be paid through Internet banking of State Bank of India and its associate banks as well as by credit or debit cards of Visa or Master, through the payment gateway of SBI linked to this site, it said.

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The government plans to extend e-filing of RTI applications to all central ministries or departments through the website. However, it will not be extended for field offices, attached or subordinate offices, it said. The DoPT has also trained RTI nodal officers, RTI Cell officials and National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Information Technology (IT) personnel attached with Ministries or Departments for the purpose. YASHADA's contribution to capacity building for RTI appreciated by CIC, GoI YASHADA's contribution in educating Masses about Right to Information Act is commendable, said Central Chief Information Commissioner Shri. Satyanand Mishra. He was talking on the occasion of release of YASHADA's latest book Milestone 7 Journey of RTI Act. The book which was released at the hands of Shri. Mishra is a compilation of research articles by eminent personalities associated with RTI movement. Chief Information Commissioner of Maharashtra Shri. Ratnakar Gaikwad was the chief guest for the function. Shri. Mishra said, Although there are many books in the country that give information about RTI Act, this is the first in India which gives analysis and comments on RTI movement. Earlier, Chief Editor of the book & Director of YASHADA's Centre for Media & Publications Shri. Rajeev Sabade gave information about the book. DDG of YASHADA Dr. Pravin Gedam welcomed guests. Associate Editor of the book & Director of YASHADA's RTI Cell Shri. Pralhad Kachare proposed vote of thanks.

Article : Right to Information Shri Jannat Husain, IAS (Retd), Chief information Commissioner, Andhra Pradesh Information Commission "Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman." - Louis Dembitz Brandeis, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It (1914) Ever since the U.N. General Assembly recognized freedom of information as a fundamental human right in 1946, many nations started adopting laws assuring right to access information held by public authorities. So far more than 90 countries have enacted freedom of information laws. This is steep rise from just 12 countries with transparency laws in 1993. That means about 80 countries enacted these laws in the past two decades. Right to Information is a fundamental human right crucial to human development and a prerequisite for the rationalization of other human rights, civil and political rights such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression and equality before the law and economic, social and cultural rights such as right to adequate food, right to water, right to highest attainable standard of health, right to education. The Right to Information Act 2005 remains a milestone of great importance in the evolution of Indian democracy. The RTI Act, as its long title suggests, sets out the practical regime of right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities in order to

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promote transparency and accountability in their working. Indian RTI Act is said to be one of the strong transparency laws in the world. The procedure for filing requests for information is so simple that even school going students are able to seek information under the Act The Act has unique provisions under which independent Information Commissions are constituted and vested with powers to impose monetary penalty on the Public Information Officers to be recovered from salaries payable to them. No other country enacted such a strong open law before 2005. Our neighbors Nepal in 2007 and Bangladesh in 2009 enacted Right to Information laws which contain similar penal provisions. Looking back over the past eight years, it may not be possible to conclude that the implementation of the law has been satisfactory. The law mandates two ways of information sharing : proactive dissemination and reactive disclosure of information. Though proactive dissemination by public authorities is not up to the mark, people have been testing reactive disclosure by filing requests and tasting some success. RTI has become a friend in need, making life easier and honorable for common people empowering them to request and access public services successfully. Transparency benefits the poor greatly by protecting their rights and dignity. Information constantly supports their struggle for survival. Any step to strengthen the transparency movement will make our democracy more people-friendly.

Published by Shri Ratnakar Gaikwad, IAS (Retd.), on behalf of :The National Federation of Information Commissions of India (NFICI), A.P. Information Commission, HACA Bhavan, Opp.Assembly, Nampally, HYDERABAD - 500 004 Phones :- 040-23230607, 040-23230245 Fax :- 040-23230591 E-mail :- info.nfici@gmail.com. Editor: Shri Ratnakar Gaikwad, IAS (Retd.) Editorial Board
1. Shri Ratnakar Gaikwad, SCIC, Maharashtra 2. Shri K.S.Sripathi, SCIC, Tamilnadu 3. Shri R.I. Singh, IAS (Retd.), SCIC, Punjab 4. Shri Lalhuma, IAS (Rtd.), SCIC, Nagaland 5. Shri N.S.Napalchyal, IAS(Retd.), SCIC, Uttarakhand

Disclaimer: NFICI has taken due care and caution in compilation of this Newsletter. Information has been obtained by NFICI from various official sources, media, and various websites for information of readers of this Newsletter. NFICI especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to the subscribers / readers / senders / transmitters / distributors of this Newsletter.

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