The Right to information Act 2005, which came fully into effect on 12th October, 2005 is one of the most significant legislations enacted by the Parliament of India. The Act enables establishment of an unprecedented regime of right to information for the citizens of the country. It overrides the ‘Official Secrets Act’ and similar laws and rules. It aims to ensure maximum openness and transparency in the machinery and functioning of government at all level, Central State and Local.
Right to information should be treated as a basic human right. From an educated man living in the city to an illiterate villager, everybody has the right to know how the government he or she voted to power is performing. Where is the money that he or she gives as tax going? What happened to the Panchayats promise of building that primary school or the road? Was the lowest tender accepted for building that six lane bridge? We all have these questions and now Right to Information Act has made it possible for us to know the answers to these questions.
The lack of access to information on Government policies, programmes, schemes,benefits and deliveries makes corrupt practices thrive. When corruption siphons off amounts from employment guarantee, unemployment or disability benefit, misdirects public funds for service delivery or delays pension and social security payments, it is usually the poor who suffer the most. Freedom of information can be a potent tool to prevent and fight corruption.
It should be remembered that Public bodies hold information not for themselves, but as custodians of the public good and everyone has a right to access this information, subject only to clearly well defined rules established by law. In a government of responsibility like ours , where all the agents of the public must be responsible for their conduct, there can be but few secrets. The people of this country have a right to know every public act by their public functionaries. They are entitled to know the particulars of every public transaction in all its bearing. The Indian democracy is going through a new phase. It is difficult to hypothesize about a real democracy without good governance, transparency and responsibility. Right to information has made all these possible. It has brought the common citizen into a new democratic role where he can directly question the administration.
The Right to Information Act 2005 has provided us the right to get information from the government. Through this we can now expose corruption and also bring to light those duties that are not being performed by the officials. We can ask information about projects and plans. We can inspect files and check for any misappropriations. The government spends a huge amount of money for development work. We can ask for information about the work being done in our area. We can find out the amount of money that is being spent and where. Information relating to tenders, agreements, payments and estimates of engineering work etc. can be obtained with the help of the Right to information Act. Besides these, information can be sought on the following-
1. We can demand samples of materials used for the construction of roads, drains and buildings etc.
2. We can demand an inspection of any social development work, work in progress or information related to any completed work.
3. We can demand an inspection of government documents, maps for the construction, registers and records.
4. We can demand information related to the progress made on any complaint filed by you in the recent past.
Experiences suggest that in the states where the Right to Information Act has been implemented, it has become an important tool of social development and governance. Awareness among the people about the use of RTI has had a great effect on the working culture of the government. It has made the officials more responsible towards the dispensation of their duties.
When there was no right to Information , citizens were forced to grapple in the dark while the bureaucrats kept all the information hidden. The role of right to information is quite effective in informing crores of grassroots people whose development is marred due to corruption. Even today the greatest challenge of India is bad governance. We elect our representatives and submit our rights to them in the hope that after going to Parliament or to the State Assembly they will come up with laws and plans and work for the welfare of the people. But the truth is really frightening. The House runs merely for 10 to 20 days in a year and even this time is spent in useless quarrels, discussions and other formalities. The possibility of asking questions that concern people is limited. Somehow even if some questions are asked, satisfactory answers are hardly provided. Then, even if some answers are provided, little or no action is taken. Our representatives have failed completely on the floor of the House. Today , it is not the people’s representatives who raise important questions but common people, RTI activists and social organizations are raising these questions. And what is even better is that not only have they received satisfactory answers but proper action has also been taken on the issues raised by them. After acquiring the RTI, people have become more powerful than their representatives. If an MP or MLA wants to raise a question on the floor of the House, it is not necessary that his request would be accepted and even if his question is accepted, it is not necessary that it will be discussed. Even if it is taken up for discussion there is no guarantee that he will get all the answers. Once an issue has been raised, no matter how unsatisfactorily, the member has to wait for the next session to take it up again as there are limits on the number of questions that an MP or MLA can raise. The Right to Information has provided freedom from all these constraints. Further, out representatives can ask questions only when the House is in session whereas citizens can ask any number of questions any time from any government office. The representatives have very few opportunities of responding to the partial information they receive, while the citizens have more than enough time to go through the information properly and raise appropriate question. Representatives can be denied information due to different reasons, whereas the common people cannot be denied information, as not providing information under the RTI Act in the stipulated period of 30 days , is punishable offence. The queries of citizens cannot be postponed.
All these show that in a new democracy people need not be dependent on their representatives. They can take the initiative on their own. In fact this process has already started and it s results are quite encouraging in states like Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh.
The right to Information will encourage journalists and society at large to question the state of affairs. It can be powerful weapon to check the unmitigated corrupt practices and can also promote accountability. The scribes will no longer have to depend on conjecture, rumour, leaks and sources other than knowledgeable ones. The legislation on RTI can act like an antidote to vested interests which try to conceal or misinterpret information or which try to manipulate the media directly or indirectly to plant misinformation. Through the RTI Act transparency in public, professional, social and personal sphere can be achieved.
How to Seek Information
After the implementation of the Right to Information Act , it is mandatory to appoint a Public Information Officer and an Assistant PIO in every public department. The names of these officials are to made public through newspapers. They also have to be displayed on the notice boards of the public departments. Even if you do not get the names of the Public Information Officers, you can file your application in the name of the Public Information Officer to the concerned department and seek the information required. For seeking information an application has to be submitted . There is no specific format or form for the application. You can submit a hand written application written on a plain sheet of paper. There are some departments, which have released forms, which are available free of cost. You can fill up the application form and seek the required information. If you want to deposit a handwritten or typed or printed application no officer can refuse to accept your application. All information sought has to be provided within a month. If the applicant does not receive any information within a month or is not satisfied with the information provided, he can first appeal to the department’s First Appellate Authority and then to the State Information Commission. If the appeal is accepted then information will be provided. It is sufficient to provide only questions for seeking information. It is not necessary to mention in the application as to, why you want the information. Even the officials are not supposed to ask why we are seeking the information. Similarly, you do not require any identity for seeking information. It makes no difference if you are a leader of a political party or an ordinary citizen. If you file your application as per the provisions then the officials are bound to provide the information sought by you. The complete address of the applicant is compulsory though. If some official is reluctant to provide information then he may also be penalized for not providing information within the stipulated period.
The right to freedom of information is crucial not only in determining policy but also in checking the Government in its implementation policy. Freedom of information is a necessary part of our democratic polity. All power in a democracy belongs to the people who are the masters and the government is their servant. If the people are to perform their sovereign role and instruct their government, they must have access to all information, ideas and points of view. Thus democracy must extend beyond the ballot box and be deepened through social citizenship and citizen governance. I have no doubt that India will certainly flourish in terms of accountability when millions of people use the right of information.
