'There’s no escaping giving info but it should be done within time limit'

The appointment of AKM Nayak as the state chief information commissioner in January was not without controversy as he had previously made objectionable remarks against the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Three months on, the controversy has died down and the new CIC of the state is busy clearing the huge backlog of applications filed under the Act. In conversation with DNA, Nayak explains the initiatives he is taking for speedy dissemination of information.

There has been a lot of controversy regarding your appointment as the state CIC due to some of your remarks on the RTI Act. Would you like to clear the air?
Once we are a part of the government, we are expected to give our views freely and promptly. The points that I had made were context-specific. I was one of the people who framed the Karnataka Right to Information even before this Act (RTI) came into affect. There is no escaping from giving information but information should be given within the time limit.

There are also allegations that RTI applications are unanswered even today…
At present, we are taking up some of the adjourned cases and some new ones as well. We are also using video-conferencing in order to save time that would have taken for visits to other districts. Jana Spandana is also handling applications at the state government level. There is also a lot of negligence by the PIOs at the district-level regarding disseminating information. Hence, we were stuck with more cases.

You claimed to solve as many pending cases as possible when you took charge. What is the present status?
There are a lot of pending applications in departments like the urban development, revenue and BDA (Bangalore Development Authority). People file applications only when the PIOs fail to respond. All of these cases can be avoided if information by the PIOs is provided within 30 days. We have requested the PIOs to give information at least now and also give reasons for the delay in adjourned cases. We have also asked them to index and
catalogue the information to disseminate information more quickly and also know if any files are missing at the earliest.

Has the manpower increased since you took up this post?
Four more additional commissioners have been appointed since then which helps us to take up more cases on daily basis. There are cases where the commissioners have gone to the districts to solve the cases fast.

Have you come across any challenging cases till now?
Most of the time, very routine questions are asked. There have been applications asking for information regarding employment schemes in the years 2006 to 2008 and also a copy of license already provided to certain buildings. PIOs and district officers should ensure that the people are trained with the procedures. On the other hand, there have also been some hard cases wherein a call had to be taken regarding how information is to be provided. At times, there is exemption from giving information.