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RTI babus have no respect for your time

Atul Bagul, Pune University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) president and member of the University of Pune (UoP) senate, used the Right to Information Act, 2005

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Atul Bagul, Pune University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) president and member of the University of Pune (UoP) senate, used the Right to Information Act, 2005, at least 20 times to obtain information relating to various issues at the UoP.

His experience showed that while the information he got was valuable for creating public awareness, the attitude of bureaucrats who serve as Appellate authorities in various government departments was negative.

While each government department has an information officer, a senior officer from that department, often, the head of the department, serves as the appellate authority. Thus, for example, at the Pune Municipal Corporation, while assistant engineer

Chandrashekhar Akware serves as the information officer under the RTI Act for the land and estate department, his senior, deputy municipal commissioner Suraj Mandare serves as the appellate authority.

Bagul said that most appellate authorities instead of respecting the spirit of the RTI Act, “try to prevent the information from going out”. This is compounded by the fact that there is an absence of penalties on erring authorities.

“There are penalties for public information officers, but you can’t do anything against commissioners who delay information. The authorities are also immune under the Act,” he said.

Pointing out to the positive aspects of the law, Bagul said that if one is tenacious, one can get valuable information.

His other major concern is over the pendancy of appeals which adds to the delay in securing information. He feels that if the mandatory disclosure clause number 4 under the RTI Act 2005 is followed, most of the workload would vanish as it gives the information types that need to be made visible to the public. “Then the question of appeal will not remain,” he contended.

While there is no questioning the fact that there are inordinate delays in getting information, who is to blame for the delay, the commission or the appellate authorities?

Anti-corruption activist Vijay Kumbhar told DNA that while it is true that appellate authorities are uncooperative, the CIC should also take a share of the blame. He feels that the CIC or the state information commission as arbiters can initiate inquiry against erring appellate authorities. “There has to be a proactive role, which is lacking,” he felt. Kumbhar said that the CIC does not clear even 1/10th of the number of cases disposed of by the Mumbai High Court.

“If government offices prepare information and upload it on the internet, then only 30% information will be left to be accessed through the RTI, but the offices must be encouraged to do so by the CIC,” Kumbhar explained.

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