Amendment to RTI Act

In News: The Supreme Court expressed its displeasure over more than 1-year delay in filing the response to pleas against RTI Amendment Act 2019.

Quotes

“Secrecy is the linchpin of abuse of power, its enabling force. Transparency is the only real antidote.” – Glenn Greenwald

“Information is a basic human right and fundamental foundation for the formation of democratic institutions.” -Nelson Mandela

Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005

• Public Authorities need to make disclosures on various aspects of their structure and functioning. It includes
  • disclosure on their organisation, functions, and structure,
  • powers and duties of its officers and employees, and
  • financial information.
  • For instance, these include Ministries, public sector undertakings, and regulators.
  • It also includes any entities owned, controlled or substantially financed and non-government organizations substantially financed directly or indirectly by funds provided by the government.

  Functioning of Right to Information Act

  • A three-tier structure for enforcing the right to information has been set up under the RTI Act 2005.
    • Public Information Officers: The first request for information goes to the Assistant Public Information Officer and Public Information Officer, designated by the Public Authorities.
      • These Officers are required to provide information to an RTI applicant within 30 days of the request.
      • These Information Commissions consist of a Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and up to 10 Information Commissioners(ICs).

      Key Changes of Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019

      Provision

      RTI Act 2005

      RTI (Amendment) Bill 2019

      (Section 13)

      5 years or the age of 65 whichever is earlier

      Now Centre Govt. will notify tenure. (Now 3 years as notified by Centre)

      Following Equivalents in Salaries were to be paid:

      Under Section 13 of RTI Act 2005:

      • CIC = Chief Election Commissioner (CEC)
      • ICs = Election Commissioners (ECs)

      Under Section 16 of RTI Act 2005:

      • State level CIC = ECs
      • State Level ICs = Chief Secretary of State govt.

      Now, the salaries, allowances, and other terms and conditions of service of the central and state CIC and ICs will be determined by the central government. (No power to State Governments)

      Deduction in Salary

      (Section 27)

      Salaries of CIC and ICs will be deducted by an amount equal to the pension or retirement benefits being received by them if any.

      Bill has removed these provisions.

      Earlier by 3 member committee comprising PM, Leader of Opposition and One Minister nominated by PM.

      Similarly at State Level, 3 membered committee will comprise of CM, Leader of Opposition in State and any Minister in State.

      Now, these powers have been delegated to the Central Government.

      Arguments by Government for these Reforms

      • Constitutional v/s Statutory Bodies: A statutory body (CIC and ICs) can’t be compared with a constitutional Body viz. CEC and ECs.
      • Rationalisation of Status and Service Conditions: Earlier, CIC was given the status of Supreme Court Judge but his judgements can be challenged in High Courts. Such dichotomy is now removed.
      • No rule-making power to Government previously: Now the new amendment gives better control to the government over the statutory body.

      Criticism of recent Amendments

      • Blow to Federalism: The role of State Governments have been diminished.
      • Against Democratic value: Opposition now has no role in the appointment.
      • A threat to transparency and accountability of CIC and ICs: Earlier the CIC and ICs were appointed with the consent of Opposition and function relatively independently due to fixed tenure and salary.
        • Now the new provisions make CIC and ICs a pawn to protect sensitive information related to the government.
        • The most fundamental requirement of any independent oversight institution like the CVC, CEC, the Lokpal is a basic guarantee of tenure which has been removed now.
        • In 2005, the parliamentary standing committee reviewing the RTI Bill had said the terms of appointment of information commissioners was the “essence of the Bill”.
        • In the case of Anjali Bhardwaj & Ors. V/s UOI held that the RTI Act is enacted not only to sub-serve but also to ensure freedom of speech.

        Way Forward

        • Constitutional Status to CIC and ICs: The constitutional status will give RTI and CIC proper sovereign backing to function in an autonomous way.
        • Awareness Campaigns: Any empowerment or transparency drive is incomplete without the involvement of stakeholders which can be ensured by mobilising NGOs and Citizens.
        • Protection to RTI Activists: There have been incidents of attacks on RTI activists and they too should be given enough protection for whistleblowing against the corrupt.
        • Balancing RTI with Privacy and Official Secrets Act: The concern regarding sensitive data needs to be well defined to avoid any vague dismissal of RTI application by Public Information Officers.