RIGHT TO INFORMATION (RTI) : A Review from 2005 Till 2017

The RTI Legislation was a step in the right direction and was welcomed with great zeal and hope by the country.

It was termed the beacon of democratic transparency and also a key aspect of the vibrant exercise of Article 19 by the common man. Only a properly and well informed citizenry can take right and rational decisions for themselves and the country.
      

It did take long to come about but it finally did in 2005 thanks to the struggle of the spirited social activists.

Let's take a look at the Act as well as how to file it alongwith some helpful tips and guidance.

RTI Act,2005:
http://righttoinformation.gov.in/rti-act.pdf

RTI Rules 2012:
http://www.cic.gov.in/node/2506

Hierarchy of the RTI System:
http://rtiact2005.com/right-to-information-act-2005-through-flow-chart/

Guidance on filing RTIs and Appeals:
1) To file RTI online (Only For Central Govt Organisations): https://rtionline.gov.in/guidelines.php?request
2) To File RTI First Appeal online Only For Central Govt Organisations): https://rtionline.gov.in/guidelines.php?appeal
3) For Second Appeals Online: CIC - http://www.cic.gov.in/
4) For RTIs,First Appeal Second Appeals Online & By Post For State Bodies: Please visit the respective State Information Commission Websites.

Formats for submitting RTIs, First Appeals and Second Appeals via Post:
1) RTI Format in English: http://nchm.nic.in/nchmct_adm/writereaddata/upload/rtiacts/Chapter-20%20Application%20Form.pdf
RTI Format in Hindi: http://www.janshikayat.com/rti-application-sample-in-hindi/
2) First Appeal Format in English: http://www.portal.gsi.gov.in/gsiDoc/pub/RTI_Specimen%20_First_Appeal_Annexure%209.I.pdf
First Appeal Format in Hindi:http://www.brandbharat.com/english/bihar/RTI_7.html
3) Second Appeal Format in English: http://righttoinformation.wiki/_media/rules/second_appeal_under_rti2005_1209742433.pdf


Further Reading:
1)For RTI:https://www.saddahaq.com/rti-for-beginner-a-simple-format-and-tips-for-writing-good-rti-applications
2) For First Appeals: http://www.thelogicalbuyer.com/blog/file-first-appeal-rti-act-2005/
3) For Second Appeals: http://rtiact2005.com/rti-second-appeal-format-in-english/

Further up the Hierarchial Ladder of the RTI System, at the top most is the High Court & Supreme Court.


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Now coming to the practical implementation of this Legislation,unfortunately,we are still to come even close to the promises that were made to us via this tool.

Let's review it.

The good side:
1) Many scams have been unearthed thanks to RTI that has led to a change in governments too
2) Many issues of the common man have been brought forward and answered when nothing else worked for them.
3) It has opened up an avenue for citizen audit, participation in governance and administration and hold them accountable and responsible for any kind deficiencies in their duties.

The other side:
1) Immense pendency of RTI Appeals in SICs and CICs as well as PIO and CPIOs offices.
2) One almost always ends up in a First or Second Appeal (it takes almost a year for the hearing to take place in IC)
3) Bureaucratic resistance to transparency and inefficient information collection and management system within govt. agencies
4) Untrained PIOs and other staff
5) Understaffed and lack of infrastructure to carry out this tremendous responsibility
6) SICs do not have authority to enforce and implement recommendations or penalties, it is up to the state govts which rarely do that and hence the applicant has to approach the Courts which leads to burden on the already overburdened Judiciary (HC & SC).
7) The State govt have the financial and administrative authority to implement reforms and revolutionize technology for the effective implementation of RTI but they have not yet shown any interest.
8) Misuse of RTI by vested interests
9) Sending back of RTI second appeals to be filled again to remove minor deficiencies by SIC and CIC instead of just providing platform to edit already filed second appeal.
10) Lack of knowledge and information among the public about RTI and its uses,etc.
11) Delays in appointments of CIC and other important officials at times
12) Public records Act not yet implemented that would further facilitate RTI
13) Lack of a strong Whistleblower Act
14) Sometimes when the PIO and other officials refuse to give information or cite vague and indigestible reasons for not declaring information then the citizen does not know where to approach further due to lack of knowledge of rights and hierarchy.
15) Two sections often misused by bureaucrats to avoid disclosing information are Section 6(3) and Section 7(9)
16) Political parties,judiciary and many other public bodies have been exempted from it
17) No Private organisation comes under it which gives an open path to the corrupt to channelize their fraudulent acts through these uncovered areas

Conclusion:
Even though the RTI Act is monumental and extremely critical for the spirit of democratic transparency,it is still facing immense hurdles to bring out it's true spirit but the fight is still on and anything radical does take time. It is the responsibility of both the government and the governed to make it a success.
So keep up the spirit and make it better and make it work by changing the political will and bureaucratic apathy via constant efforts like relevant RTI filings and Judicial proceedings against erring officials, public movement for change in the Act and social networking revolutions to build pressure for its reform that would force the politicians to become responsible and duty bound towards their masters which is the common man and enforce necessary amendments that is true to the spirit of this Act for the good of the common man.

Types of Urban Bodies in India There are several types of urban bodies in India such as Municipal Corporation, Municipality, Notified Area Committee, Town Area Committee, Special Purpose Agency, Township, Port Trust, Cantonment Board etc. Brief detail about them is given below: Contents [hide] Municipal Corporation Municipality Notified Area Committee Town Area Committee Cantonment Board Township Port Trust Special Purpose Agency Municipal Corporation Municipal Corporations are created to look after the administrative needs of large cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, etc. The respective state legislatures can establish the municipal corporations by passing an act. In case of union territories, they can be established by the acts of Indian Parliament. There may be a one single act for all municipal corporations in the state or separate act for each municipal corporation. There are three authorities under a municipal corporation viz. the council, the standing committees and the commissioner. The council acts as the deliberative and legislative wing of the corporation. The council is made up of councillors who are directly elected by the people. The head of the council is called mayor. Mayor is assisted by a deputy mayor. Mayor presides over the council meetings. As the council is too large in size, standing committees are created to facilitate the working of the council. The standing committees take decisions with respect their field like public works, education, health, taxation, etc. The municipal commissioner is the chief executive authority of the corporation and he implements the decisions taken by the council and its standing committees. State government appoints the municipal commissioner. Generally IAS officers are appointed as the municipal commissioner. Municipality The municipalities are created for the administration of smaller cities and towns. They are set up by the acts of the respective state governments. In case of union territories, they are set up by acts of Parliament of India. Municipalities are called with different names like municipal council, municipal committee, municipal board, borough municipality, city municipality, etc. A municipality has three authorities viz. the council, the standing committees and the chief executive officer. The council acts as the deliberative and legislative wing of the municipality. The council is made up of councillors who are directly elected by the people. The head of the council is called president or chairman. He is assisted by a vice-president or vice-chairman. President/Chairman presides over the meetings of the council. The standing committees deal with different fields like public works, education, health, etc. They facilitate the working of the council. The chief executive officer looks after the day-to-day responsibilities of administration of the municipality. He is appointed by the state government. Notified Area Committee A notified area committee is established to take care of administration of an area which is either a fast developing town from industrialisation or a town not yet developed to fulfil all the conditions to create a municipality but is considered as important by the state government. A notified area committee is created by a notification in the government gazette. The notification also mentions the provisions of the State Municipal Act that are applied to the notified area committee. The state may also entrust to it powers under any other act. The powers of a notified area committee are equal to a municipality. Unlike the municipality, a notified area committee is an entirely nominated body. State government nominates all members including the chairman to a notified area committee. Thus, a notified area committee is neither an elected body nor a statutory body. Town Area Committee A town area committee is created for the administration of a small town. It is like a semi-municipal authority. Limited number of civic functions such as roads, street lighting, and drainage are entrusted to it. It is established by a separate act passed by a state legislature. The act mentions the composition, functions, and other matters related to the town area committee. It may be a wholly nominated body by a state government or a wholly elected body or partly nominated and partly elected. Cantonment Board They are created for municipal administration for civilian population in the cantonment areas. Unlike other urban local bodies, a cantonment board is created as well as administered by union government. The provisions of the Cantonments Act of 2006, a central government act, are applicable to a cantonment board. A cantonment board functions under the administrative control of union defence ministry. Now, there are 62 cantonment boards in the country. The members of a cantonment board are partly elected and partly nominated. While the elected members hold the office for a term of 5 years, the nominated members continue as long as they hold the office. The military officer who is commanding the station is the ex-officiopresident of the board and he presides over its meetings.The board’s vice-president is elected by the elected members from amongst themselves and he holds the position for five years. The functions of a cantonment board are similar to those of a municipality. Their functions are categorised as obligatory and discretionary functions.Its executive officer is appointed by the President of India. He is responsible for implementation of the decisions of the board and its committees. The source of income of the boards includes both, tax and non-tax revenue. Township Townships are created by the large public sector enterprises for its staff and workers near to the plant with all civic amenities. A town administrator is appointed by the enterprise to take care of the administration of the township. He is assisted by some engineers and some other staff. The township form of urban government has no elected members. Port Trust The port trusts are created in the port areas like Kolkata, Chennai,Mumbai, etc. The objective in their creation is to manage and protect the ports; and to provide civic amenities. A port trust is set up by an Act of Parliament. Its members include both elected and nominated. Its chairman is an official. Its civic functions are almost similar to those of a municipality. Special Purpose Agency Along with the above seven types of urban bodies, the states can create certain agencies to look after specific functions that ‘legitimately’ belong to any of the above local urban governments. These agencies are function-based and not area-based like the above seven bodies. They are known as ‘special purpose’ or ‘single purpose’ agencies or ‘functional local bodies’. They are created as statutory bodies by an act of state legislature or as departments by an executive resolution. They work as autonomous bodies dealing with their allotted functions independently of the local urban governments. They are not subordinated to any local urban governance bodies. Examples of such bodies are: Town improvement trusts. Water supply and sewerage boards. Pollution control boards. Electricity supply boards. Urban development authorities. City transport boards. Housing boards.
http://www.gktoday.in/blog/types-of-urban-bodies-in-india/

LEGISLATIVE REFORMS:

1) State funding of Political parties -
To stop criminalisation of politics,state funding to political parties has been recommended by Khandwalla ( 1999 ) can be in the form of maintenance subsidy and electioneering expenditure to cover costs of grass root works,training of cadre,media costs,costs of organising meetings and rallies. These funds can be routed through the Election Commission who can keep a close check on them by virtue of its job. These political parties should maintain accounts,get them audited, and file the audited accounts with the Election Commissions so that they are open to public scrutiny.

2) Representative legislature
- Khandwalla recommends for Representative legislature instead of the normal territorial legislature prevalent as it does not represent all the sections of society. If a candidate secures 50.5 % votes and he has the majority to first past the post but then what about the rest 49.5 %,what about their interests and needs? What is the guarantee that they would be represented by the leader and not spite them instead and the same applies at the centre for the ruling government where the same first past the post system prevails. 

Khandwalla recommends that in coalition governments there should be a system of rotation of Prime Minister among candidates of all the allied parties so that interests of all sections and areas are well represented and taken care of.

Khandwalla representation is also a good step in today's era of coalition governments where each constituency will elect not one but more than one legislator depending on the size of the constituency So each party can field more than one contestant from their party for that constituency and the winning candidates will reflect the preference of the voters as the top three vote scorers in a constituency will go to the legislature instead one which will be a more fairer representation of the people.

3) Stable Coalitions:
Remove grey areas of the anti defection act with stronger legal actions and the coalition should work on the basis of consensus and mutual consultation. There should be incentives for well performance of politicians and disincentives for those not performing their duties to the required level.

4) Responsive Parliamentary Procedures -
The National Commission headed by former Chief Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah in 2000 for the review of the working of the Constitution stated that there is a need for a better conduct by the politicians and for their better standards of debate and discussion in the parliament and for this there needs to be an aware opposition to thwart the ill will of government and make it more responsive.

5) Strong Committee System -
The National Commission also stated the need to strengthen the Committee of Parliament given their instrumental and enormous importance of these committees towards budget bills and other matters passing. Recommendations of the Commission can be viewed in totality here :http://lawmin.nic.in/ncrwc/finalreport.htm

POLITICAL EXECUTIVE REFORMS:

1) Educational qualifications to be set for legislators -
After election they are to be trained regarding their duties and responsibilities, entitlements and rights,constitutional provisions,working of the government and legislative processes,legal procedures,important political,social and economic institutions and agencies and ICT competence. A National Training Academy can be set up for this purpose to help inculcate professionalism in them before assuming their duties totally.

2) Norms of Elected Candidates -
They must have a standard code of conduct and open themselves to public scrutiny through parliamentary Ombudsman and apart from this, there should be a provision to totally bar candidates having ongoing cases going on them whether acquitted or at trial stage to contest elections.

3) Training and performance review of legislators

JUDICIAL REFORMS:

1) Speedy and time bound disposal of cases -
Appoint enough judges for doing so. Proper software should be devised and implemented for segregating waste cases and a proper grievance redressal mechanism in private and public institutions so that employer - employee disputes should be settled effectively at that level only and only major cases come to the court.

The National Commission in 2000 recommended that each High Court should lay down time limits for time bound clearance of arrears in the courts under its jurisdiction and lay down annual targets and district wise performance targets which should be monitored and evaluated regularly. The Commission also advocated for the Supreme Court and high courts to not delay judgements more than 90 days after conclusion of cases.

The 7th Law Commission under Justice Rao suggested that the Gram Nyayalays could process 60-70 % of rural litigation leaving the regular courts and sub divisions time to devote to complex criminal and civil matters. Apart from this the rural people's interaction will increase more and they would be happy with a fast,fair and flexible machinery of justice that is also inexpensive.

Another option is the Conciliation Courts method where along with a participatory model where a professional judge interacts with two lay judges and evolves a reasonable resolution and in such cases once a matter is decided there would not be any appeal against it and only a revision petition will be permissible on questions of law to the District Courts.

2) User - Friendly Courts -
Contempt of Court should be codified and not used arbitrarily by the Judges so that people find courts more approachable.

3) Judicial Reforms And Accountability -
The Judiciary still is relatively out of the reach of the public and that leads to non accountability and the scare of Contempt of court halts any process to question them. Therefore, there is a need to set up a body like a Judicial Council to look into cases and deviant behaviours of judges. It will comprise judges and will take actions against a defiant judge. It can reprimand a judge and recommend voluntary retirement,or resignation and withdraw cases dealt by such judges. Removal of judge is done through impeachment in Parliament, so this body can send the records of the judge to the parliament and recommend an impeachment.

Marxian Traditions and their Approach to Public Administration

Karl Marx has often been cited as the most powerful personality in the history of human civilization. He was a philosopher while being an economist, a socialist who was also a journalist and a historian who proposed the materialist conception of history. His views regarding his areas of work and interests are collectively termed as Marxian.

Karl Marx was a rebel in many ways which also contributed to his abilities to look and understand beyond the obvious. He firmly believed that the world cannot be changed just by generating ideas; changes can be brought in, only by real, physical activity. Even as s student Marx was deeply influenced by the work of German philosopher G.W.F.Hegel. It was Hegel who inspired Marx to switch from legal studies to philosophy; a fact Marx admitted in a letter to his father, justifying his decision. What is interesting is that, Hegel and his inspiration did not prevent Marx from comprehending the lacunae between the rational and the real in the philosophies of Hegel. One of his important works was his Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of the Right. It is advisable to the reader to do a little background study about the philosophy and works of G.W.F. Hegel, to understand the above discussion in a better light.

It would only make sense to point out to the readers at this stage is that Marx wrote very little about bureaucracy as such, and mostly after 1843. However whatever little he wrote gives a clear understanding of his stand regarding the need and relevance of bureaucracy in a modern State. Marx believed that understanding the functionalism and structuralism of bureaucracy was critical because it is the political expression of the division of labor.

In his The Eighteenth Brumaire, Marx calls France as the abode to bureaucracy as opposed to Germany which in his opinion, up until then was the supreme example of oppressive bureaucratic conditions in the states. He suggests that bureaucracy create conditions which subjects people to gross manipulations.

Another important deviation from the Hegel influence can be viewed in the manner Marx and Hegel understood bureaucracy. According to Hegel public administration was a bridge between the State and civil societies. The state through bureaucracy joined various particular interest to arrive at one general interest.

On the other hand Marx viewed that the State did not represent the general interest but the interests of the ruling or the dominant class. And obvious enough, this class was a part of the civil society. He went on to say that in a capitalist economy, the bureaucracy is aligned with the dominant class and it masquerades the interests of this dominant class as the general interest which is subsequently forced on the society.

While reading Marx on bureaucracy one can visualize it as an oppressive, mysterious system beyond the understanding or control of common people. It has certain symbols and secret ways of working and staunch traditions which makes it inherently incompetent in so many ways. Lenin was a follower of Marxian approach on bureaucracy and had ruled out any scope of it when the capitalism would be thrown out of Russian. But, after 1917, when he came into power, he could not help but rely on bureaucracy to help him run the State.

Marx was never oblivious to the growing popularity of bureaucracy and the need of public administration as an aspect of Government functioning, around the world. Nevertheless, this promulgation of bureaucracy did not prevent him to see the dangerous loopholes it carried.

The Future of Public Administration

Future belongs to Flexible Public Sector rather than Machine Bureaucracies

As the world around us is changing with concomitant changes in politics, business, economics, and society, the field of public administration cannot be aloof from the need to innovate and change. As the public sector in many developed countries feels the need to move beyond the static and machine bureaucratic paradigm, the public sector in the third world and the developing countries is also in the throes of adapting to the broader changes happening in society.

With the increased awareness among the citizenry and the rapid spread of information along with use of technology and social media, the public sector in the west and the east has to wake up to the new realities and cannot be an ostrich or a fossil among the nimble and agile private sector. This is the key theme of this article that looks at the future of public administration around the world in an era of rapid change. There cannot be a more compelling case for proactive public sector rather than a reactive public sector as the future catches them and they can only survive by adapting to the future.

Need for Change and Innovation

The Great Recession of 2008 put paid hopes to the public sector in the west as the bureaucrats were suddenly faced with shrinking budgets, downsizing, and a general tendency to squeeze the public sector to get “more bang for the buck”. This meant that the public sector in the west had to innovate to cope with the broader changes in the countries. Innovation is often defined as the ability to create something new and find newer ways of doing things. This means that the public sector in the west had to find innovative ways to save money, cut down on costs, and generate more returns for their investments.

On the other hand, the public sector in the east had to contend with radical changes as the long-suffering masses who were frustrated with red tape and bureaucrats finally summoned the courage to use technology and protest to fight against them. Further, many governments in the developing world faced pressure to divest their stakes in the public sector and make the bureaucrats more accountable as they needed to generate funds for the other items on their agendas. The net result of all these pressures meant that the public sector in the east had to change fast as otherwise they would be faced with disruption and obsolescence.

Ways to Innovate and Change

The ways in which the public sector can innovate include using technology more proactively, collaborating and communicating within and with the external world, adopting a more humane approach to administration and attending to the grievances of the citizenry, and most importantly “walking the talk” which meant that they had to not only declare their intent but also have to act accordingly. In other words, merely having a gazette is not enough and the public servants have to follow it in the spirit of the law as well as the letter of the law. As for using technology and social media, the public sector and the public managers are gradually taking to IT to communicate and collaborate among themselves as well as with the external world. The other key imperative here is that public sector managers must not initiate a change and then give up midway because of resistance from vested interests and those with hidden agendas. Perhaps the biggest challenge facing public sector managers is that they plan to work but not work to the plan.

Some Recent Trends in Public Administration

In the United States, there has been a lot of criticism on the bureaucrats who were seen as holding up approvals and sanctions to the projects initiated by the private sector. Further, with outsourcing and Offshoring of many routine activities as well as the use of contractors to get the job done, the public sector in the United States has been forced to embrace innovation and change. As many experts aver, the government of the future is simpler, leaner, and more nimble rather than the behemoths that they are at the moment. The outcry against big government has reached such a crescendo that the Defense Department in the United States has more or less outsourced almost all peripheral activities and has only retained its core staff for the managerial and the combat functions. This example illustrates how the public sector in the United States is operating in the context of the changing governmental landscape.

The Government of the Future

The first item for the government of the future would be to remove the opaqueness and the secrecy surrounding its activities and instead embrace accountability and transparency as the motto. For instance, the government of the future is one where the citizenry is made aware of the decisions taken by it rather than hiding under archaic laws and regulations in the name of confidentiality. Apart from this, the government of the future is one that is proactive instead of reactive where it anticipates the changing trends and responds accordingly instead of knee jerk reactions to events and incidents. This means that the public servants have to be responsive to all the stakeholders including their superiors, the elected representatives, and most importantly the citizenry instead of favoring a particular section over the other. In other words, the government of the future would be responsive instead of secretive and accountable instead of resorting to blame game, and would be transparent instead of being opaque.