Implementation of RTI Act not on right track in Gujarat

The CHRI said that Panchmahals was the district of choice as it was handpicked by the state government in 2006-07 for intensive capacity building of the public authorities under a UNDP-sponsored programme. So,the survey was an exercise aimed at evaluating the performance of these public officials in terms of their duties described under the RTI Act,the CHRI added.

About 71 offices at the taluka level and 24 offices in the district administration were identified to test their compliance under the RTI. But the findings are shocking to say the least.

Consider this: nearly 75 per cent of offices at the taluka and district levels lack in availability and accessibility of designated Public Information Officers (PIOs) and Appellate Authorities (AAs). Only 40 per cent offices at the taluka level and 79 per cent at the district level confirmed the availability and accessibility of proactively disclosed information.

Even the status of training of PIOs and AAs was such that less then a third of the offices at the taluka level and about 66 per cent at the district level claimed to have been trained to implement the Act. Moving to the mandatory maintenance of the RTI register and its easy accessibility,only 60 per cent offices conformed to the clause.

According to the CHRI,several factors that have contributed to the poor implementation of the RTI Act includes negligible understanding of the obligations under the Act,a cavalier attitude towards the objectives under the Act,and vested interest in maintaining undue secrecy in every aspect of governance.

The CHRI has also enlisted several recommendations for various state authorities to make the Act more effective in Gujarat.

Some of these include: availability of all proactively disclosed information in hard copies for free inspection at all public libraries,imposition of penalties under Section 20 of the RTI Act by the State Information Commission in cases of delay in furnishing information,and proactive disclosures of information by the Gujarat Police and the Legal Services Authorities of the Gujarat High Court.

Incidentally,the Gujarat Police and the Gujarat High Court are the least compliant with regards to the RTI Act,according to the CHRI.