After
hectic deliberations, the Right of Information Act of 2005 finally got the nod
in both the upper and lower house of the Parliament. The Act came into effect
from 12th of Oct 2005. With this, the law is now valid and
applicable for the whole country irrespective of any state.This Act proves as a great windfall to the
property industry as the building related documents which could not be procured
easily from the Government departments viz. Taluk Office, Corporation Office,Sub-Registrar Office, Survey Department,Assistant Commissioner’s Office etc.,
can now be got, studied and verified well in advance before embarking on any
project.
This
Act is a blessing in disguise for the citizens of the Nation. If used properly,
this may act as a weapon to bring down the corruption level to a naught.
Needless to say, corruption is rampant in our country everywhere, especially,
Government departments and Municipal corporations. It is a known fact that
unless the officials are bribed, nothing works. Right from the lowest level to
the top level officials, the bribe gets distributed and then only the work may
progress without any hindrance. The
citizen is greatly disturbed and distressed by these deeds but he can be just a
mute spectator. But with the enactment of the Right to Information Act, there
is a bright ray of hope as this Act gives power and paves the way for the
honest citizen or a builder to get his files cleared if there is any undue
delay.
Right of Information:
At
the outset, let us understand the significant aspects of this legislation. Section 2(j) of the said Act defines the
right to information.
‘Right of Information’ is the right to acquire
information accessible under the Act which is held by or under the control of
any public authority and includes the right to –
a)
Inspection of work, documents, records
b)
Taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records
c) Taking certified samples of material
d) Obtaining information in the form of
diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or
through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any
other device.
A
very encouraging development as far as this Act is concerned that it is just
not restricted to Government and Municipal Corporations but also includes
public authorities viz.organizations, NGO’s and other bodies which are
financed by the Government.
Practical Use
Let
us throw some light on how this Act can be used in practical.
1)A
person submits a plan to the BMP Office for sanction.But sanctioning process
undergoes an inordinate delay due to the fact of non-bribing of the concerned
officials which eventually puts the citizen into a lot of anguish. Using this
Act, he can now directly meet the officer and question him on the following
issues.
a)
What is the status of his plan?
b)
How many other plans were submitted on the day on which plans was submitted by
him?
d)
What has happened to all the other plans?
Further,
he is now entitled to ask for the inspection of documents, records, take notes
and obtain certified copies.
2)A
person applies for a ration card. As usual, it gets into rough weather
as
the concerned officials are not fed properly. Now with this Act, he can go and
contact the concerned and ask for the reasons for the delay just like the above
case. The above said are just stray cases and the said Act can be used to
elicit any
type of information from any departments except a few.
Appointment of Public Information
Officer
Under
the Act, it is imperative now for all the administrative offices of Public
Authorities to appoint a Public Information Officer. He will act as a catalyst
between the citizen who wants the information and the concerned department. In
normal course, the necessary information should be provided within a span of
one month. There will be a nominal fee collected as a token amount. Even after
one month, if the information is not provided properly or refused, the person
can go one step further and appeal to the appellate authority who by default
will be the senior of the said PIO in the same department.
If
the Citizen wishes to appeal against the Appellate Authority itself, he should
appeal to the state or Central Information Commissioner which is an independent
constitutional authority.
Penalty for Delay/Refusal
If
there is a delay in providing the information or deliberate refusal to part
with the information, the PIO is penalized at Rs. 250/- per day until the
information is provided to the person.This aspect may drive the PIO to act
fast and provide all the information.It
is a rule that the name of the PIO should be prominently displayed at all the
offices. If it is missing or the Citizen cannot find the PIO, he can apply for
information by addressing to the PIO of the head office of the concerned
department.
Though
the Act covers almost all the departments and enables the Citizen to get the
required information, Scientific, Economic, Security and strategic information
as mentioned in the sections 8 and 9 of the Act may not be disclosed or can be denied out rightly.
But such a scenario may not happen as a normal citizen will not be having any
business or dealings with these aspects.
The Right to Information Act is indeed a very beneficial Act for the common man and
if used in a proper and optimum way, it may lead to less sleaze and more
transparency. To top it all, this act
may go one step further and give a complete transparency vis-à-vis property
documents which was until now not very clear on various issues. With this Act, all the documents of property
can be procured easily from the Government department’s viz. Taluk Office,
Corporation Office, Sub-Registrar Office, Survey Department, Assistant
Commissioner’s Office and the citizen can heave a sigh of relief.
Format of application to be submitted
to the Public Information Officer
To
(Name
of the office with address)
1.
Full name of the applicant:
2.
Address
3.Particulars
of the information required:
i)
Subject matter of information
ii)
The Period to which the information relates
iii)
Description of the information required
iv)
Whether the information is required by post or in person
(The
actual postal charges shall be included in additional fees)
4.
Whether the applicant is below the poverty line:
(If
yes, then the photocopy of the proof thereof)
Place:
Date: (Signature of the Applicant)
More,
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