Plug Gaps To Make RTI Realise

Context: The RTI mandate has been seen as the key to strengthening participatory democracy and ushering in citizen-centric governance. 

Relevance of Right to Information (RTI)

• Strengthens transparency, accountability of the government to every citizen, and empowerment of the public.
• Actualises the democratic philosophy of “government of the people, for the people and by the people”.
• Strengthens role of bureaucratic machinery in a vibrant democracy. 
• Exposes and questions the wrongdoings in high places and ensures accessibility to basic rights and entitlements.

Problems in Implementation of RTI 

• Lack of RTI knowledge among officials inevitably leads to unnecessary delays in providing information. 
• Lack of basic training of PIOs, APIOs and the appellate authorities.
• Lack of public awareness about the provisions of the act.

Effective Enforcement of RTI

• Immediate and widespread dissemination of knowledge about the law, as mentioned in Section 26 of the Act. 
• Media and the civil society can highlight the significance and utility of this social legislation.
• Modernised and people-friendly administrative systems and official machinery.
• Administrative machinery must realise that their authority will in no way be undermined by opening up official bureaus. 
• Organised and motivated RTI officials to put extra hours of work for streamlining and record-keeping, weeding out records and computerising maximum information with proper indexing. 
• Increase availability and accessibility of all relevant information, even beyond the provisions of Section 4, on the official website.
• Efficient RTI infrastructure and trained manpower for ensuring computerised and scientific record-keeping of routine documents (as per Section 4 of the Act)
• E-governance needs to be adopted at the earliest in order to effectively implement the Act. 
• Maintain RTI information bank comprising important precedents and decisions regarding RTI complaints.
• Simple and convenient process of adjudication for information seekers. 
• Speedy disposal of court work and compliance of court orders while prioritising cases related to senior citizens. 
• Every commission is required to monitor the implementation of the Act by the government and its agencies and should act as an adjudicator as well as a regulator.
• It must report to the legislature on the implementation of act and remain receptive to the view of the public, the media and non-government organisations. 
• Constant and consistent review and analysis of various provisions of the Act should be undertaken.

Conclusion: Concerted efforts need to be made to ensure a transparent, democratic and accountable RTI regime.