A Government Spokesman said here today that necessary steps had already been taken for effective implementation of Right to Information Act so that requisite information to the applicants could be made available easily and without any delay.
He said that the applicants seeking information could deposit the fee through challan, demand draft or Indian postal order. Workshops were also being held from time to time to generate awareness about the Act, he added.
He further said that necessary instructions had also been issued to the Departments from time to time in this direction.
Friends
United Nations Development Programme, Bureau for Development Policy Democratic Governance Group has developed ” A Guide to Measuring the Impact of Right to Information Programmes.” This document has been
developed by Global Partners http://www.global-partners.co.uk, former Executive Director of Article 19, Civil Society Access to Information Adviser and Governance Specialist, at the Oslo Governance Centre, a unit of UNDP’s Democratic Governance Group.
The Guide is a joint publication under the UNDP Governance Indicators project (www.undp.org/oslocentre/cross.htm) and the Access to
Information Service Line (www.undp.org/oslocentre/citzpart.htm).
UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.
The Guide outlines four broad areas of right to information that must be considered in any context, for a thorough evaluation. These are:
(1) The legal regime for the right to information;
(2) The implementation of right to information legislation by government;
(3) The use of right to information by the general public and civil society; and
(4) The use of right to information by marginalised group.
It then suggests questions for each area, and derives from these typical baseline assessment features, outputs and outcomes. In the RTI Workshop under Good Governance Forum of Lucknow Management Association,I relied on the UNDP guide to raise following issues regarding implementation of RTI Act in India:
(1) LEGAL REGIME
* The law was passed by the Parliament in June 2005 and RTI Act became effective on October. Did the Public Authorities frame a time table for implementation? If not,are deficiency in implementation being identified to frame time bound programs for implementation?
* Has each public authority framed its information disclosure policy?
* Are there external pressures on the public authorities to implement RTI Act in letter and spirit?
*Has RTI being applied to the social development programs of the Government?
* Are their external reports pointing out unsatisfactory
implementation of RTI Act?
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES IN IMPLEMENTATION
* What are the changes in Goverment’s record keeping and information management systems to facilitate citizen’s access to information?
*Are there budget allocations for training of public officials,
citizens and changes in record keeping systems to enable citizen’s access to information held by public authorities?
* Does each public authority have a designated agency for implementing RTI Act?
* Has each Public Authority formulated detailed instructions regarding implementation of RTI Act?
* Is there awareness of the problems in implementation of RTI Act?
(3) USE OF RTI BY NGOs, CITIZENS AND CIVIL SOCITIES
* Are all citizens aware of their rights under the RTI Act? What efforts have been made by the Government and Public Authorities to educate the citizens?
* Are NGOs and civil societies engaged in educating the citizens? Has their impact been measured?
* Are public exercising their rights under RTI Act by raising relevant issues?
* Are civil societies making their contributions in implementing and monitoring of implementation of RTI Act?
(4) USE OF RTI BY MARGINALISED GROUP
* How do the officials assist marginalised groups, poor and illiterate citizens in access to information held by them?
*Is the content and access to information in a form that is useful to the poor?
*Has the Government developed programs to assist and raise awareness of the poor and marginalised people?
* What is the level of investment to facilitate communication to remote and rural areas?
THE ANSWER BY THE PARTICIPANTS TO THESE ISSUES INDICATED A VERY LOW LEVEL OF IMPLEMENTATION OF RTI ACT IN UP. GOVERNMENT OF HIMANCHAL PRADESH MAY ALSO FIND IT USEFUL TO LOOK AT UNDP GUIDE LINES TO EVALUATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RTI ACT AND TO FRAME CONCRETE ACTION PLAN FOR THE FUTURE
Dhirendra Krishna IA&AS (Retired)
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