Activists want private bodies under RTI Act
Sidharth Misra
Private bodies should also be brought under the ambit of the right to
information (RTI) Act, Bombay high court judge justice Dhananjay
Chandrachud said on Monday. "We cannot disempower ourselves, thinking
that private bodies do not come under the purview of the Act."
Celebrating four years of the sunshine act, RTI activists appealed
that its scope be widened by including the private sector in the
public services under it. "When the Act is for fighting corruption,
why not have it for the private sector too?" Ashok Rawat, an activist,
asked.
"Disinvestment and deregulation have seen the government handing over
public services to private hands. Now, private players are just as
important as the government. The RTI Act is not a code to give
information, but a constitutional right of a person to know about
something. Right to information is now beyond the scope of
disclosure," said Chandrachud.
Introduced in 1766 in Sweden, the RTI Act has been adopted in 85
countries with varied levels of implementation. Activists also
complained about the roadblocks public information officers (PIOs)
created in their attempt to scuttle information.
"The most common argument is that the information asked for does not
come under the definition of the Act," said Narayan Varma, a member of
PCG, an NGO working to spread the RTI awareness.
"Unfortunately, bureaucrats themselves train PIOs how not to disclose
information," said Rawat."One needs to understand that access to
information is means to an end. This means should be eliminated as
disclosure should be voluntary," said Chandrachud.
"We are sensitising our officers. There is a need to institutionalise
experience at the state level, just as it had been at the Centre by
making Shailesh Gandhi the central information commissioner, so that
there is a uniform pattern that will speed up the process of
deliverance."
Some NGOs, like Mahiti Adhikar Manch and PCGT, plan to set up a panel
to ensure voluntary disclosure of information, which is part of the
Act.
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