What was also heartening was the informed debate that took place in the Lok Sabha on the Bill. Our Parliamentarians are not all that useless, it seems.
The Act is a result of a sustained social movement, born in the remote villages of Rajasthan. The story is moving, and gives hope in the power of the people to bring about change.
The website of the Guardian, UK, explains the public how to use their right to information, and to share it with the newspaper if they discover some information. Media will have to play a significant role in extracting information using the new law to dismantle the institutional secrecy once and for all.
Here is a synopsis of the debate in the Parliament:
RIGHT TO INFORMATION BILL, 2004
Lok Sabha 11 May 2005
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (SHRI SURESH PACHAURI) moving the Motion for consideration of the Bill, said : An era of transparency and accountability in governance is on the anvil. Information and more appropriately access to information would empower and enable people not only to make informed choices but also participate effectively in decision-making processes. The Bill, which seeks to create an effective mechanism for easy exercise of this right, has, therefore, been appropriately titled as ‘Right to Information Bill.’ Some of the provisions of the Bill shall come into force as soon as it is enacted, while the remaining provisions shall become effective on the 120th day of its enactment. It shall, therefore, be incumbent on the public authorities to develop the necessary infrastructure for providing the information to the citizens within this period. The scope of the Bill is being extended to authorities and bodies under the Constitution or other law. The non-Governmental organisations substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by the public funds are also being brought under the ambit of this Bill.
To ensure that the information sought is provided quickly, clause 7 of the Bill makes it obligatory for the Public Information Officer to provide the information requested for and permissible under the Bill, not later than 30 days. To ensure that the Government officials and all public authorities provide high priority to requests for information from citizens, deterrent penalties have been provided for failure to provide information in time or, for refusing to accept application for information or, for giving incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroying information and so on. A high-level Information Commission has been set up and has been authorised to impose the penalty and adjudicate all such matters in a time bound manner. In addition, the Commission may also recommend disciplinary action against the Government servant under the relevant service rules.
Clause 21 of the Bill exempts security and intelligence organisations from the provisions of the Bill. Another remarkable feature contained in clause 19 of the Bill is that the provisions of this Bill shall have overriding effect in the event of any conflict between the provisions of this Bill and the Official Secrets Ac, 1923, or any other law for the time being in force. I believe that the provision of the Bill will be a watershed in the evolution of the right to information in our country, and will bring India at par with only a handful of the countries which have enacted such legislations. But, most important of all, through this legislation, we are seeking now to redefine governance by shedding the age-old inhibitions.
SHRI VARKALA RADHAKRISHNAN : This is a very important Bill in the sense that it is directly connected with article 19 of the Constitution. The Government of India decided to amend the Freedom of Information Act, 2002. Now, this new Bill is brought before the House. The Right to Information Bill, 2004 which was brought, is entirely different from the Freedom of Information Act. We are making a law which is applicable throughout India, including the States. Since, it is a matter concerning the States also, since Legislative Assemblies have passed Statutes, it would have been prudent and proper to have obtained their opinion also. This Bill contain amendments to each and every section, which are important. There was no penal provision in the 2002 statute. If there is any violation, he will be penalised. That is difference in this particular Bill. There are some limitations in the original Bill for information which are exempt, because the officer can take a position that some particular information need not be divulged in public interest. That should not be the case. People should get information at the earliest and no person will be allowed to refuse any information when it is applied for. Furnishing of information need not be delayed. It should be the bounden duty of the person concerned to furnish the information at the appropriate time in an appropriate manner. But still I feel that there may come some difficulties with regard to the Central and State jurisdictions. There are two sectors – Central and State; there will be a Central Commission as well as a State Commission. There will be a Committee to appoint the Chief Information Officer in a particular State as well as in the Centre. Those provisions are there and if they are worked out properly, it will be a good thing for us. The Government as well as the Parliament, as also everybody is accountable to people. This Bill has been brought for that purpose.
SHRI RAMJI LAL SUMAN : The Right to Information Bill presented by the Government is an effort in the right direction. But the basic question is, how far the Government will be able to provide benefit to the common people. It is pertinent to note that Armed Forces have been kept out of the preview of this Bill. It is now up to that officer to disclose or not to disclose information, who has been empowered through this Bill. Thus, the entire power will go into the hands of bureaucracy. Only the officers of Government of India will be involved in enacting the law. This means that this Bill will not be applicable on local bodies like District Panchayat, Village Panchayat, and Blocks, where most of the problems of common people are seen. Therefore, I would like to submit that this is an incomplete legislation. Further, the concept regarding providing information is also not clear. This leaves the scope for the officers to interpret it the way they like. Therefore, I would like to submit that the focus of the Bill should be common people.
SHRI MILIND DEORA : This Bill is empowerment of one billion Indians to make them free; to allow them a great deal of autonomy, a great deal of transparency and more importantly, access to accountability, which has not been there for many years in India. This Bill will strengthen the process and delivery of justice.
India is a country where we spend Rs. 40,000 crore per year on poverty alleviation programme and yet, we have 300 million people living below the poverty line. This clearly means that something is wrong with the implementation or that something is wrong with the delivery mechanism. In my opinion, this Bill can be a solution for that. There are many benefits that people can utilize this Bill for. It is going to unleash a new era of objectivity and accuracy into the system and it would not leave any room for irresponsible new channel and perhaps even a politician. In India, what we are enacting today will go a long way in ensuring that openness and transparency in our system will bring down implementation cost and eventually bring down the cost of the Government which will lead to better quality of governance in the system.
This Bill aims to create on independent Commission similar to that of the Election Commission. In the amendments suggested by the Standing Committee States and local bodies along with Central public authorities have been made available to provide information to the public. By doing so, we are essentially only codifying the citizens’ fundamental right to information. The Standing Committee have ensured in the Preamble that it talks about transparency being the fundamental right of the citizenry. It talks about how this will strengthen the democracy.
The third party will have to consent before disclosing the information. Although the interests of the public are kept before this and the third parities, yet there is a debate within the intellectual circles outside of Parliament and those concerned with it that this third party clause might damage the Bill slightly. However, in my opinion, allowing the third party information to be more readily available will actually deter people and companies from any wrong-doings whatsoever. If the Government does intend to have this third party clause, we may create some sort of a mechanism, which could determine if the public interest is greater or if the damage to the third party is greater.
The Maharashtra Government has included Right to Information in its civic syllabus for 6th, 7th and 8th standard. I think if we could do this in the Centre, this would actually create quite a revolution of sorts. It has been provided in the amendments that a website in the form of FAQ should be there. It would allow any information, that has been disclosed, to be made public. The Government has ensured that people below the poverty line will have access to information free of cost and will not have to pay one single paise to access any information from the Government. If we want people to truly use this important piece of legislation, it must be cost effective.
SHRI ALOK KUMAR MEHTA : There is a need to have a comprehensive discussion on this important subject based on democratic values. I hope this amendment will take care of the irregularities that are being committed on the pretext of confidentiality. The procedure in the democratic process meant for common people will be made transparent through this amendment. There is a need to assure transparency through an amendment in the Constitutional Body also. I fully agree that information to the poor people should be furnished free of cost. I commend the UPA Government for taking an important step in the field of right to information.
SHRI SACHIN PILOT : This Bill can bring revolution in the entire country and the society as well. The intention of the UPA Government is quite clear that it wants to create an atmosphere of transparency in the administration and politics of the country. The Government wants to inform the people through this Bill that it is the responsibility of the Government to provide the required information to the people ‘suo-moto’ by the officers and the administration of the Government. There is a provision in this Bill to provide information to the people living below poverty line free of cost. The officers are bound to give the information and if they fail to do so, they will have to pay Rs.250 per day from their pockets. There will be a pressure on the bureaucracy. I would like to suggest that some categories have been exempted from the ambit of this Bill through clause-8 of the amendment proposals, brought here. I want that the provisions related to the issue, the privilege of the Parliament and the State Legislatures as mentioned in sub clause-8 should be deleted from the ambit of this Bill. My other suggestion is that only the bonafide citizens of this country should be given the right to information.
SHRI SURAVARAM SUDHAKAR REDDY : Information is the oxygen to democracy and the functioning of democracy is very much dependent on the information availability in our country. These new amendments, which have been brought with the advice of the National Advisory Council, have got very good proposals. Compared to the previous Bill, this is really useful. There should have been consultation and concurrence of the States before introducing such a Bill in the Lok Sabha.
Earlier the right to information was there, but the cost of seeking the information was so costly. Now, the present amendment gives an excellent opportunity that the cost is reasonable. Second, for the people below the poverty line, it should be furnished free of cost. Every Department should be asked to provide the information whatever is necessary, whatever is available on oneline so that the people can take it whenever it is necessary. At the same time, the right to information should be popularised through all the Government media and it should be made a part of the text book. I do agree that regarding some sensitive things, like the Defence and security there should be always exemption.
SHRI SAMIK LAHIRI : I feel that this is a historic Bill so far the empowerment of the people is concerned. We want to make this Government more accountable to the people; and we want to empower the people. Nowadays many services are being rendered by the private sector. I would like to know whether the people should not have the right to have all the information from them and also about the transactions which are taking place over there. I would urge the Government to consider as to how to bring them within the purview of this Right to Information Bill.
I want to know how are the local bodies being incorporated or covered within the purview of this law and what sort of autonomy is this Commission going to enjoy? Further, how will this Commission be more reachable to the people and what kind of awareness programme will be promoted by the Commission so that people come forward, so that people become aware of their right?
SHRI SHAILENDRA KUMAR : In this age of high speed communication we must pay attention towards the rural areas. India is an agrarian country. The farmers would like to know who is going to acquire their land etc. in this age of competition. Therefore, the right to information is to be carried to the rural level. The hon. Minister should give special concession to the farmers. It is a fact that many complaints are filed with the Human Rights Commission but no information is available about them. I submit that information must be made available. The information about the reasons for delivery of summons by the police must be communicated.
SHRI ADHIR CHOWDHARY : The Right to Information Bill had taken an arduous path before being implemented. The National common Minimum Programme (NCMP) has pledged for a meaningful and participatory nature of Information Bill. It was stated that the Information Commissioner and the Deputy-Information Commissioner shall be appointed by the hon. President on the recommendation of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India. But in the amended version it has been stated, "Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister". I urge upon this Government to reconsider this Clause. We are a responsible Government, but that does not mean that all the State Government will follow the same line. It is a will-know fact that under the pretext of service rules, many deterrent penalties could be violated. Therefore, I think, more stringent measures must be adopted against those officers who intentionally delay or obstruct the process of information. Further, may I ask the hon. Minister whether this Central Legislation will prevail over all existing legislations? There are so many undaunted officials in our country who often take the risk of their lives to uncover the nefarious activities. I want to know whether to protect those officials, is the Government going to take any measures?
SHRI KINJARAPU YERRANNAIDU : I would like to ask as to does the Government not make the right to information a Fundamental Right under the Constitution of India. The Government of India appointed the Mathew Committee which gave some recommendations to amend the Official Secrets Act. In a democracy, all the institutions have to provide information to the citizens of the country. The Government has amended one section relating to the appointment of Central Public Chief Information Commissioners. But that is not a correct position. If any State Government is not following the provisions of this Act, whether there is a remedy or a constitutional obligation – this is to be clarified.
In the State of Andhra Pradesh, they are going in a big way for the construction of irrigation projects. The MLAs, the MPs and people demand the records, but the Government is denying it. They are entitled to get records from the State Government. When Shri Chandrababu Naidu was the Chief Minister we did put all the files relating to tender process on the internet. The information should be available to the citizens free of cost. Only the income taxpayers should pay something.
DR. R. SENTHIL : This is a big step in the democratic process and I hope that our bureaucracy would become more responsible. I think this Bill will actually help the image of our country in the international arena. I think this Bill should override the already existing State legislations and I hope the hon. Minister will clarify on this. So, sufficient provisions should be there so that the information should not only be channelised through the public information official but any officer should have the duty to divulge information. I also agree that there may be a provision for minimal fee.
SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI : To get information is the fundamental right of the citizens. I would like to congratulate the Government for fulfilling one of its promises made in the Common Minimum Programme. I would like to know what are the economic interests of the States, which cannot be disclosed. I would also like to know the state of oath of secrecy that the Ministers take.
One of the draw backs of this Bill is that it is not applicable to all the States of our country. Limiting it to such a narrow geographical sphere will really not serve the purpose.
DR. SEBASTIAN PAUL : This Bill is the most progressive piece of legislation initiated by the UPA Government. This is a model legislation for other countries. An effective right to information should be seen as a pre-requisite of a matured and genuine democracy. The penalty provisions as well as an independent system of appeal make this legislation an effective one. Not only the people but the media also is getting empowered.
SHRI RAM KRIPAL YADAV : I congratulate the UPA Government for fulfilling the promise made by introducing the Right to Information Bill.
Everybody should have access to the Right of Information as provided in Article 19 of our constitution. The Right of Information will further empower the common masses and they will have access to those rights which were denied to them so far. But I would like the hon. Minister to clarify in his reply as to how they will have access to this right and how they are going to get justice out of it. The UPA Government is safeguarding our democracy by implementing this Bill. This will further strengthen our democracy and the common people will take part in this process effectively. They will no more be deprived of their rights which were denied to them for ages.
SHRI RAMDAS ATHAWALE: This Bill is being introduced in order to check increasing corruption and wrongdoings in the country. This is indeed a revolutionary decision which will definitely check increasing corruption. But only passing the Bill is not going to benefit the country. It has to be implemented effectively in order to achieve its objectives. I believe and hope that the UPA Government will do this task.
THE PRIME MINISTER (DR. MANMOHAN SINGH) intervening, said: All modern societies or complex societies require a strong and purposeful Government to steer them. In addition we have to determine that expenditure confirm with the canons of efficiency and effectiveness. Therefore, we must explore new effective mechanisms to ensure that our Government will effectively, purposefully and efficiently discharge the responsibilities entrusted to it.
The key to the successful functioning of any democratic polity is the ability of a citizen to observe and evaluate the functioning of elected representatives and make an informed judgement of their performance. This evaluation is predicated on the easy availability of the necessary information for a citizen to arrive at an assessment. The UPA Government has made a commitment, not only to work for the welfare of the common man, but also to strengthen his or her role as the arbiter of our destiny. It is in this background that our Government has introduced the Right to Information Bill and the subsequent amendments in this august House.
Efficient and effective institutions are the key to rapid economic and social development. For institutions to be efficient and effective, they must function in a transparent, responsive and accountable manner. This is dependent not only on processes internal to the institutions but also on the ability of citizens and external agents to enforce their rights, vis-à-vis these very institutions. The Right to Information Bill will bring into force another right which will empower the citizen in this regard and ensure that our institutions and their functionaries discharge their duties in the desired manner. The Bill that we have presented has the widest possible reach covering Central and State Governments, Panchayati Raj institutions, local bodies as well as recipients of Government grants. Access to information under this Bill is extensive with minimum exemptions. Even security and intelligence agencies, which are otherwise exempt, are subject to disclosure in cases of allegations of corruption or violation of human rights. An important feature is the independent appeal mechanism proposed through the appointment of Central and State Information Commissioners.
Further, I would only like to see that everyone, particularly our civil servants, should see the Bill in a positive spirit; not as a draconian law for paralyzing Government. It is with this in mind that we have removed the penalty of imprisonment through this Amendment. However, erring officials would still be subject to departmental proceedings. I appeal all civil servants to see this Bill in the right spirit and hope they will only be spurred towards better performance. I would also like State Governments to take the initiative and establish State Information Commissions. Our work will not end with the passage of this Bill. I believe that the passage of this Bill will see the dawn of a new era in our processes of governance.
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINSTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS ( SHRI SURESH PACHAURI) replying to the discussion said: This Bill is an important step in the direction of fulflling the promises made to the people of the country by the UPA Government under Common Minimum Programme. This is the first Bill in which the suggestions made by the standing committee have been seriously considered.
The UPA Government wants to hand over the key of democracy to the people of this country. The Government do not want to hide any information, which is in the national interest, from the people. It was the dream of our late leader Shri. Rajiv Gandhi that administration should be transparent and every citizen must enjoy the right to information. Keeping this point in view, it has been provided in this Bill that information would be made available free of cost to the people living below the poverty line. The Information Bills presently in vogue in different states do not provide that information should be made available free of cost to the people living below the poverty line.
In sub clause 2 of clause 2 of this Bill, it has been provided that the Central Government, the State Governments and local bodies will make available information to the citizens. Besides this, after coming into force of the Central Act, the Acts of States will continue to co-exist. Regarding the selection committee constituted for the selection of Central Information Commissioner, I want to state that the appointment of the members of the Information Commission should be seen as an executive function. Traditionally, in such administrative positions, the Chief Justice is not made a member of such Committees. One hon. Member pointed out that by providing information under clause 8(C), the privileges of the Parliament and State legislatures will be violated and therefore, there is need to reconsider this provision. In this regard, I want to clarify that the Government will ponder over this demand. It is also been provided in the Bill that any information which is not restricted under the provisions of this Bill will be made available and it will not violate the oath of secrecy.
Another important suggestion was that the subject of right to information should be included in the secondary school curriculum for the benefit of students. I want to state that it is a useful suggestion and I will take up the issue with the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
In the Freedom of Information Act, 2002, the security and intelligence agencies were fully exempt. However, in this Bill, information about these agencies pertaining to corruption and violation of human rights, will be provided to the common man after going through a procedure.
There are 55 countries in the world where Right to Information Bill, with different nomenclature is in force. The Government wants to move a step forward in fulfilling the promises made to the people of the country. I urge the hon. Members to pass such an important Bill along with amendments.
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