NCPRI Writes to PM, Asks Govt to Put New RTI Rules in Public Domain

The National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information (NCPRI) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concern over the central government’s failure to prescribe rules regarding the salary, tenure and terms of service of information commissioners, after the enactment of the Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019.

The new Act had drawn flak and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government was accused of weakening the 2005 law by reducing the autonomy of the information commissioners. The amendment gave the central government power to determine the salaries, term of office, allowances, and other terms and conditions of service of the central and the state chief information commissioners and information commissioners. The amendment that was passed despite protests and objections from across the country was seen as an attempt to turn the officials of the information commissions into government-controlled puppets.

The NCPRI, in the letter, said that even as the reports claim that the rules have been prepared by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), they have not been put in public domain. The letter urged the prime minister to ensure that the government takes immediate steps to formulate the necessary rules, in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy of 2014, which requires all draft rules to be placed in the public domain for comments/suggestions of people.

Read full text of the letter below:

Shri Narendra Modi
Prime Minister

October 22, 2019

Dear Shri Narendra Modi ji,

Subject: Formulation of rules under the RTI Act

The National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information (NCPRI) is extremely concerned about the central government’s failure to prescribe rules regarding the salary, tenure and terms of service of information commissioners, after the enactment of the Right to Information Amendment Act, 2019.

The amendments to the RTI law were made despite public protests across the country. There were no public consultations on the amendments and the bill was not referred to any Parliamentary deliberative committee.

The RTI Amendment Act seriously weakened the law by undermining the autonomy of information commissions. Sections 13, 15 and 27 of the RTI Act, 2005 were amended to empower the central government to prescribe through rules, the tenure, salaries, allowances and other terms of service of the chief and other information commissioners of the Central Information Commission (CIC) and all state information commissions (SICs).

It has been nearly 3 months since the amendments received the President’s assent. However, till date, the central government has not prescribed requisite rules. As a result, vacancies in information commissions persist, leading to huge backlogs and concomitant long delays in the disposal of appeals and complaints of people. This is hindering the effective functioning of the RTI Act.

As per recent media reports, draft rules have been prepared by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). These are, however, not available in the public domain. We urge the central government to take immediate steps to formulate the necessary rules, in accordance with the procedures laid down in the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy of 2014, which requires all draft rules to be placed in the public domain for comments/suggestions of people.

Thank you,
Best wishes and regards,

Signatories:

Anjali Bhardwaj, Nikhil Dey, Shailesh Gandhi, Venkatesh Nayak, Pankti Jog, Pradip Pradhan, Rakesh Dubbudu, Dr. Shaikh Ghulam Rasool, Aheli Chowdhury, Ajay Jangid, Amrita Johri, Amitava Choudhury, Ashish Ranjan, Bhaskar Prabhu, Chakradhar Buddha, Kamal Tak, Kathyayini Chamraj, Joykumar Wahengbam, Rolly Shivhare