The Hindu : Front Page : Right to Information Act: Kerala still lags behind

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 21, 2005

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Right to Information Act: Kerala still lags behind

Roy Mathew

Departments yet to put up details of information officials on websites

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Several Government departments and agencies are yet to take steps for the implementation of the Central Right to Information Act, despite a series of Cabinet decisions.

The Cabinet decided a week ago that all departments should publish the details of public information officers and assistant public information officers on their websites before Wednesday. Only one wing of the General Administration Department dealing with Secretariat records and the Employment Cell has so far done this. Though the department is the nodal agency for the implementation of the Act, its other wings have not carried out its own orders. Details of district-level information officers are also pending publication.

The Act mandated that the departments should publish their organisational and functional details within 100 days of its enactment. (The Act was notified on June 15.) Though the Cabinet took a belated decision on this on October 4, only a few departments such as the Law Department have published the details on their websites.

Last week's directive by the Cabinet that a list of Government department and agencies generally excluded from the purview of the Act (such as security agencies) should be published on the Government portal before Wednesday too is remaining unimplemented as on Thursday evening. Public-sector undertakings (PSUs) and autonomous institutions have practically taken no steps towards the implementation of the provisions of the Act within the timeframe specified. The Cabinet had asked the Principal Secretaries and Secretaries to give directions concerned to PSUs, universities, autonomous institutions and local authorities in this regard.

The Government is planning to request Rs.50 crores from the Centre to defray expenses relating to the establishment of the State Information Commission and other facilities, as there is provision to seek Central assistance for the enforcement of Central Acts. The State Government also has money available under the Modernising Government Programme (MGP) for the enforcement of the right to information. In fact, the MGP was supposed to have completed various measures for the supply of information to the people by July this year. Government departments and other agencies are still failing to give receipts for applications received by them, including request for information. The Government had issued a circular early this year giving "strict directions" to all Government officers to issue receipts in three days.

Police stations were to give receipts in prescribed form with seal. Applicants should specifically request the receipts with return envelopes.

The circular had also said that section superintendents and clerks would be held responsible if the receipts were not issued. A case is now before High Court seeking directions of the court to the Government to issue receipts.

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