Bhopal, Mar 12, 2012(TNN): Faced with the ‘problem’
of managing flood of RTI applications, BJP government inMadhya
Pradesh has mooted a proposal to double fees on application and
appeal, raise fee for document copy and to impose other restrictions such as
“word count” for each request-a move that could trigger protests from the
supporters of the transparency law.
By proposing to amend the relevant RTI rules, the
government plans to increase the existing fee of Rs 10 perapplication to
Rs 20, double the fee for first appeal from Rs 50 to Rs 100 and to make a five-
fold increase in fee for second appeal. If the amendment comes through, anyone
moving the second appeal before the state information commission would have to
shell out Rs 500 as against the existing fee of Rs 100.
Insiders say that the government is also planning to
restrict to 150 the “word limit” per application and also to restrict
the number of subjects to be mentioned in one application to ensure
that only one subject is entertained by the Public Information
Officers (PIO) at a time. Besides, sources claim that the new rules could also
have a provision that anyone, filing an RTI application, should also
furnish a copy of the photo identity cardto check the possibility of
applications being filed in pseudonymous names.
Sources claimed that the state government is empowered to
make rules under section 27 (1) and (2) of RTI Act 2005 which stipulate that
the government may make rules to carry out the provisions of the Act to decide
the cost the cost of the medium or print cost price of the materials to be
disseminated and the fee payable and so on.
Legislative Assembly secretariat in Chhattisgarh, another
BJP ruled state, recently increased the RTI application fees by 900%
from Rs 50 to Rs 500 and the increase in fees per document copy to Rs 15 per
page had invited criticismfrom the National Campaign for
Peoples’ Right to Information (NCPRI) and others. Earlier, Central Information
Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi had also written to Chhattisgarh chief minister,
Speaker, and leader of the opposition to re-consider the decision to hike RTI
fees.
“A proposal has come up at the government level. It’s
being examined. It’s too premature to divulge any details”, official sources confirmed.
RTI activist Ajay Dubey said “the state
government is planning to make amendments in the RTI rules through a notification.
The amendments being considered are against the very sprit of the transparency
Act, aimed at introducing cumbersome procedures to discourage people from using
the RTI tool to elicit information”.
Dubey said he had already written a letter to the state
Governor Ram Naresh Yadav, seeking his intervention to stall the proposed
amendments as it would amount to defeating the very purpose the historic
transparency Act.
Few months ago, he said, state government had also
misused section 24 (4) of the RTI Act to keep the special police establishment
of the Lokayukta and the State Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences
(EOW) out of the purview of the RTI Act 2005 as both these anti-corruption
agencies were dealing with sensitive cases involving politicians and
bureaucrats. “Till today, the state government has failed to put this
notification before the state legislature, which is a mandatory requirement
under section 24 (5) of the RTI Act, 2005″, he pointed out.
“Bad habits are easy to copy”, quipped Central Information Commissioner Shailesh
Gandhi, who had protested against the Chhattisgarh legislative assembly
secretariat, when his comments was sought on Madhya Pradesh move to increase
RTI fees and introduce restrictions on word counts.
He said “RTI itself is getting lesser attention
in the country with the civil society being engaged in many other issues. World
over rights of people, even the fundamental rights in many countries, are being
expanded further”. “We here are, unfortunately, trying to restrict the people’s
right on one pretext or the other. Civil society has to wake up to protest
against any such moves”, he added.
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