Tuesday, April 17, 2012

[HumJanenge] Mal-functioning of Odisha Information Commission (3)

 

Mal-functioning of Odisha Information Commission (3)

How both the Information Commission and State Bureaucracy are  careless to  implement RTI Act in the state ? It was exposed step by step through RTI.   

 

Dear friends

As per section 4(1b) of the RTI Act, each Public Authority is required  to make  voluntarily disclosure of information  of 17 subjects within 120 days of enactment of RTI Act i.e., 12th Oct. 2005. Under section 4(4) of the Act, every citizen has right to inspect these proactively disclosed documents by personally making visit to these offices without submitting any application for information.

 

a. With a view to know the arrangements made by State Govt.  for helping the  Citizens to inspect  these documents  under RTI Act, I had submitted RTI Application  on 23.12.2008 to the PIO, I and PR Dept to get the said information. On denial of information by  the said PIO,  I made a complaint  to the Odisha Information Commission in the month of February,2009

 

b. After around one and half year, my Complaint Case No. 49/2009 was heard and disposed   by Mr. Jagadanand Mohanty, State Information Commissioner on 29.6.2010 with direction to Secretary-cum-Commissioner, I and PR Dept. , Nodal Dept for RTI  in Odisha to issue a Comprehensive Guideline  for inspection of proactively disclosed  information under section 4 of the RTI Act and sought compliance report. 

c. After around 9 months, I received the order of Mr. Jagadanand Mohanty, SIC(J)  in the month of March,2011. Finding no information from I and PR Dept., I submitted RTI Application on 5.4.2011 to the PIO, I and PR Dept. to get copy of the guideline issued by I and PR Dept. as per order of the Commission. The PIO responded on 16.4.2011 that the Govt. of Odisha is in the process of issuing guideline under section 4 of the RTI Act.   It means no guideline has been issued by I and PR Dept. so far.

 

d. Out of curiosity to know how the order of the Commission is complied by State Govt., I submitted same RTI Application on 2.4.2011 to the PIO, Office of Odisha Information Commission seeking compliance report submitted by I and PR Dept. on Commission's order. The PIO sent a copy of the letter sent by Secretary-Cum-Commissioner, Iand PR where he has sent a letter to all Principal Secretaries of Govt. Depts to issue their own Comprehensive Guideline for inspection of proactively disclosed information on dt. 21.5.2011.

 

e. After obtaining this letter, in my quest to know the end result and how the decisions of the Commission is being carried out, I submitted RTI Application on 12.3.2012 to few Dept. like Dept. of Panchayat Raj, Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development, Forest and Environment etc. to get the information about steps taken in respect of issuing comprehensive guideline in order to comply the letter of Iand PR issued on 21.5.2011

 

f. I got response from the PIO of Dept. of Panchayat Raj who has said with reference to the order of the Commission that it is the business of I and PR Dept. as nodal Dept. to issue guideline for inspection of proactively disclosed information. Similarly, Women and Child Development Dept.  could not understand the  direction of the Commission sent by I and PR Dept. It has also forwarded same letter to District Social Welfare Officers of all districts    to comply section-4 of the Act. Dept. of Health and Family Welfare has forwarded letter of I and PR Dept.  to  all Directorates  to comply it.

 

g. It is astonishing that I and PR Dept which  as a Nodal Dept.  sent letter to all Principal Secretaries/Secretaries  to issue guideline  has not issued  the same  till today.

 

h.  Though  Mr. Jagadanand, SIC   directed  to I and PR Dept. to issue guideline,   he has not taken a single step  to follow it up  whether  the guideline  was  issued .

 

Friends,  this not a single case. It is one of   hundreds of cases where the Information Commissioners simply issue direction to Depts.  to provide  the information to the  complainants and closed the case  without any follow up whether the information complied.   This is a trick adopted   by the Information Commission to show the public that  the commission properly directed  to the PIO  for information. But  in practice  there is no information to the citizens.  A lot of  information relating  to corruption, and irregularities  in PDS, MDM,  Mining could not be exposed  through RTI in our state, because  of this trick  of saving  corrupt bureaucracy  is played  by Mr. Jagadanand and other Information Commissioners.

 

Now the questions come what I have done. Now I have again written   letter to Mr. Jagadanand, SIC  with a copy to Mr. Tarun Kanti Mishra, SCIC on 27.3.2012 to  reopen the case  and   ensure  issuance of Comprehensive Guideline  for  inspection of proactively disclosed information and take action against the Secretary, I and PR Dept. for violating the order of the Commission.

 

Pradip Pradhan

Complainant

Dt:  17.4.2012

 

 

 To

Mr. Jagadanand Mohanty

State Information Commissioner

Toshali Bhawan, Satyanagar

Bhubaneswar

 

Ref. No.- Second Appeal Case No 49/2009  disposed on 29th June,2010

Sub- Display of Mischief and careless attitude shown   and  Non-Compliance of the order of the Commission on 29th June,2010 on Second Appeal Case No 49/2009 by I and PR Dept, Govt. of Odisha.

 

Sir

I am to state that on dated 29.6.2010,  while disposing my Second Appeal Case No. 49/2009,  the Commission has  given direction  to the Secretary-cum-Commissioner, Dept. of I and PR   to issue a comprehensive guideline  for inspection of proactively disclosed  information under section 4 of the RTI Act and sought compliance report.  After one year,  finding no guideline issued by I and PR Dept.  I submitted RTI application on 5.4.2011 to the PIO, office of I and PR Dept.   to get copy of the guideline issued  by Iand PR Dept.  The PIO responded on 16.4.2011 that the Govt. of Odisha is in the process of  issuing guideline under section 4 of the RTI Act. (Attached as  Annexture-1). It means no guideline has been issued  by I and PR Dept.

 

Then, on 2.4.2011, I submitted RTI Application  to the PIO, office of OIC seeking information  about copy of the compliance report  from I and PR dept. on Commission's order on 5.4.2011. The PIO sent a copy of the letter sent by Secretary-Cum-Commissioner, Iand PR where he has sent a letter to all Principal secretaries of Govt. Depts to issue Comprehensive guideline  for inspection of proactively disclosed information on dt. 21.5.2011 (attached as Annexture-2) . After obtaining this letter,  in my quest to know the end result and how the decisions of the Commission is being carried out, I submitted RTI Application to few Dept. to get the information  about steps taken in respect of issuing comprehensive guideline  in order to comply the letter of Iand PR issued on 21.5.2011. I got response from the PIO of  Dept. of Panchayat Raj who has said  with reference to the order of the Commission that  it is the business of I and PR Dept. as nodal Dept. to issue guideline for inspection of proactively disclosed information. (Attached as nnexture-3).    Similarly, Women and Child Development  Dept.  could not understand the  direction of the Commission. It has sent a letter to all DSWOs   to comply section-4 of the Act.

 

I  am terribly disturbed  having gone through these correspondence how the direction of the Commission is simply thrown to dustbin without paying a little attention to it by state bureaucracy.  It needs to be mentioned here that  the Commission has  sat idle  by simply passing order without  doing any follow up  for the  compliance of the order and its execution by Govt.  in letter and spirit.  The Secretary, I and PR mindlessly  has written a letter  to all Dept. to  issue guideline which is not practically possible  on  part of any Dept. As I and PR is the nodal Dept, it has to issue comprehensive guideline for the same. The I and PR dept. is the biggest violator of RTI Act  which needs to be punished  by the Commission. It has simply befooled  the Commission  by sending such a useless letter  in their bid to show that the Commission's order is complied.

 

So, I request you  to  hear the case once again and  take action against the Secretary, I and PR Dept. for violating the order of the Commission  and direct again to the Dept. to issue comprehensive guideline  as quick as possible.

 

Thanking you

Yours sincerely

 

 

Pradip Pradhan

Complainant

Date- 27.3.2012

 

Copy to- Mr. Tarun Kanti Mishra, State Chief Information Commissioner for information and necessary action at his end. The SCIC  should seriously look into the matter  in context of  enforcing  section of  4 of the RTI Act  in the state.

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