Govt to fix salaries of ICs, activists call it as dilution of RTI law

Opposition and activists allege that the move is intended to weaken the institution of information commissions

GN Bureau | April 13, 2018


#DOPT   #Salaries   #Information Commissioners   #Right to Information   #RTI   #Department of Personnel and Training  
(Illustration: Ashish Asthana)
(Illustration: Ashish Asthana)

The department of personnel and training (DOPT) is preparing a draft amendment to the RTI Act, 2005, to empower central and state governments to decided salary of information commissioners at the central and state commissions. Opposition parties and civil rights activists allege that the move is intended to weaken the institution of information commissions, terming it as “totally regressive”. As per the law, the salary of chief information commissioner equals to the salary of the chief election commissioner and the salary of the information commissioner equals to the election commissioner.

According to the NDTV,  the DOPT believes that it may not be a good practice to link salary of information commissions with election commission, as the former is merely a statutory body and the latter a constitutional body.

"We will oppose this amendment tooth and nail," the report quoted Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala as saying.

“The high status accorded to commissioners under the RTI Act is to empower them to carry out their functions in an independent manner and direct even the highest officials to comply with the RTI law. By seeking to empower the central government and state governments to decide salaries of information commissioners, the BJP government is trying to undermine the independence of commissioners and diminish their stature,” said Anjali Bharadwaj of Satark Nagrik Sangathan.

It is shocking that instead of addressing the problems related to implementation of the RTI Act like large backlogs of appeals/complaints resulting from non-appointment of information commissioners, the government is attempting to weaken the RTI Act through the proposed amendments, Bharadwaj said. 

A nationwide report on the performance of information commissions, by Satark Nagrik Sangathan and the Centre for Equity Studies, highlighted that currently there are four vacancies in the Central Information Commission and four more vacancies are due to arise in 2018. The central government has failed to make appointments, despite repeated representations by civil society. Even in states, the situation is extremely concerning.

The report highlighted that at the present rate of disposal and the number of pending appeals/complaints, an RTI appeal filed in West Bengal Commission would take 43 years to be disposed, while in Kerala, an appeal filed would be disposed 6.5 years later.
 

Comments

 

Other News

Domestic airlines show 38.27% growth in passenger numbers

The domestic aviation industry has witnessed a remarkable surge in passenger traffic during the first eight months of 2023. According to the latest data analysis, the number of passengers carried by domestic airlines from January to August 2023 reached an impressive 1190.62 lakhs, marking a substantial inc

MPs bid adieu to historic parliament building, step into new building

A function was organised in the Central Hall of Parliament on Tuesday to commemorate the rich legacy of the Parliament of India as the Members came together to bid adieu to the historical building before stepping into the New Building of Parliament. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha sp

Real action, not words alone, needed to achieve UN agenda 2030: civil society

As politicians and policymakers make speeches at the United Nations during a high-level summit next week to assess the lack of progress on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), people’s leaders representing some of the world’s most marginalised communities have come toge

Fourth GPFI G20 meeting pledges to work for universal financial inclusion

The fourth G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) meeting held in Mumbai during September 14-16 concluded with members agreeing to work towards the vision of universal financial inclusion under the new G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan. Over the course of three days, discuss

Tales of Mother Nature, tales of ruin and of rejuvenation

Marginlands: Indian Landscape on the Brink By Arati Kumari-Rao Picador India, 256 pages, Rs 699 This monsoon, Him

TRAI releases paper on `Digital Inclusion in the Era of Emerging Technologies`

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Thursday released a Consultation Paper (CP) on `Digital Inclusion in the Era of Emerging Technologies`, aiming to explore and address the challenges and opportunities presented by the rapid advancement of emerging technologies, with a focus on ensuring in

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter