RTI suo moto: A Cursory Look at some DepartmentsMinistries in Karnataka

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RTI suo moto A Cursory Look at some
Departments/Ministries in Karnataka
Right to Information Where do we
Stand? Commemorating four years of the RTI
Act Citizen Action Support Group Public
Affairs Centre 10 October 2009
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Importance of suo moto disclosures

• Facilitates transparency and accountability
• Minimises public resort to the Act
• Reduces the burden on PIOs Public Authorities
• Easy access to information
• Prevents information blocks
• Better governance

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suo moto provisions of RTI Act 2005

• Sec 4 of the RTI Act 2005 mandates suo moto
• Different forms such as website, printed
  material, etc, in view of the resources of the
  public authority
• Disclosure to be made within 120 days from the
  date of enactment of the Act

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Mandatory Provisions under Section 4 (1) (b)

• 17 items can be grouped into four
• Group 1 Organizational information such as
  functions, duties, names and designations, of
  officers and employees and norms set for the
  discharge of its functions, details of PIOs and
  Appellate Authority, etc.
• Group 2 Information on documents and records
  held by the agency including those used by its
  employees in the discharge of its functions and
  the ones the agency is required to catalogue and
  maintain in electronic form.
• Group 3 Information on policy formulation and
  decision making process and public consultative
  arrangements
• Group 4 Information on schemes and programmes
  operated by the authority including subsidy
  schemes as well as those meant for the benefit of
  the poor and other special interest groups, and
  info on budgets and expenditure.

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Section 4 (2) The Duty of the Public Authority

• It shall be a constant endeavour of every public
  authority to take steps in accordance with the
  requirements of clause (b) of sub-section (1) to
  provide as much information suo moto to the
  public at regular intervals through various means
  of communications, including internet, so that
  the public have minimum resort to the use of this
  Act to obtain information

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Departments/Ministries

• Karnataka Government
• http//www.karunadu.gov.in/Pages/default.aspx
• State Planning Board
• http//www.karunadu.gov.in/spb/pages/home.aspx
• Dept. of Mass Education
• http//karmassedn.gov.in/English/index.html
• Home/Police
• http//home.kar.nic.in/
• eGovernance
• http//www.karunadu.gov.in/egovernance/Pages/home.
  aspx
• Law
• http//www.karunadu.gov.in/law/Pages/index.aspx
• Women and Child Development
• http//www.dwcd.kar.nic.in/dwcd_english/index.asp

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Major Issues

• Non-compliance with suo moto
• Information only in Kannada
• Outdated budgets
• Organisation and structure are given
• Some Depts. have complied with suo moto
  provisions
• No regular updating of information
• Weak information on PIOs

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Key Issues and Problems

• Lack of political will
• Failure of the bureaucracy
• Lack of accountability for implementation of suo
  moto provisions
• Gross under-utilisation of websites
• Overload on public authorities
• Cooperation and Coordination

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Conclusions and Policy Recommendations

• Fixing responsibility for the implementation of
  suo moto provisions
• Appropriate institutional arrangements for
  monitoring and enforcing compliance
• Prioritising information under suo moto crucial
  for citizens day-to-day life
• Expediting the pace of cataloguing, indexing and
  computerisation of records Section 4(1) (a)
• Providing incentives for proactive disclosure
  awards, rewards and penalities
• Periodic evaluations and compliance to suo moto
  disclosures

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Thank You