Right to Information (RTI) Act: A means of Transparent and Accountable Governance

After seeking inspiration from the spirit of the Indian constitution and some exclusive practices in the western world, Union government had framed and enacted the right of information (RTI)act in 2005 to give an exclusive right to the citizen to seek the information from the government to make governance transparent accountable  and effective.

Governance in India has deteriorated because of lack of transparency and accountability in the system.

RTI Act has played an important role to create transparency in the governance because it has created awareness amongst the people regarding their right to participate and expose the system.

The major objectives of the RTI Act are:

1) Greater Transparency in functioning of public authorities.

2) Improvement in accountability and performance of the Government.

3) Promotion of partnership between citizens and the Government in decision making process; and

4)  Reduction in corruption in the Government departments.

All these parameters are critical elements of good governance. An attempt is therefore made below to examine the extent to which the RTI has been successful in influencing the above factors in desirable direction.

1). Greater Transparency

With a view to ensuring maximum disclosure of information regarding government rules, regulations and decisions, every public authority is mandated to `maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under the Act’.

The public authorities are therefore required to make pro-active disclosures through publication of relevant documents. Besides, the public authorities are also required to ‘provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means of communication, including internet,so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information’.

In compliance of the above provisions of the Act, all the levels of the Government – the Centre, States and Local Bodies, including Village level Panchayats – have put the records in public domain, through publications as well as internet in the regional languages. And, to facilitate the access to information, a citizen has the right to:

(i) inspection of work, documents, records;

(ii) taking notes, extracts or certified copies of the documents or records;

(iii) taking certified sample of material; and

iv) Obtaining information in electronic form, if available.

Thus, all the public authorities have duly placed the information in public domain and that a citizen has the right to observe as to what is going on inside an organization. In the cases where the information sought for are not provided within the stipulated period of 30 days or the information furnished are incomplete, misleading or incorrect, a requester is free to file a complaint or appeal before the Information Commission (IC), for necessary directions to the parties as per the provisions of the Act.

The Commission has the mandate, inter-alia, to impose penalty and/or to recommend disciplinary action against the information providers, if held responsible for obstructing the free flow of information. Accordingly, information seekers and the NGOs have put pressure on the public authorities for promoting the culture of openness in functioning of the Government. A large number of PIOs have already been fined for violation of the provisions of the Act, which has, in effect, created conditions for providing information to a requester. Due to perceived benefits of transparency and accountability, RTI applications have annually increased by 8 to 10 times.

There is thus massive use of the right to know. Of the millions of applications for information, less than 5 per cent have been denied information under various exemption categories. In effect, thus, there is greater transparency than before in the working of the public bodies. In a large number of cases, the Commission has ordered for providing the details of the decision-making processes, which include ‘file nothings, cabinet papers, records of recruitment, selection and promotion of staff, documents pertaining to tender processes and procurement procedure, the lists of beneficiaries of the Government’s subsidized schemes, such as, food grains supplied through ration shops, water and electricity, domestic gas, educational and health facilities, shelter for poor, muster rolls under employment guarantee schemes, etc. The disclosure of vital information, such as above, has thus resulted in checking corrupt practices in delivery of services and ensuring the reach of entitlements to the poor. The disclosure of information relating to use of funds allocated to rural employment guarantee scheme, MLA/MP local area funds, etc. have contributed to advocacy in favour or against the policies and/or political leaderships.

2) Greater Accountability

The RTI provides people with the mechanism to access information, whichnthey can use to hold the government to account or to seek explanation as to why decisions have been taken, by whom and with what consequences or outcomes. In addition, every public authority is required ‘to provide reasons for its administrative or quasi-judicial decisions to the affected persons’ u/s 4(1)(d) of the Act. Until the implementation of the RTI Act, it was not possible for an ordinary persons to seek the details of a decision making process, which was found most often, as ineffective in terms of its outcome. It was, therefore, not possible to hold a free and frank discussion on issues of common concern of people or to fix the responsibility for any action. Such an era of darkness in policy planning is over.

The information regime has, in effect, created conducive conditions for everyone to have a better understanding of how the government works or how a particular decision was reached. Such a chance given to people empowers them to make appropriate choice of leadership and the policies that affect them. This has begun to happen with salutary effects on delivery of socioeconomic services, particularly for the poor.

For instance, being fully aware that the records pertaining to the decision making process, including file nothings, are required to be put in public domain, the concerned officials at all levels objectively record the reasons for the observations made by them. Attempts are also made to effectively implement the programme as the relevant details are proactively disclosed. In effect, thus, the quality of decision making and delivery of services have duly improved. Also, due to effective implementation of the flagship programmes for alleviation of wide-spread poverty, the mis-match between the planned targets and actual realization has been minimized. Specific mention may be made about the following schemes, which have been provided necessary financial wherewithal as well as administrative support by the Centre and the States for effective implementation of the programmes.

• National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Assured jobs),

• Sarwa Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for all)

• Mid-day Meal Scheme

• Drinking Water Mission

• Integrated Child Development Services

• National Rural Health Mission

• Bharat Nirman (Rural Infrastructure, mainly road, electricity, drinking water, sanitation etc.)

• Indira Avas Yogna (Shelter for poor)

All these programmes and several other similar schemes covered under the MP/MLA Local Area Development Fund aim at providing the basic human needs for maintaining a decent standard of living. These schemes, moreover, enable them to build their strengths and abilities to realize their socioeconomic objectives.

Even before the enactment of the right to information, similar programmes were implemented but the achievements were always below the general expectations. Reason? Lack of legal right to know and to scrutinize the public action and to question the authority. With empowered citizens and free flow of information, there is significant quantitative and qualitative improvement in the delivery of services and realization of benefits of the programmes designed and implemented for the poor.

For instance, disclosure of information relating to:

i) Attendance of staff in schools has helped in checking teachers’ absenteeism and students’ drop out;

ii) Attendance of doctors and nurses at primary health centers has led to improvement in health care facilities in rural areas;

iii) the details of supplies and distribution of food grains through ration shops has assured the reach of entitlements to the beneficiaries;

iv) the supply and demand for petroleum products, such as, domestic gas has reduced black marketing;

v) muster rolls and beneficiary of employment guarantee schemes has exposed corruption and ensured effective delivery of services to the poor; and

vi)  Allotment of retail outlets (petrol pumps) and agencies for distribution of LPG gas has ensured fair play and objective decisions, as reflected from substantial reduction in litigation cases in the matter.

As a result of increased Government’s accountability in delivery of services, rural to urban migration has, of late, decelerated, as widely reported in the media. This is also corroborated by the findings of a national level survey (forthcoming), jointly conducted by the Transparency International and the Centre for Media Studies.

The survey has revealed that in the opinions of 40 per cent of respondent (all below the poverty line), corruption and malpractices in implementation of poverty alleviation programmes have declined due to RTI induced accountability of the Government and its functionaries at various levels. RTI route has generally been followed by a large number of people for resolving disputes between the parties on the issues pertaining to the decisions on administrative and commercial matters. Disclosure of information regarding the process of decision making or the grounds for action taken has helped resolve disputes on such issues as claim of refund of taxes paid by the individuals/companies, settlement of insurance claims, payment of dues of contractors, process of sanction and recovery of loans, etc.

Since a reply is to be given within thirty days, disputes have been resolved faster. A large number of grievances pertaining to service matters, mainly promotion and pension benefits have also been redressed due to openness and promptness in taking action on requests made under the RTI.

As a result, filing of appeals in the Courts has substantially declined, as reported, for instance, by the Oil Companies, which grant dealerships for distribution of petroleum products. The Courts have also advised the petitioners to obtain information under the RTI before filing the cases before the Courts. It thus shows a strong and positive impact of RTI on transparency and accountability of the Government.

3) Promotion of Citizen-Government Partnership

The RTI Act provides a framework for promotion of citizen-government partnership in carrying out the programmes for welfare of the people. The principle of partnership is derived from the fact that people are not only the ultimate beneficiaries of development, but also the agents of development.

The stakeholders’ participation leads to better projects and more dynamic development.

Under the RTI regime, citizens’ participation has been promoted through (a) access to information and involvement of affected groups/communities in design and implementation of projects; and (b) empowerment of local government bodies at village level through the involvement and cooperation with NGOs/self help groups.

The pro-active disclosure of information has enabled the beneficiaries, mainly through NGOs, to assume a central role in design and execution of projects.RTI has instilled a wider sense of ownership in the development activities. Besides, access to information has enabled the people to participate in economic and political processes through a dialogue between people and the government officials or public campaign on public policies.

For instance, information obtained under RTI, in respect of utilization of funds allocated under rural employment guarantee scheme, has been used by NGOs for campaign in favour or against the political leaders during recent elections in some States, with a desirable impact on political process. Almost all the welfare projects, particularly at Village and Panchayat levels, are being designed and developed in cooperation and support with the NGOs or affected persons, with a view to raising the satisfaction level of people.

4) Reduction in Corruption

Lack of transparency and accountability encourage the government officials to indulge in corrupt practices, which result in lower investments due to mis-use or diversion of funds for private purposes. As a result, the government’s social spending yields no worthwhile benefits, because, for instance, the teachers do not teach, doctors and nurses do not attend health centres, ration card holders do not receive subsidized food grains and the promised jobs are not provided to the people. In the process, it perpetuates poverty and harms the poor. It creates an environment of distrust between the people and the government, which impinge upon the development and jeopardize democratic governance.

Under the RTI regime, there is unprecedented transparency in the working of public departments. As a result, there is better understanding of the decision making process and greater accountability of government. This has led to reduction in corruption in the country as evident from the following:

i) The Transparency International (TI) has consecutively reported in the last two years that perceived corruption in India (a score of 3.5 out of 10)has declined at the rate of about 15-20 per cent per year, due mainly to the implementation of the RTI Act.

ii) The Centre for Media Studies in collaboration with TI has recently accomplished an all India survey study (un-published) of the poor below the poverty line. The views of the poor have been elicited in respect of all the flagship programmes that have been implemented for alleviation of poverty. At least 40 per cent of the respondents have reported that corruption has declined.

iii) It has also been observed that wherever NGOs are actively involved in the development activities, the perceived corruption is abysmally low. (Please see Case Studies pertaining to RTI and its impact on reduction in corruption)