Information Act covers public trusts

Want to know the status on your housing application? Require details from your hospital records? Waiting for an overdue answer to your scholarship application?

Public charitable trusts will now be obliged by law to provide information to those who seek it under the Maharashtra Right To Information Act 2002 (31 of 2003) (MRTI).

The Act was passed "to make provisions for effectively securing and enforcing the right to information in the State of Maharashtra and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.” Nine states in all have passed right to information acts, Maharashtra being the latest. The act further notes "the right to information had been recognized by the Supreme Court as a part of the fundamental right guaranteed to the citizens under article 19 (1) of the Constitution of India; (and that) the right to information is the bedrock of democracy and can pave the way for transparency, openness and accountability in governance of the affairs of the State and ensure effective participation of the people in a democratic society.”

The bodies covered under the act include state and munic­ipal governments, police, the registrar of cooperative societies, registrar of societies, the charity commissioner, public trusts registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act 1950 and so on.

The public authorities covered by this Act include besides state owned and controlled bodies any other organizations which receives "any aid directly or indirectly by the Government and shall include the bodies whose composition and administration are predominantly controlled by the Government or the functions of such body are of public nature or interest or on which office bearers are appointed by the Government.”

Information as defined in the Act means material "relating to any matter in respect of the affairs of the Government and of any public authority and includes a copy of any record in form of a document, diskettes, floppy or any other electronic mode.”

Addressing a gathering under the auspices of the BombayMan­agement Association on April 20, 2005 in Bombay, Kewal Semlani coordinator of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Maha­dhikar explained how the Act would hold public institutions accountable.

Once a query has been submitted in a prescribed format, the concerned authority would have to give a reply in 15 days. If the information is not immediately available the authority could seek in writing a 15-day extension.

Beyond that limit, the concerned public official or body could be fined Rs 250 a day for each day’s delay.

If the authority has knowingly given "(an) incorrect or misleading information or a wrong or incomplete information the appellate authority may impose a penalty not exceeding rupees two thousand.”

Mahadhikar is "committed... to spread the use and effectiveness of MRTI in the every day life of citizens,” notes its website mahadhikar.com

By using the Act, Semlani was able to obtain from the Bombay Municipal Corporation the number of legal and illegal speed breakers constructed in Bombay and filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court.

On April 27, Chief Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice S. A. Bobde ruled that "all speed breakers not complying with the Indian Road Congress — an apex road authority — specifications and not cleared by the traffic police must go,” states The Indian Express, Mumbai Newsline of April 28.

Of the 2,025 speed breakers in the city, 1,697 were un­authorized. According to Semlani, a speed breaker must be 12 feet in width and not higher than four inches in height at its apex. The speed breaker should be painted with stripes and a sign should indicate that a speed breaker lies ahead. Each speed breaker costs around Rs 5,000 to construct if the specifications are followed, he noted.

Describing himself as a ‘debtor’ to society the soft-spoken 69-year-old former businessman is devoted to taking up public causes. The NGO’s website provides up-to-date material on the Information Act including a copy of the entire Act (English copies are out of print at the Government printing press at Bombay’s Charni Road).

The public authority can only charge the applicant the actual costs incurred in providing the information which can be as low as 50 paise a page to Rs 6,000 a page set by some Poona government body. Semlani said they were going to challenge the Poona charge which he felt was outrageous.

The application form to be submitted also asks the "Purpose for which the information is required.” Semlani termed this question "illegal” and said they would take the issue up with the courts. The reply he suggested applicants could offer are "in the public interest,” "in the larger public interest” or "the affected party.”

The application on plain paper (letterheads are not valid) must have a Rs 10 court fee stamp affixed to it. The stamp must be within its six-month validity period. He advised taking a xerox copy of the form with the stamp affixed to it as there was always the chance of a dishonest officer removing the stamp and terming the application invalid. The application must be made by an individual, not an organization or association, states Semlani.

He is educating government bodies on the implications of the Act. Central govern­ment bodies and corporations are not covered by the Act. The Lok Sabha passed the Right to Information Bill on May 11. As The Indian Express (May 12, 2005) notes, "The biggest difference between the Right to Information Bill passed today by the Lok Sabha from the one that was introduced five months ago is that it applies to state government as well.

"The Bill will have to be passed by the Rajya Sabha and obtain the President’s assent before the clock starts ticking for the Central and state governments to put in place within 120 days the entire machinery meant to implement the law.

"Significantly, the amendment extending the Bill to state government and local bodies was made in the teeth of an adverse opinion given by the Law Ministry. It marks a victory for the National Advisory Council and NGOs who have been campaigning for the right to information to be available across the country at all levels.”

Thus those states which do not have an information act would be covered. In the nine states that have information acts citizens will be able opt for either the state or central government act, whichever is more favorable.

The MRTI specifies around 10 reasons for not disclosing information. These include information which would prejudice the sovereignty and integrity of India, material forbidden to be published by a court of law, information including commercial confidence, information pertaining to a service record of a person, information which relates to personal information and is of no public interest, and so on.

Public bodies have to designate a Public Information Officer (PIO) to whom the queries can be addressed. Public trusts, aided schools, colleges, hospitals, etc will all have to do likewise.

Semlani likens making a complaint under the Act to dri­ving a nail into a wall. You have to first ensure the nail is straight and pointed and then you have to keep hammering till it goes into the wall.

For the past 57 years government officials have ruled the roost. Now it is the citizens’ turn. "We are taking away their zamindari (right on land),” said Semlani. We have to give them some leeway to come to terms with the new realities.