--- On Sun, 11/2/08, Krishnaraj Rao <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
From: Krishnaraj Rao <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [rti4ngo] Information Commissioners: If vultures are hired to protect
peacocks, are the peacocks safe?
To: "Krishnaraj Rao 3" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Sunday, November 2, 2008, 4:53 AM
[Synopsis: To get information from bureaucrats, the apex body
implementing RTI Act must consist of Vigilant Citizens, not Retired
Bureaucrats. Let us form such an apex body.]
Is it difficult to choke a person to death? Is it necessary to
a) surgically remove his lungs?
b) cut his windpipe?
c) obstruct 100% of his air-supply for one hour?
The answer to all these questions is: No. With minimal use of force, killers
suffocate their victims with a handkerchief, a pillow or a shoelace. After
struggling for 30 seconds, most victims lose the strength and the will to
struggle.
The bureaucracy uses this technique to routinely murder citizens' initiatives
and participatory democracy. It rarely uses strong police action to silence
people who ask inconvenient questions; usually, it just demoralizes them.
Just as caterpillars transform into butterflies, thousands of ordinary people
in Indian cities and villages attain spiritual maturity and transform into
SYSTEM REFORMERS every year. These enlightened men and women are committed to
make a difference. But the system suffocates them by giving partial, misleading
or irrelevant information
or by denying them all information. As these people
struggle to get scraps of information about the system, their energies are
diverted away from systemic reforms. Within a few months, they feel defeated
and retreat into their private lives, convinced that they cannot change this
corrupt and opaque system. Every time this happens, our democracy loses a
Gandhi, a Sardar Patel, a Nehru or a Lokmanya Tilak who might have made some
progress towards a brighter future an invisible but grave loss.
Three years ago, the RTI Act was put in place to stop this from happening. But
again, the fingers of bureaucracy got a stranglehold over it. Information
Commissioners (ICs) were appointed to defend the status quo against citizens
who want to uncover facts. Instead of being tough on bureaucracy, ICs are soft
on bureaucracy and tough on citizens
and this is the actual purpose for which
they were appointed.
Let us ask who appointed Information Commissioners, and for what?
1) The people appointed as ICs and their office staff are retired or
retiring bureaucrats. The good people among them are tired and demoralized
after decades of saying "Yes Sir". The bad ones are corrupt. Whether good or
bad, they have no sympathy for citizens who make life difficult for
fellow-bureaucrats by probing for embarrassing facts. All ICs have former
colleagues and bosses in the administration whom they owe many favours. Can
they deliver justice to system reformers trying to enforce transparency? Of
course not.
2) SICs are selected by the General Administration Department (GAD).
Similarly, CICs are selected by the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) .
GAD and DoPT control service postings, transfers and promotions of bureaucrats
at the State and Central levels. Will these government departments select
somebody who will force bureaucrats to reveal adverse information against other
government departments? Of course not! They appoint only those who have a
track-record of being faithful to "the system".
3) ICs come in through political appointments. Each IC has several
political godfathers senior politicians and bureaucrats. And so they follow
an unwritten rule: If the information is truly damaging and will enable
citizens to change the system, try not to give it; otherwise somebody's
godfather will get hurt or angry. (Meanwhile, hold repeated hearings if
necessary, write many letters to PIOs, pass ambiguous orders, create paperwork
and delays to keep the information- seeker busy and confused.)
Will such past bureaucrats to support us in our crusade for transparency? When
we know that vultures are being hired for the job of protecting peacocks, why
are we believing that the job will really be done? We are being gullible fools!
I believe that for the RTI Act to be truly implemented, the people at the top
will have to be Activists, not Bureaucrats.
Let us stop being "nice people" and giving ICs time for improving themselves.
This is a false hope. It is urgent to act NOW, because every passing month
enables them to push the RTI Act a little deeper into the quicksand of
pendency. The solution lies in calling their bluff and taking decisive action
NOW.
How? Consider implementing this:
1) Let us unite to create a nationwide SUPERVISORY BODY OF RTI ACTIVISTS.
This body need not seek government recognition, but only the support of RTI
activists all over India. This body shall supervise the workings of all
Information Commissions.
2) This broad-based body must immediately identify 20 recent cases of
clear denial of information in every Information Commissioner in India, and it
shall press for full penalties and departmental action against PIOs. Pressure
is to be applied by several novel methods of non-violent agitation, both
locally and nationwide.
3) Let us end the misconception of Information Commissioners'
"discretionary powers". RTI Act confers no discretionary powers. Every month,
the supervisory body must identify 20 cases of denial and press for penalty and
departmental action.
4) Let us sink our ideological differences and agree to a common minimum
program which is as follows: (i) PIOs MUST compulsorily justify denial of
information with proper reasoning under Section 8 of RTI Act. Otherwise, they
will automatically attract penalty. (ii) ICs must adhere strictly to RTI Act
without taking liberties and assuming discretionary powers. If PIO has
unjustifiably denied or delayed in giving information, no extension of time
must be given; Penalties MUST be imposed and departmental action MUST be
recommended. (iii) If the RTI application is flawed, it must be summarily
dismissed so that no grey areas are tolerated. (iii) After hearings, ICs must
give clear spoken orders supported with reasoning under the RTI Act. If written
orders cannot be immediately given, both parties must take notes of the salient
features of the order, and receive the ICs signature on these notes. No more
spoken orders that say, "We shall see
you
wait for my written orders."
I appeal to the leaders of the RTI movement to unite and immediately constitute
an All India Supervisory Body of RTI Activists, and unilaterally assume the
power to supervise Information Commissioners. Thus, a citizens' body must
become the de-facto apex body to implement RTI Act, sitting on top of all
Information Commissioners everywhere. Instead of letting appeals against ICs
orders go to the High Court, this apex body may look into these strictly within
the bounds of the RTI Act and rules.
It is true that such an apex body may be called extra-constitutiona l. However,
as constitutional mechanisms have been perverted to favour babu-raj and
goonda-raj instead of true Swaraj, I prayerfully submit that it is now time
for CITIZENS to rise up and assert their primacy over this system.
Warm Regards,
Krishnaraj Rao
98215 88114
Spokesman
Sahasi Padyatri
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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