The Cost of Right To Information.
There are innumerable Problems associated with Right To Information. National
security , activities and Oversights responsible for National security . It
becomes very difficult but an instructive testing ground for Problems
Associated with Right To Information. The Government and its Instrumentalities
have make Provision of More Concessions to Access more Information if not Total
Openness .If we analyze a variety of Arguments supporting or against this
Concessions or Transparency along with the state of Government operations , we
will have to recon one major factor or it is implicit for Govt; administrators
Not ignore . That is “COST”
I will not Discuss the Intangibles or the hidden Costs which may affect the
Morale , Risk of Leaks on National security or Reduce the Efficacy of Services
Rendered by the Govt to the Governed .
The culture of openness in Right to information has a very efficient Counter
argument against its Introduction being “cost”. Cost May take a variety of
forms . there is Sheer Financial Cost. Allow access and every one will want to
see everything . This will certainly Indexing and Cataloguing. This Is what
Precisely The Framers of the RTI Act 2005 envisaged in Section four
–Obligations of Public Authorities . The Wisdom of our Representatives went
beyond obligations and Specified the word “Shall”, Within a reasonable time
and the access should be available through a net work all over the country.
This indexing will require staff to carry out the basic work , Cull out
Information & files which are to be Destroyed or Redundant, to deal with
requests , to provide reviews, to also check exempt materials are not included,
to deal with litigation , to check the filing and file movements are carried
out properly.
There is a cost and Fear of Perpetual Intervention when Policy Makers are
constantly exposed or challenged and have to justify their every move. In such
a situation People may not take risks or make innovative decisions. The cost
would extend to their Professionalism and this would extend as cost of inertia.
The recent notification by Central Information Commission for an Full Bench
Hearing in a case where the Respondent is an professional body , placed in a
situation of the Information provider is contesting the whole ambit of Costs in
RTI showing that there are other financial costs and has inevitably exaggerated
it .
In the Indian context supply of Information is Related an very Nominal fee
which is Governed by Section 7, subsection 3 where payment of Further fees is
Determined by the Staff who deal with the Requests (Public Information officer)
in accordance with an Prescribed Fee structure or Tariff under the guise that
these professional bodies are doing commercial activities , further stating
that the issue as an legal issue . the Central Information Commission has by
itself Taken that it has enough Vested powers to Adjudicate and Decide and
determine whether this Demand of Some of these
…………..
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professional bodies can demand for all the Man Power used in the Process of
supply of information .
If an very quick Recap of reports of RTI cases are glanced through we see that
the Police,Railways PWD and Several Other Normal Service Providing Authorities
have also Made such Incorrigible Demands .
On the Contrary Here in Bangalore Itself as A result of Use of RTI , Crusaders
of the Act have Brought out Sever Stamp Duty Evasions running to Crores ,
Misappropriation in Purchase of Computers , which Means that RTI is Effectively
being Used and Corruption is Being Curtailed . Even reports From Transparency
International Speak Volumes on RTI Effectiveness.
If RTI is Evaluated in an economic analysis the Benefits of RTI over weigh the
Costs and an Simple Comparison done “WITH and “Without “ tests the Overall
returns and the net additional benefit arising with RTI tremendously add up.
Like in an Project analysis if the Cost and Benefit ratio is arrived at will be
Much remunerative .
Why then is that even Professional Bodies Who are Very Capable to carry out
Economic analysis of RTI like any other project analysis are Not able to
Identify and value of the benefits and are Harping on only costs . It is simple
that Goods and Services which are the Essential sum and Substance of RTI prove
difficult to Identify . The Labour Cost which they are Demanding is Mostly
Unskilled labor and Have already been accounted in the Shadow price of their
salaries and perquisites .
The Benefits From RTI are Increased Value of output, Where Time Value is
assigned to each work carried out , Greater Physical Out put Both in offices
and outside on the field and High quality Improvement , there may be even Cost
Reduction with Enhanced Systems being Incorporated , Losses are avoided .
Mostly the people at the helm of Affairs in the Public Sector and also
professional Bodies and the Government itself has to get themselves appraised
of these Benefits and then only will this Mad rush to Tinker with the RTI by
looking into Governance that the Good Part of it in the angle of Financial
costs only . It Bad on these Authorities to Demand all these as Costs and it is
ugly to The Information Commission to having notified that they have powers to
sit and Decide on this .The Central Information Commission Should Be Aware that
there is an Parliamentary Committee Available to Decide on this , which Had
already Declared that they will do away with the application fee . Lastly The
Information Commission is Just an Tribunal and Can only implement a Statue and
not interpret it . Bureaucrats who are Information commissioners should
Realize this or else the institution of RTI which is Based on Transparency and
Public Participation may end up with
Sitting to Decide only on Cases of Excessive Fees Charged .
-0-0—0—0--
N Vikramsimha
Trustee
RTI Study Centre
Bangalore
98860 20774
N vikramsimha , KRIA Katte , #12 Sumeru Sir M N Krishna Rao Road , Basvangudi <
Bangalore 560004.
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