Four information commissioners skip RTI meet

The Telegraph, 06-12-2010 Magsaysay awardee Arvind Kejriwal takes umbrage at blatant violation of act by state body OUR CORRESPONDENT Ranchi, Dec. 5: A public hearing on the right to information (RTI) Act in the capital and only two of the six state information commissioners show up, baring a blundering and laggard organisation that passes as the sentinel of truth in Jharkhand. The State Information Commission (SIC), vested with the powers to ensure implementation of the RTI Act of 2005 in the tribal heartland, is suppressing more facts than it is disseminating, activists claimed at today’s meet, leaving Magsaysay awardee Arvind Kejriwal surprised and shocked. Gangotri Kujur and Srishtidhar Mahto, the two commissioners present at the hearing, have been submitting copies of their judgments to the National Information Commission for review. However, the others — Ram Vilas Gupta, who is the acting chief information commissioner, P.K. Mahto, H.P. Munda and Baijnath Mishra — seem to have taken the liberty not to furnish copies of verdicts on grounds like no photocopying machines and staff crunch. “It is unfortunate that officials responsible for dissemination of information are suppressing the same. They need to amend their ways at the earliest. If the SIC fails to provide information, how can it expect others to ensure transparency?” Kejriwal said, adding that the information commissioners should step down if the allegations were true. Kejriwal also threatened to meet the governor and move Jharkhand High Court on the issue. Jharkhand RTI Forum general secretary Vishnu Rajgariah pointed out that the information commissioners were often hostile towards information seekers and indulgent to a fault when it came to state and central government officials appointed as public information officers (PIOs). “An RTI application to a PIO is required to be disposed of within 30 days. If information provided by the PIO is inadequate, one can lodge a complaint with the SIC. But here, the commission connives with PIOs to conceal information,” Rajgariah said. Even the mandatory penalty of Rs 250 per day after the 30-day deadline is rarely slapped on PIOs, which means the commission violates the RTI Act more than any other individual or organisation. Continuing the tirade, Brahmadeo Mandal, an RTI activist from Dumka, said one of the commissioners was also in the habit of driving away information seekers from his office, labelling them as “agents who destroy peace”. “Such commissioners should be penalised as per RTI provisions,” he said. Jasim Khan of Gumla alleged that the personal assistant of one of the information commissioners had demanded Rs 10,000 as bribe while crusader Imtiaz Ashraf claimed that acting chief information commissioner Gupta discouraged all those seeking information on the high court. To soothe frayed nerves, the two commissioners present at the meet assured activists that they would fine PIOs who failed to provide information within the specified time. They added that arrest warrants could also be issued if PIOs failed to turn up at hearings. Speaking to The Telegraph, Baijnath Mishra said they were not obliged to attend public hearings on judgments earlier pronounced by the SIC. He added that the commission did not have a website where judgments could be uploaded.