Success Story of RTI Activism in Orissa
Awareness campaign on RTI is no more in the domain of Orissa Information Commission
Dear friends
It is fact that when the Govt. enacts a law, it always keeps provision for public awareness campaign about it. Accordingly, Central Govt. while enacting the RTI Act has made a clear-cut provision in the law for awareness campaign and fixing responsibility on particular institution i.e., State or Central Govt. Section 26 of the Act says that the State Govt. shall organize public awareness campaign on RTI, Publish booklets and conduct training for Officials in the state. As the Information and Public Relation Department is nodal Dept. in Orissa for implementation of RTI, the Dept. has to organize such awareness programme in the state. But the tragedy in Orissa is that since beginning, Orissa Information Commission itself was found busy in conducting the awareness programme, publishing booklets and organizing training for officers. The Officials of I and PR Dept. remained sitting idle without contributing anything for propagation of RTI in the state. Neither State Information Commissions nor Central Information Commission was found involved in doing such awareness campaign on RTI in their respective states or at National level. It is exception in Orissa. Within long span of five years, it was found Orissa Information Commission (OIC) spending around Rs. 3 crores sanctioned by Govt. for awareness programme . Nobody knows what the output is.
As the OIC remained busy in conducting awareness programme and inaugurating such programme as Chief Guest and Chief Speaker, their primary work of disposal of complaint and 2nd appeal cases suffered and pendency of large number of cases was found increasing in the office of the Commission. It needs to be mentioned here that presently more than 15000 cases are pending in the office of the Commission for disposal because of sheer negligence and inefficiency of the Information Commissioners for the same.
Being terribly disturbed by illegal activities of the Commission, the Civil Society Groups and RTI Activists in Orissa , since beginning opposed the Commission's involvement in the awareness campaign and demanded their withdrawal from these activities. But the Commission remained hell-bent in their illegal activities and did not care the criticism of Civil Society Groups. During that time, a question cropped up in the mind of RTI Activists that who decides and how the decision has been taken at Govt. level to sanction fund to the Commission for awareness programme. Accordingly, RTI Application was submitted to the Dept. of I and PR, Dept. of Planning and Coordination, Dept. of Finance and office of Orissa Information Commission to get the information about it. Astonishingly, the PIOs of all Depts. Continued to forward the application each other without providing any information. The PIO, office of Orissa Information Commission supplied the information about only expenditure of the fund.
Finding no information through RTI, RTI Activists decided to get the information through MLAs putting the question in Orissa Assembly. Accordingly, Mr. Karendra Majhi, Hon'ble MLA raised Non-Star question in the assembly in the month of August 2009 to the Hon'ble Minister for Information and Public Relation about how the decision was taken at Govt. level to sanction fund to the Commission for awareness campaign in the state going against the provision of RTI Act. Response of the Minister was " Collection of Information is under Process" . The Information was never supplied to the Hon'ble MLA.
Then, RTI Activists under the banner of Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan staged a day-long Dharana before Raj Bhawan, Bhubaneswar on 26.11.2010 demanding enquiry into misappropriation of 3.25 crore Rupees by the Commission in the name of awareness programme and appropriate legal action against the Commission at the earliest. A memorandum was submitted to Hon'ble Governor, Orissa in this regard. At the same time, Mr. Raj Kishor Singh, Political Activist and a Senior Citizen has filed a PIL Case in Orissa High Court praying for enquiry into misappropriation of huge fund for awareness campaign by CBI and demanding action against the Commissioners in March 2011.
In the meantime, Mr. Tarun Kanti Mishra former Chief Secretary, Orissa assumed the responsibility as Chief Information Commissioner in the state in the month of Novemebr'2010. When he was appraised about the illegal activities of the Commission, he decided not to be involved in the awareness campaign and accordingly wrote the letter to the State Govt. not to take fund for the same. Now the fund for awareness programme is available with Dept. of I and PR, Nodal Dept. for RTI in the state from the financial year 2011-2012.
To conclude, it took five years of protracted struggle of RTI Activists and Civil Society Organisations to force Information Commission to act as per the letter and spirit of the RTI Act.
Regards
Pradip Pradhan
M-99378-43482
Date-6.10.2011
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