The Right To Information Act 2005

The Indian state till recently denied information about its functioning and decision-making to its citizens, ironically, using laws made during the colonial period. Apart from being an anomaly in a democratic set-up, it created an adverse impact on the quality of governance, accountability, and transparency. It was only in 2005, after a prolonged freedom of information movement, that this situation was finally rectified. The government enacted the landmark Right to Information Act 2005, and gave to all its citizens the right to access information held by or under the control of public authorities. This Handbook is meant to serve as a practical guide to the implementation of the Act. The book begins by locating the Act in the context of a global movement for freedom of information (FOI), and discusses the efforts made by international bodies for adoption of FOI. It also presents a detailed comparative study of FOI in five countries—the US, the UK, Canada, South Africa, and India. In subsequent chapters, the book adopting a step-by-step approach, discusses the provisions of the Right to Information Act, how citizens should make use of the right to information, the comprehensive guidelines for public authorities and their obligations under the Act, which includes relevant central information commission decisions, the role of the public information officers (PIO), who are to be appointed as per the provisions in the Act by all public authorities, the exemptions allowed under the Act, and, finally, the appellate authorities to whom a citizen can appeal in case of unsatisfactory response by the PIO.

Right to Information Act is a unique act empowering the citizens of India and promote transparency and accountability in the working of the government. It applies to all states and Union Territories except Jammu and Kashmir. It has replaced the Freedom for Information Act. Every citizen of India should have the knowledge of this act; so that he/she is not coerced by the government. It is specially formulated in order to preserve the sanctity of democracy of the people. The act helps contain corruption and makes democracy work for the people in the real sense. An informed person is equipped to keep necessary vigil on the working of the government. Therefore; it is essential to have proper knowledge regarding it. At times the officers themselves find it difficult to decide upon. In order to help them easily find the decisions; they have been listed subject and section-wise. The book serves as a ready-reckoner of RTI Act.

With reference to India.

Aruna Roy resigned from the IAS in 1975 to work with peasants and workers in rural Rajasthan. In 1990 she helped co-found the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS). The MKSS struggles in the mid 90s for wages and other rights gave birth to the now celebrated Right to Information movement. Aruna continues to be a part of many democratic struggles and campaigns. This book is a collective history that tells the story of how ordinary people can come together and prevail against great odds, to make democracy more meaningful.

Papers presented at the National Seminar on Right to Information Act, 2005 : Problems and Challenges, held at Chandigarh.

The Right to Information Act, 2005 is a golden piece of legislation which enacted to ensure transparency and accountability in governance of the country. After independence, no legislation has yielded such a faster result as has been yielded by this Act. It has given a kind of weapon in the hands of citizens to use against corruption and red-tapism prevalent in bureaucracy. This Act has revolutionary impact on the official work culture in our government and public enterprises. Each day this Act is discovering untraveled path and piercing new veil in administration. It has widespread effect in a very short span of time without much effort of executive or bureaucracy. Due to this Act various hidden facts of vital importance about administration revealed which were still considered sacrosanct and protected from disclosure. Today no one knows which fact is going to be unveiled tomorrow. Therefore this book is useful helpful for its readers to understand the importance of the Right to Information Act, 2005.

With more than 100 right to information (RTI) laws—also called freedom of information or access to information laws—now in place globally, the groundwork has been laid to advance more transparent, accountable, and inclusive governance as a pathway to poverty reduction and economic development. This guide explores the historical development of RTI laws, the factors that drive passage and effective implementation of these laws, the operation of the laws, and the impact of these laws in different country contexts and sectors, as well as the challenges of measuring the contribution of RTI laws to development outcomes. Public Access to Information for Development: A Guide to the Effective Implementation of Right to Information Laws is based on two years of research studying how RTI has been implemented in countries in different regions and with varying income levels. The research has aimed to develop a theoretical framework by which to identify the drivers of effective implementation of RTI laws and to support measurement of effective implementation; the outcomes are discussed. This guide grapples with questions such as the following: • What does it mean to have effectively implemented an RTI law? • What aspects of a law have to be operational before it can be said to have been effectively implemented? • What other factors are most critical to the effective implementation of RTI laws? • Why does effective implementation of RTI matter?