Firstly, presently the cunning departmental PIOs are now adopting “such oral discussion tactics”( by writing Please Discuss, on noting sheet) so that they can manage to maintain minimum records to avoid their later production/ disclosure in case any RTI petition arise in future.

In my view , some provision may also be there in RTI act so that any ICs can ask the PIOs as to why they have not maintained such an essential public interest or financial expenditure related information?

The present RTI form have only ‘eyes’, but not the ‘hands , ears’ or mind .

It is a very common excuse to say that the concerned file is missing . On this, some ICs say that the “PIO furnished the information by saying this “. But it is ridiculous and causing open fun of RTI Act.

In my many of the pending cases with CIC, CIC has NEVER fixed any
action/responsibility in spite of IIT repeatedly submitting
contradictory statements about : — (i) documents have been
destroyed, (ii) information, requested was not recorded though
information was taken from the candidates, (iii) information requested
is not available, and/or (iv) supplying information which keeps on
changing with time as it suits to the Information supplier.

The pending cases with CIC have entered in its fourth year, yet the
cases keep on dragging in spite of more than a dozen non-compliance
order issued and many hearing at CIC taken place. Neither the complete
and correct information as requested vide a dozen applications has
been supplied yet, nor any action taken against the respondents.
Though, many a times, CIC has issued warning that all the provisions
of RTI Act would be invoked? None is done yet? Rather the statements
as illustrated in the above paragraph, have been submitted repeatedly
by the respondents. By such acts, hundreds of students were robbed off
their once-in-a-life-time dream due to bungling done by IITs?

Is RTI Act/CIC a paper tiger for BIGs?

The appellants and information commissioners as well have to fight a fierce battle with the public authorities for taking out the information from them, there is no use of First Appeal in the matters pertaining to the RTI because most of the FAA’s are acting in line of the PIO’s and consider the version of PIO’s as a holy verse out of Bible and seldom try to compel them to part off with the information.

In most of the cases a information which is denied by the PIO and FAA or a information provision of which is ordered by the FAA to the concerned PIO is also ignored compliance by the PIO and finally is made available to the Appellant on the orders of CIC only.

There are a number of instances in which the PIO’s have gone to the extents misleading even CIC by providing the false, frivolous and misleading information on one pretext or other to harass and frustrate the Appellant to hide their wrong doings.

This process of first Appeal before the FAA who is official of same Department has failed to serve any purpose so in my opinion FAA should be from the different Department or some other quasi judicial body.

Ajay Kumar
publicgrievance@rediffmail.com