District Level Workshop on Lobby and Advocacy through Right To Information at Malkangiri on 23/24 August 2005
Background:
There exists an imperative need for using the Right to Information law for an effective lobby and advocacy exercise for securing basic human rights for the people in general and for the marginalised and backward tribes of Malkangiri in particular. Getting equipped with information enables one for lobbying for human rights at different levels. It acts as the fuel of an engine called development. Without it we cannot think about the smooth running of a democratic polity at any level. Moreover, such people if lacking in information about how the political and economic system runs for them shall be left in a lurch in today’s competitive and globalised world.
Presently the vulnerable segments of population like the primitive and backward tribes of Malkangiri turn out to be the worse victims of a lopsided and top-down developmental process, that is being thrust on them without their consent and participation. Moreover, the primitive groups among them who are still languishing in the abject darkness about the state of affairs all around them even after 58 years of independence, are just left high and dry while myriad developmental schemes along with massive funds are being floated in the name of their development. The moot point that the developmental activists working for and among them are confronted with, is therefore, how to make these underprivileged people aware about their rights and entitlements and thereby enable them to participate in the formulation and implementation of the developmental process meant for them. And luckily enough, the Right to Information Act 2005 which has already come into force with effect from 15th of June 2005 promises to make the entire system of governance transparent and accountable to the citizens and is therefore of crucial significance for making the poor and tribal population of Malkangiri aware and vigilant about their rights and entitlements.
In view of the above perspective, a District level Workshop on RTI was scheduled to be held at an appropriate time as a part of the ongoing project ITDP (Integrated Tribal Development Project) involving its stakeholders along with its organizers and activists. This project is run under the collaboration of 4 Organizations of the Malkangiri District with PARIVARTTAN playing the role of Lead Agency for the team. On 23rd and 24th of August 2005, the said Workshop was duly held at Malkangiri. The programme on the 1st day was held in the Conference Hall of Zlla Parishad open to the members of public too, while that of the 2nd day at the office of Parivarttan basically meant for the staff and functionaries of the network.
FIRST DAY- 23rd August 2005
On the first day, the Chief Guest of the inaugural session was Dr. Suresh Ch. Chhotroy, District Information and Public Relations Officer, Malkangiri who delivered the inaugural speech too.
Ms. Mamata Behera, Project Coordinator welcomed the guests and participants to the Workshop. Mr.Nityanand Pradhan the Secretary, PARIVARTTAN giving an introduction about the objectives of the Workshop highlighted the following points:
a) To create an awareness among the people that they have now the legal and constitutional right to be informed about all Government policies and activities,
b) To start an organized campaign for the wide-scale dissemination of the Right to Information Act 2005 among the people at large
c).. To boost the Lobby and Advocacy activities for various human rights by using the recently enacted Right to Information Act 2005,
d).. To empower the people’s forums in villages with the knowledge on RTI , so that they would act as pressure groups in future for the successful working of the delivery mechanism under various plans and schemes of the Govt.
Mr. Suresh Ch Chhottroy, DIPRO Malkangiri assured the participants that the district administration is now getting prepared to serve the required information to the people as per the provisions of RTI Act 2005. He commended the efforts of organizers of the Workshop for their pioneer role in the district of Malkangiri in popularizing the RTI Act 2005.
Mr.Chitta Behera, a known social scientist hailing from Cuttack was the resource person for the Workshop. In the post-lunch session, Mr.Behera endeavoured to clarify certain basic issues relating to the current system of governance, which in his opinion needed to be demystified before analyzing the provisions and prospects of the RTI Act proper.
Mr.Behera observed that though the Constitution of India is claimed to be a democratic and secular one serving all the citizens of the country and is a lengthy document consisting of so many articles and schedules for the smooth running of the system, it is regretful that more than 90% of the our population are not aware about this prime document at all and amazingly it is true that most of the highly qualified and educated masses are also ignorant about the same. As a result, though we have a democratic system in a formal sense it is handicapped in so many ways. It is not capable of delivering goods and even of recognising our concerns.
The primary objective of a Constitution is to ensure good governance for the country, in which the people’s all-round welfare remains the core concern. But in case of Indian Constitution, the system has been designed in such a manner that only a microscopic minority of leaders and bureaucrats enjoy the most of privileges, while the common people continue to remain deprived of minimum access to the rights and freedoms enshrined therein. Our Constitution stands on a dualistic principle, that is, it talks galore of democracy on one hand, but keeps the overwhelming majority of our population outside the power structure on the other. For instance the Constitution under Sub-Section (1) of Section 19 provides for 6 fundamental rights to its citizens but takes them away on different pretexts under the Sub-Sections (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of the said Section. As is well-known, State had suppressed all the fundamental rights of the citizens during the Emergency period of 1975-77. Again, the so-called revolutionary measure i.e. the 73rd Constitution Amendment of 1992 for devolution of power to the Panchayats still remains an unreality, since the 7th Schedule of the Constitution that gives legislative power to Centre and States, including the power over Panchayats remained untouched while a separate charter of 29 subjects for Panchayats called the 11th Schedule was created anew and unnecessarily added to the Constitution. A similarly contradictory position exists in relation to the RTI Act itself. While the RTI makes it obligatory on the part of all public authorities including the Ministers to disclose all information of public interest to the citizen on request, the Oath of Secrecy as mentioned under the third Schedule of the Constitution debars the Ministers to disclose official information held by them. Besides the very language i.e. Victorian English in which the Constitution has been written is the main barrier for the majority of the country to understand it, let alone avail its provisions to assert their rights and entitlements.
Initiating the discussion on the RTI Act 2005, Mr.Behera informed that it was assented by the President of India on 15th June 2005. From that date, it has been partially enforced throughout the country but on the 12th of October it shall be fully enforced and every citizen shall be able to apply for information to any public authority at the Centre or in States. Jammu and Kashmir is exempted from the purview of the Act for obvious reasons.
While the Constitution and most of our laws are modeled upon outdated, colonial lines, the RTI Act is the only exceptional legislation that provides the right in categorical terms to a citizen to know the way they are being administered by their legislators and public servants. And moreover, it is the only Act which shifts burden of proof in respect of violation of the provisions of this Act from the citizen to the public authority.
Warning against holding of any illusion about the new Act, Mr.Behera emphasized that howsoever radical it might sound, the RTI Act can’t serve the purposes of the people on its own, but needed the concerted and vigilant action on the part of the civil society groups to constantly egg the functionaries of the State on to implement its provisions righteously.
SECOND DAY – 24th August 2005
There were two sessions held on the 2nd day, with lunch in between. The method of discussion was participatory and interactive as well. The participants were asked to read the salient Sections of the Act one after another.
Then Mr.Behera observed that the following could be taken as the possible strengths of the recently legislated RTI Act 2005 -
- It is a citizen-friendly law.
- Public Authorities are accountable to serve information held by them to the citizens
- It seeks to promote transparency in all the affairs of governance that relate to people’s life
- It places a layman in a position equivalent to that of a bureaucrat.
- It focuses on the responsibility of the public authorities to discharge their role and functions
vis-ŕ-vis the people properly.
- Under this Act, even the private organizations, companies and cooperatives that are
substantially funded by the Government are accountable for disclosing information held by
them.
- It provides a layman with a right to visit and inspect any Govt office and record,
- A layman can get the required information through his local language
- There is no hard and fast requirement of a format in which a citizen has to apply for
information under the Act.
- A layman can directly make a complaint to the State and Central Information Commission
about the non-observance or scant observance of the provisions of the Act on the part of the
public authorities.
- By using the provisions of the Act, a layman can get to know about the various
developmental policies and activities of the country and thereby help to make them pro
-people and citizen-friendly.
- The Act not only mandates the executive, but also the legislative and judicial wings of the
State to remain accountable and transparent to the lay public in respect of their various
activities.
- The people living below poverty line can demand and get the requisite information without
any cost
- A lay man can make an appeal before the Information Commissioners against the order of
the Senior Officer in respect of any refusal or negligence or an act of misfeasance on the
part of the public authorities in providing official information in due manner.
- The Information Commissioner, which shall be a statutory body has ample powers to
inspect and verify the records and works of public authorities on receipt of the complaint
or appeal from the public
- The Act is the first instrument of its kind, that starts a process of decolonisation of the legal
-administrative machinery of the State.
- It affords a scope to the common people to raise their voice against unnecessary secrecy and
bureaucratism in the functioning of the public authorities.
Then in the post-lunch session Mr.Behera indicated the following possible limitations of the RTI Act 2005 -
a) The Official Secrets Act 1923 along with so many laws and instruments of the State enforced since British times remain still in force, though the RTI Act 2005 places itself as the one superseding over them. Unless and until the public authorities get themselves rid of such colonial vestiges, the RTI Act can’t succeed in its mission to make the system transparent.
b) The Orissa Govt. Servants Conduct Rules 1959 and the corresponding Rules for the servants of the Central Government, though prohibitive of disclosure of official information do remain still valid and operational. There is likely therefore to take place an inflated number of litigations ensuing from such retrograde provisions.
c) The Oath of Secrecy as mentioned for the Ministers under the Third Schedule of the Constitution would act as a definite bar to the system getting transparent under the RTI Act, since the Ministers in our kind of Parliamentary democracy are not only the leading members of the legislature, but also the CEOs of different administrative departments.
d) The Act provides for no deadline within which the concerned Information Commissioner shall dispose of a complaint or appeal from a citizen.
Concluding Session:
In the final session, group exercises were held about how one can make a written application for getting information from the public authorities, a complaint before the Information Commissioner against the negligence and cheating if there be any by the public authorities, 1st appeal before the Senior Officer against the derelict PIO, and 2nd appeal before the Information Commissioner against the derelict PIO. The participants were divided into 4 groups, each to exercise over one of the above 4 areas, and each group produced a model application, which was subject to critical discussion by all participants. Mr.Chitta Behera also made his observations on the lacunae found in such model letters, and the participants noted them down with all seriousness for reference by them in future.
Finally Mr. B.K.Lenka, Secretary, PUSPAC, a partner organisation offered a vote of thanks to the participants and the Resource Person, following which the Workshop came to a close.
Remarks : Indeed the Workshop was a great occasion for learning many new facts and ideas for the participants. The Resource Person was well-experienced and had a vast knowledge on the concerned topic as he hailed from the profession of law. Most of the time a participatory and interactive method of deliberations was used, as a result of which the theme of the Workshop proved better understandable for the participants