(This article was came in India Together on 21 December 2006)
http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/dec/soc-pattalaw.htm
Move to amend tribal land law dangerous
The Orissa state government is proposing to amend a law that prevents easy selling of tribal land to non-tribals. The government's argument that land sale is one of the important ways for needy tribals to raise immediate cash does not appear as benign as it sounds, writes Pradeep Baisakh.
21 December 2006 - The vulnerability of the tribal communities in India, as in anywhere on the earth, need not be overemphasised. In order to protect the interest of tribal people, the Constitution of India, under Schedule V, provides for special protection of tribal land in scheduled areas. Each state has its own law under this provision. In Orissa, the law is known as Orissa Scheduled Areas Transfer of Immovable Property Regulation, 1956 (OSATIP, 1956), and is supposed to protect land belonging to tribals. This law, however, failed in checking the transfer of tribal lands to non-tribals. The BJD-BJP coalition government (also the current coalition in power in Orissa) amended the law in 2002 and this made it comparatively effective.
The issue has assumed significance as all corporate eyes are on Orissa due to its huge reserves of natural resources, which are mostly situated in tribal-inhabited areas.
There is now yet another proposal of the state government to amend the law. This new amendment, which would facilitate the easy selling of tribal land to non-tribals, however, hints at something more. Ignoring the widespread protest by the tribals and civil society organisations in the area, the government plans to go ahead with its amendment. Considering that this would clearly amount to the subversion of the constitutional provisions, the government's move is being questioned by concerned citizens and the public at large. The issue has assumed significance as all corporate eyes are on Orissa due to its huge reserves of natural resources, which are mostly situated in tribal-inhabited areas.
The journey of OSATIP, 1956
The land in scheduled areas may be categorised broadly as two types - Patta land and non-Patta or government land - for the understanding of the purview of OSATIP Regulation. The Patta lands are the private lands of the tribals, on which the tribal people possess the government record of ownership (Patta). The other category of land is owned by the government or by non-tribals, though they are customarily used by the tribals; unfortunately OSATIP does not provide any protection for this land. It concerns itself only with the private Patta land. Even in case of Patta land, the law permitted (before 2002 amendment) transfer under certain conditionalities.
Since the law never addressed the critical issue of the need for recognition of customary tribal rights on land and was weak in addressing the transfer of even the Patta land to non-tribals, large-scale alienation of tribal land took place after independence, both by the state government and by non-tribals. Large areas of land customarily claimed by scheduled tribes were categorised as forest land or revenue land through survey and settlements and forest declaration. So much so that at present, 84 per cent of the land area in scheduled districts either belongs to the government or to non-tribals, according to information compiled from district statistical handbooks. Due to insufficiency of legal protection, the government also merrily transferred huge tracts of such land to various mining and industrial companies as well as non-tribal individuals. This, in itself, is unconstitutional and has led to massive resentment and anger amongst the tribal people.
In contrast to OSATIP, under the Andhra Pradesh law, no land - whether government land or private land - in scheduled areas can be transferred to non-tribals.
As has already been mentioned, OSATIP proved to be insufficient even in protection of the paltry 16 per cent of the land in scheduled areas on which tribals have ownership rights. The law permitted transfer of Patta land from tribals to non-tribals after obtaining permission from the mandatory authority, but in such transactions, manipulation was high, and innocent tribals often lost their land in dubious transfers.
Following protests against such practices, a progressive amendment was brought about in 2002 in the OSATIP Regulation, 1956. This amendment: (a) completely banned transfer of Patta land by tribals to non-tribals, and (b) laid down the provision that all non-tribals owning lands originally owned by tribals have to submit evidence within a year that they had acquired the land by legal means, otherwise such land would revert back to the original tribal owner and the illegal land grabber would be fined and imprisoned.
It is exactly these amendments that are sought to be overturned by the government in the proposed amendment. The reason being given for this is that tribals who want to sell their land for meeting emergency needs or capital needs are unable to do so. In view of unavailability of credit from formal sources in the tribal areas, the proponents of this amendment claim that land sale becomes one of the important ways to raise immediate cash � precisely the mechanism through which large areas of tribal Patta lands have been lost in the past. Supporters of reversing the amendment seem to include many powerful people including politicians, industrialists etc.
For instance, it has been alleged in the petition filed in Supreme Court against Vedanta Alumina Limited, which is setting up an alumina refinery at Langigarh in the Kalahandi district that the company has taken over the private land illegally for which neither acquisition notice was served nor compensation was paid. In case of Nepaz Adhunik Metalics Sponge Factory in Kuwarmunda of Sundergarh district, the state has acquired private land even when the Gram Sabha had rejected the proposal when it was consulted. The local people allege that many sponge iron industries like Nepaz Adhunik Metalics Sponge Factory, Scan Steel Ltd, Sri Jaibalaji Pvt. Ltd. and others have illegally taken over the Patta land of the tribals there, precisely what the 2002 amendment outlawed.
One 11 December, the Times of India's Bhubaneswar edition carried the news that four high-ranking officers -- Raghunath Pradhan, Harihar Sahoo, Nirmal Nayak, Daniel Ekka -- had allegedly fraudulently acquired land of tribals in Rengali Tehsil of Sambalpur district where notification for setting up of an aluminum industry was issued. The TOI also quoted an unnamed official as saying that the four officials purchased land at cheap rates and stood to gain over three lakh rupees per acre when a government development corporation would acquire the land. Similar allegations are also in air that many influential politicians have acquired acres of land in Kalinga Nagar - the steel hub of the state, and stand to gain from the same in future. Hence, the strong suggestion that the government's intention may be something other than enabling tribals to get easy credit cannot be ignored.
There are ways out
The problem of land sale to obtain money, faced by a miniscule proportion of tribals (those who have large chunks of landed property and want to sell it) could be addressed using a 'tribal land purchase and distribution' scheme. The government could purchase the land from those tribals who want to sell it at existing market prices and then distribute such land to the tribal landless who form more than 50 per cent of tribal households. Funds are available with the government schemes and institutions like Orissa State SCs/STs Finance and Development Corporation, for entrepreneurship development and welfare among tribals, and these funds could be used for a land bank scheme. This solution will be in line with the constitutional protection to scheduled tribes and will obviate any need for amendment in the OSATIP Regulation, 1956.
Learning lessons from the continuous resistance of the tribal people in the state, the government should stop playing into the hands of vested interests. It should bring about a progressive legislation in order to completely debar the transfer of tribal lands to non-tribals in scheduled areas (similar to the Andhra model where no land in scheduled areas can be transferred to non-tribals). The Governor, being the constitutional protector of the tribals, should take serious note of the developments. After all, nobody wants repetition of events like those at Kalinga Nagar (the declared steel hub of the state where 12 tribal people had been killed in police firing in January 2006) or at Maikanch (in Kashipur block of Raygada district of the state, where four tribals had been killed in police firing in 2000).
The government should take all possible steps for the settlement of customary owned land with the tribals; resolve the massive displacement suffered by tribals and ensure punishment of those who have violated OSATIP, 1956 and in extension, the Constitution of India. As far as acquisition of land by corporate houses is concerned, it could be decided in the Palli Sabha meetings in scheduled areas, where land owners could democratically accept or reject the proposal. Palli Sabha is a body of adult members of a revenue village, which meets on a regular basis, usually once in six months, to discuss welfare schemes and make recommendations to the Gram Sabha for approval. ⊕
Pradeep Baisakh 21 Dec 2006
Pradeep Baisakh is a social activist working on tribal development and RTI issues. He is also a freelance writer.
Monday, February 23, 2009
SALT: An effective alternative to Shifting Cultivation?
(This article came in "Kurukshetra" , December 2006 issue)
(The author is a social activist working with ODAF, Bhubaneswar, Orissa)
SALT: An effective alternative to shifting cultivation?
Pradeep Baisakh
Shifting cultivation or ‘slash and burn system of farming’ is widely practiced in the tribal areas all over the globe. It goes without saying that the burning of large areas of forest in the hilly areas has done incalculable damage to the ecology and environment, and there are no signs of relenting till viable alternatives substitute this traditional practice. Can the Sloping Agriculture Land Technology, SALT in short, wriggle us out of this serious but inevitable crisis? The example from the Brahmani Gaon area of Kandhamal district of Orissa suggests that SALT has not only led to substantial reduction of forest burning in the area but also provided viability and sustainability to the agriculture in the hills by making it profitable.
Let us briefly discuss the harms caused by and the shortcomings associated with the traditional practice of shifting cultivation. The primary problem of shifting cultivation is the exponential loss of fertility of soil due to soil erosion making it uncultivable in two years or so, forcing the community to search for new green patches to burn. This prevents the tribal people to lead a settled life. This trend is also increasingly becoming unsustainable as the population of the communities is rising day by day, whereas the availability of fresh green forest for burn farming is declining. This form of cultivation is also characterized by seasonal mono cropping (cultivation only in rainy season). As a result, the people do not have income distribution through out year, which forces them to resort to borrowing in off seasons for consumption and other needs exposing them to various forms of exploitation and their implications like land alienation, bonded labour etc.
SALT hits directly at the causes of soil erosion and introduces ‘contour bonding’ by use of stones and pebbles along the sloppy patches. Though the technique of ‘contour bonding’ is not a new technology, it was done rather unscientifically. SALT introduces scienticism to it and makes use of what is called the ‘A-frame technique’ to make the shape of the contour like a half-moon. The idea is: when rainwater flows down, it hits the contour equitably, not at one place; as a result the contour is saved from being broken. Along the edges of the contour, hedgerow species like Flemingia macrophylla, Gliricidia sapium and Sesbania sesban etc are planted. These hedgerows serve multiple purposes. They act as nitrogen fixers, fodder and organic fertilizer (green manure) in a row. These plants cling to the soil and successfully prevent the cleansing of the soil keeping the fertility of the soil intact.
SALT is originally the technology of Philippines. It was brought to India by S.N. Patra of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) for research. First it was experimented in the Brahmani Gaon area in 1996 by the Council of Professional Social workers (CPSW)-a NGO working in the area. For nearly two years the technology failed the test of acceptability by the people. Mr. Sanjay Khatua, an agriculture consultant, deserves the credit for operationalisation of SALT in Orissa. He redefined SALT as Sustainable Agriculture Land Technology and brought within its purview all types of lands existing in hilly areas, not only the sloppy land. He made very minute classification the hilly land. They are: (a) shifting land (b) panga land (c) fertile padar land (d) degraded padar land (e) low land (f) home estate and (g) sloppy land. Accordingly, SALT was made a comprehensive technology to cater to the needs of all types of land with the ultimate objective to provide secure and sustainable livelihood to the tribal people. In place of Philippine hedgerow species he suggested indigenous species like pine apple, red gram, cowpea, black gram, beans, castor etc. which have all the qualities of the Philippine species. These species were acceptable to the tribal as they yielded some tangible produces. In order to prevent the people to desert their farmland, three types of crops were introduced. They are: short term (ginger, turmeric, cowpea, mustard, paddy, black gram and vegetables etc), medium term (papaya, pine apple, banana, bird-eye chili and castor etc) and long-term crops (mango, jack fruit, orange and guava etc.). The idea has worked. For instance, a farmer of Lamba Kiari village has built a permanent house near his farm and does not desire to migrate anywhere as he awaits to reap the product of the medium term and long term trees he has planted.
There are instances of crop failure in the tribal areas leaving the farmers in complete helplessness. In order to hedge such risks, SALT suggests mixed cropping pattern, so that if one crop fails for some reason, the others would provide a safe return to the farmer. Rotation of crops also is suggested in order to maintain the fertility of the soil. SALT encourages adopting aggressive cash crop cultivation. The said NGO (CPSW) has helped the local people in terms of seed and finance to cultivate ginger, turmeric and arraroot in a large scale. It has also helped them to some extent in marketing the produces. As a result of all these efforts the income level of the tribal farmers has increased manifold proving agriculture a profitable business for tribals. A rough calculation of the income of a medium farmer comes out to be nearly twelve thousand per annum excluding the production of paddy, which he keeps for consumption. SALT has made possible the simultaneous practice of three models namely, agro-forestry model, agro-horticulture model and agro-animal husbandry model in the area. For instance, farmers collect forest produces like tamarind, mahua flower, broomsticks and siali leaves etc.; they plant pineapple, guava, mango and jack fruit etc; they keep goats, chicken etc. for consumption and business purposes. All in all, the ingredients of SALT may be summed up as crop diversification, soil conservation measures, cash crop cultivation, maintenance of bio-diversity and nitrogen fixation.
The key to success of SALT farming lies with successful preparation of ‘Micro Plan’. Micro planning is all about preparing a complete blue print from the stage of ploughing and sowing of seeds to harvesting and marketing of the produces for a season. It also reckons the amount of investment required at various stages. In initial phases the social workers of the NGO were helping the tribal people of the said area to prepare the plan; presently however some of them are able to do it on their own. The people have formed SALT committees in each of the forty-two villages where SALT is being practiced in the area. It includes the farmers of the village who have adopted this method. It is a form of community management of the matters related to SALT farming. The committee ensures the accountability of the members on using the assistance (financial, seed etc.) they get from the NGO in proper way, provides labour to the individual member in case he on his own is unable complete the work in the field, facilitates collective bargain with the traders to get a better price to their produces etc. The farmers are also planning to constitute a SALT federation at the district level, which may facilitate learning from the practice of each other and spreading the practice to areas not covered yet, lobby with the government authorities and bankers for loan to invest in the SALT farming, create marketing linkages for the sell of their products etc.
The people in the SALT villages are now more into protecting the forest than to burning it. In the Lamba Kiari and Balgudi villages the villagers have formed Vana Suraksha Samiti (Forest protection committee) to protect the forest.
The villagers face some problems like lack of irrigation, paucity of capital for investment and lack of infrastructural and technical support for processing and marketing of their products. The tribal people also do not have the legal rights over the land they cultivate. It is hoped that the much-hyped Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005 will bring some relief to them in this regard after it becomes an act.
Pradeep Baisakh
Shifting cultivation or ‘slash and burn system of farming’ is widely practiced in the tribal areas all over the globe. It goes without saying that the burning of large areas of forest in the hilly areas has done incalculable damage to the ecology and environment, and there are no signs of relenting till viable alternatives substitute this traditional practice. Can the Sloping Agriculture Land Technology, SALT in short, wriggle us out of this serious but inevitable crisis? The example from the Brahmani Gaon area of Kandhamal district of Orissa suggests that SALT has not only led to substantial reduction of forest burning in the area but also provided viability and sustainability to the agriculture in the hills by making it profitable.
Let us briefly discuss the harms caused by and the shortcomings associated with the traditional practice of shifting cultivation. The primary problem of shifting cultivation is the exponential loss of fertility of soil due to soil erosion making it uncultivable in two years or so, forcing the community to search for new green patches to burn. This prevents the tribal people to lead a settled life. This trend is also increasingly becoming unsustainable as the population of the communities is rising day by day, whereas the availability of fresh green forest for burn farming is declining. This form of cultivation is also characterized by seasonal mono cropping (cultivation only in rainy season). As a result, the people do not have income distribution through out year, which forces them to resort to borrowing in off seasons for consumption and other needs exposing them to various forms of exploitation and their implications like land alienation, bonded labour etc.
SALT hits directly at the causes of soil erosion and introduces ‘contour bonding’ by use of stones and pebbles along the sloppy patches. Though the technique of ‘contour bonding’ is not a new technology, it was done rather unscientifically. SALT introduces scienticism to it and makes use of what is called the ‘A-frame technique’ to make the shape of the contour like a half-moon. The idea is: when rainwater flows down, it hits the contour equitably, not at one place; as a result the contour is saved from being broken. Along the edges of the contour, hedgerow species like Flemingia macrophylla, Gliricidia sapium and Sesbania sesban etc are planted. These hedgerows serve multiple purposes. They act as nitrogen fixers, fodder and organic fertilizer (green manure) in a row. These plants cling to the soil and successfully prevent the cleansing of the soil keeping the fertility of the soil intact.
SALT is originally the technology of Philippines. It was brought to India by S.N. Patra of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) for research. First it was experimented in the Brahmani Gaon area in 1996 by the Council of Professional Social workers (CPSW)-a NGO working in the area. For nearly two years the technology failed the test of acceptability by the people. Mr. Sanjay Khatua, an agriculture consultant, deserves the credit for operationalisation of SALT in Orissa. He redefined SALT as Sustainable Agriculture Land Technology and brought within its purview all types of lands existing in hilly areas, not only the sloppy land. He made very minute classification the hilly land. They are: (a) shifting land (b) panga land (c) fertile padar land (d) degraded padar land (e) low land (f) home estate and (g) sloppy land. Accordingly, SALT was made a comprehensive technology to cater to the needs of all types of land with the ultimate objective to provide secure and sustainable livelihood to the tribal people. In place of Philippine hedgerow species he suggested indigenous species like pine apple, red gram, cowpea, black gram, beans, castor etc. which have all the qualities of the Philippine species. These species were acceptable to the tribal as they yielded some tangible produces. In order to prevent the people to desert their farmland, three types of crops were introduced. They are: short term (ginger, turmeric, cowpea, mustard, paddy, black gram and vegetables etc), medium term (papaya, pine apple, banana, bird-eye chili and castor etc) and long-term crops (mango, jack fruit, orange and guava etc.). The idea has worked. For instance, a farmer of Lamba Kiari village has built a permanent house near his farm and does not desire to migrate anywhere as he awaits to reap the product of the medium term and long term trees he has planted.
There are instances of crop failure in the tribal areas leaving the farmers in complete helplessness. In order to hedge such risks, SALT suggests mixed cropping pattern, so that if one crop fails for some reason, the others would provide a safe return to the farmer. Rotation of crops also is suggested in order to maintain the fertility of the soil. SALT encourages adopting aggressive cash crop cultivation. The said NGO (CPSW) has helped the local people in terms of seed and finance to cultivate ginger, turmeric and arraroot in a large scale. It has also helped them to some extent in marketing the produces. As a result of all these efforts the income level of the tribal farmers has increased manifold proving agriculture a profitable business for tribals. A rough calculation of the income of a medium farmer comes out to be nearly twelve thousand per annum excluding the production of paddy, which he keeps for consumption. SALT has made possible the simultaneous practice of three models namely, agro-forestry model, agro-horticulture model and agro-animal husbandry model in the area. For instance, farmers collect forest produces like tamarind, mahua flower, broomsticks and siali leaves etc.; they plant pineapple, guava, mango and jack fruit etc; they keep goats, chicken etc. for consumption and business purposes. All in all, the ingredients of SALT may be summed up as crop diversification, soil conservation measures, cash crop cultivation, maintenance of bio-diversity and nitrogen fixation.
The key to success of SALT farming lies with successful preparation of ‘Micro Plan’. Micro planning is all about preparing a complete blue print from the stage of ploughing and sowing of seeds to harvesting and marketing of the produces for a season. It also reckons the amount of investment required at various stages. In initial phases the social workers of the NGO were helping the tribal people of the said area to prepare the plan; presently however some of them are able to do it on their own. The people have formed SALT committees in each of the forty-two villages where SALT is being practiced in the area. It includes the farmers of the village who have adopted this method. It is a form of community management of the matters related to SALT farming. The committee ensures the accountability of the members on using the assistance (financial, seed etc.) they get from the NGO in proper way, provides labour to the individual member in case he on his own is unable complete the work in the field, facilitates collective bargain with the traders to get a better price to their produces etc. The farmers are also planning to constitute a SALT federation at the district level, which may facilitate learning from the practice of each other and spreading the practice to areas not covered yet, lobby with the government authorities and bankers for loan to invest in the SALT farming, create marketing linkages for the sell of their products etc.
The people in the SALT villages are now more into protecting the forest than to burning it. In the Lamba Kiari and Balgudi villages the villagers have formed Vana Suraksha Samiti (Forest protection committee) to protect the forest.
The villagers face some problems like lack of irrigation, paucity of capital for investment and lack of infrastructural and technical support for processing and marketing of their products. The tribal people also do not have the legal rights over the land they cultivate. It is hoped that the much-hyped Scheduled Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill, 2005 will bring some relief to them in this regard after it becomes an act.
(The author is a social activist working with ODAF, Bhubaneswar, Orissa)
ORTI Rules: Amendment fails to make them people friendly
(This article came in 'the pioneer', Bhubaneswar edition in July 2006)
Orissa RTI Rules: Amendments fail to make them citizen-friendly
Pradeep Baisakh Bhubaneswar
A cursory glance at the Right to Information (RTI) rules formulated by the Orissa Government to put it into effect would suggest how blatantly they violate the letter and spirit of the Act. Concerned citizens are reminded of the colonial era when laws and rules were framed arbitrarily shedding all pretences to democracy.
Regrettably, even today in a State like Orissa rules are framed by a handful of bureaucrats who either lack the understanding of the basics of democracy and rule of law, or knowingly ignore them with all impunity. More importantly, the rules, before being finalised, should have been circulated for public opinion; but in the case of Orissa they were framed clandestinely.
Various civil society organisations, activists, intellectuals and concerned citizens of the State have been holding seminars, workshops in different corners of the State discussing the character of the Orissa RTI (ORTI) rules and demanding that the Government remove discrepancies between the Central act and the State rules by suitably amending the latter.
On December 23, 2005 Aruna Roy, the chief architect of the central RTI Act, along with some enlightened citizens of the State submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik demanding the amendment of the ORTI rules.
The Chief Minister promised that the Orissa RTI rules would be revised by making them citizen-friendly and consistent with the Act, However, the CM failed if the recent amendment to the rules by the Assembly on April 2, 2006 is taken into account. In the amendment, only the fee structure has been reduced broadly by 50 per cent. The application fee has been reduced from Rs 20 to Rs10; the first hour inspection of the public records by the public is now free which was earlier Rs 15.
The per-page information in A4 and A5 sized pages has been reduced to Rs two from Rs five earlier. The cost of floppy and CD carrying information is now Rs 50 each in place of Rs 100. Fees for first appeal and second appeal were changed to Rs 20 and Rs 25 respectively instead of Rs 40 and Rs 50 earlier.
But Form A of the ORTI Rules, which is designed to be filled up by the applicant to ask for information is unnecessarily complex and lengthy and has all the potential to discourage the applicant from seeking information. It asks for information such as permanent address and proof of identity which are not necessary under the Act.
Rule 4(2) says the applicant has to satisfy the Public Information Officer (PIO) about his identity, and only then would his application be entertained. This is wrong as Section 6(2) of the Central Act says an applicant shall not mention any personal detail except the contact address.
Similarly in Form C, there are some ill-conceived, extraneous and abstract grounds for rejecting an application, such as ‘Your application is not complete in all respects,’ ‘Your identity is not clear,’ ‘The information is available in the published material’ and ‘For any other reason…’ etc. These give enough scope to the PIO to deny information.
Under Rule 4(1) BPL persons are exempted only from paying the application fee; they are required to pay for the fee of the information sought, and fee for appeals etc. But Sec-7 (5) of the Act exempts the BPL persons from any fee.
Under Rule-10, the cost of damage caused to public property during sample collection is to be collected from the applicant. But there is no such provision in the parent Act. Moreover collecting the sample of material is the responsibility of the PIO, but here the rule says the applicant is liable to pay for this.
Under Rule 12, the applicant is supposed to deposit the projected expenditure to be incurred on production of witness/evidence in case of appeal made to the IC. But sections 19(5) and 20(1) of the Act clearly say that the burden of proving that denial of a request of an applicant was justified shall be on the public authority who denied the request.
Rule 13 says any penalty or damage caused to public property in course of collecting the information will be realised from the applicant as arrears of land revenue if he fails to pay the same. In fact there is no parallel to this section in the whole country.
Both Rule 12 and Rule 13 are thoroughly archaic. They not only grossly violate the letter and spirit of the Act but also disregard all the norms of democracy.
The fees for the first and second appeal have been fixed at Rs 20 and Rs 25 respectively (they were rupees 40 and 50 before the recent amendment). But Sections 27 and 28 of RTI Act have categorically specified the four kinds of fees only, beyond which no appropriate Government or competent authority can impose any other.
Orissa RTI Rules: Amendments fail to make them citizen-friendly
Pradeep Baisakh Bhubaneswar
A cursory glance at the Right to Information (RTI) rules formulated by the Orissa Government to put it into effect would suggest how blatantly they violate the letter and spirit of the Act. Concerned citizens are reminded of the colonial era when laws and rules were framed arbitrarily shedding all pretences to democracy.
Regrettably, even today in a State like Orissa rules are framed by a handful of bureaucrats who either lack the understanding of the basics of democracy and rule of law, or knowingly ignore them with all impunity. More importantly, the rules, before being finalised, should have been circulated for public opinion; but in the case of Orissa they were framed clandestinely.
Various civil society organisations, activists, intellectuals and concerned citizens of the State have been holding seminars, workshops in different corners of the State discussing the character of the Orissa RTI (ORTI) rules and demanding that the Government remove discrepancies between the Central act and the State rules by suitably amending the latter.
On December 23, 2005 Aruna Roy, the chief architect of the central RTI Act, along with some enlightened citizens of the State submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik demanding the amendment of the ORTI rules.
The Chief Minister promised that the Orissa RTI rules would be revised by making them citizen-friendly and consistent with the Act, However, the CM failed if the recent amendment to the rules by the Assembly on April 2, 2006 is taken into account. In the amendment, only the fee structure has been reduced broadly by 50 per cent. The application fee has been reduced from Rs 20 to Rs10; the first hour inspection of the public records by the public is now free which was earlier Rs 15.
The per-page information in A4 and A5 sized pages has been reduced to Rs two from Rs five earlier. The cost of floppy and CD carrying information is now Rs 50 each in place of Rs 100. Fees for first appeal and second appeal were changed to Rs 20 and Rs 25 respectively instead of Rs 40 and Rs 50 earlier.
But Form A of the ORTI Rules, which is designed to be filled up by the applicant to ask for information is unnecessarily complex and lengthy and has all the potential to discourage the applicant from seeking information. It asks for information such as permanent address and proof of identity which are not necessary under the Act.
Rule 4(2) says the applicant has to satisfy the Public Information Officer (PIO) about his identity, and only then would his application be entertained. This is wrong as Section 6(2) of the Central Act says an applicant shall not mention any personal detail except the contact address.
Similarly in Form C, there are some ill-conceived, extraneous and abstract grounds for rejecting an application, such as ‘Your application is not complete in all respects,’ ‘Your identity is not clear,’ ‘The information is available in the published material’ and ‘For any other reason…’ etc. These give enough scope to the PIO to deny information.
Under Rule 4(1) BPL persons are exempted only from paying the application fee; they are required to pay for the fee of the information sought, and fee for appeals etc. But Sec-7 (5) of the Act exempts the BPL persons from any fee.
Under Rule-10, the cost of damage caused to public property during sample collection is to be collected from the applicant. But there is no such provision in the parent Act. Moreover collecting the sample of material is the responsibility of the PIO, but here the rule says the applicant is liable to pay for this.
Under Rule 12, the applicant is supposed to deposit the projected expenditure to be incurred on production of witness/evidence in case of appeal made to the IC. But sections 19(5) and 20(1) of the Act clearly say that the burden of proving that denial of a request of an applicant was justified shall be on the public authority who denied the request.
Rule 13 says any penalty or damage caused to public property in course of collecting the information will be realised from the applicant as arrears of land revenue if he fails to pay the same. In fact there is no parallel to this section in the whole country.
Both Rule 12 and Rule 13 are thoroughly archaic. They not only grossly violate the letter and spirit of the Act but also disregard all the norms of democracy.
The fees for the first and second appeal have been fixed at Rs 20 and Rs 25 respectively (they were rupees 40 and 50 before the recent amendment). But Sections 27 and 28 of RTI Act have categorically specified the four kinds of fees only, beyond which no appropriate Government or competent authority can impose any other.
Right to Information: Principles, Practice and Prospects
(This article came in Feb-March 2006 issue of 'Orissa Review'-the magazine published by Governmnet of Orissa)
Right to Information: Principles, Practice and Prospects
Pradeep Baisakh
Information is power. Withholding of information by the government authorities weakens the position of public, whereas its disclosure empowers them. Various civil society organizations, experts and individuals have been demanding before the government to pass legislations effectuating the right to information of people. Owing to the demand the Parliament passed the Right to Information Bill-2005 and the President gave his assent very recently; thus it becomes a law now. The law came to effect on 12th October 2005. It is applicable to both the Centre and the States
The right to information (RTI) of citizens has democratic, logical and constitutional basis. (a) In a democracy the government’s power and authority flows from the people of the nation and all public servants exercise power only on behalf of the people. Therefore it would be an anathema if what they did were hidden from the people .Moreover the freedom of speech enables people to contribute to debates on different issues- socio-cultural, political, economic and moral. It is the only vehicle of political discourse so essential for strengthening the democracy. (b) Everybody pays tax. The money spent in welfare and developmental work and for paying the salaries and allowance to the officials and the public representatives is people’s money. Even a beggar on the street pays tax, when he buys anything like soap or a match box in form of sales tax, excise duties etc. Therefore the people of a nation has the fundamental right to know the details of how, when, where and by whom public money is spent.(c)The right to information of citizens is guaranteed under Article-19(1) (a) of Indian constitution. The Supreme Court in State of UP vs. Raj Narain case in 1975 observed “…The people of this country have a right to know every public act, everything that is done in a public way by their public functionaries. They are entitled to know the particulars of every public transaction in all its bearings.” On many other occasions also the highest judiciary has reiterated the constitutional sanction behind the concept.
The RTI campaign started in Rajasthan by Ms Aruna Roy and others of MKSS(Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan) with the demand for minimum wages of the ‘daily majdoors’ and their right to see the muster rolls from the authorities. Eventually the movement spread to other places of India and various governments were exhorted to pass the RTI legislations. Broadly four principles should guide the RTI laws. They are: (a) Access to information should be the rule, and denial to it be the exception. (b) The grounds of denial to information be clearly and specifically mentioned. (c) Penalty provision for non-compliance to the demand of information or for furnishing false information by the officials. (d) Provision for an independent mechanism to address to the complaints of public, denied information or provided with false information. Once these principles are adhered upon the law would serve the following purposes. It will help (a) to bring about openness and transparency in the functioning of government (b) to curb corruption and ensure accountability of the authorities to public(c) to make the governance more meaningful and democratic by facilitating involvement and participation of people in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes of government. The RTI Act-2005 seems to have fairly adhered to the above discussed principles and therefore is expected to usher a new era of democracy by achieving the aforesaid goals.
The news has started pouring in about how the use of RTI acts in different states has borne fruit. For instance, in Delhi a daily wage earner-Nannu, got his new ration card against the old one in just three days by making use of the RTI act, which otherwise would have taken months together. In as many as 250 cases the people got their works done from the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB), before it was privatized, without paying any bribe or using any contact, but using the RTI Act. Mr. Anna Hazare-the Maharastra based social worker and RTI activist ,claims on the basis of feedback given by people in 26 districts that transparency in governance is seeping in to the grass root level due to the use of RTI act. Similarly in Rajasthan the use of RTI campaign has a salutary effect on the functioning of the Panchayats and rural development, and in checking corruption in different levels. Some modest success stories on the use of RTI are reported from Goa and Madhya Pradesh also. After the central RTI act came into effect in Orissa more than 56 applications have been filed by citizens for information in less than a month.
The exercise of the right to information has the potential kill the seed of corruption from the society by infusing openness and transparency into the system and change the very face the nation by making it more democratic. It depends on the imagination and innovativeness of people how and in what fields they can use the RTI Acts. In can be used to remove poverty and unemployment from the country by ensuring the effective utilization of government funds allocated for the purpose. . Mr. Jean Dreze, the NAC (National Advisory Council) member and the architect of the Employment Guarantee Bill while discussing the successful implementation of the same underscored the importance of having effective RTI law and its wide use.
As much as 26000 crores of rupees per annum are spent as food subsidy in order to make available the poor people their monthly rations. Due to the existence unholy nexus between the licensees of the fair price shops (FPS) and the officers of food supply department substantial portion of the money is siphoned off; as a result the whole PDS system is in shambles. Due to the wide use of the RTI act by the people of SunderNagri area of Delhi, the ration distribution has been streamlined to a large extent. This movement compelled the Delhi govt. to accept some systemic changes infusing transparency and thereby facilitating accountability to the public. Now, under the rules, the records of ration shop owners will be thrown open for public verification everyday, and for any discrepancy found during the exercise the concerning FPS owner’s license would be cancelled right on the spot and criminal proceedings would be initiated against him. So it may be safely assumed now that if the public in Delhi make use of this provision of seeing the records regularly, it would be impossible for the middlemen to black market the food stuffs. If similar exercise is conducted all over the country, then the starvation death and widespread malnutrition would be matters of past.
The act can also be used to know how the fund under the MP/MLA LAD scheme has been utilized; to seek reports on what action has been taken on different grievances of public, if no action is taken, then why; to get the list of the officers against whom complaints of corruption has been received and the nature of allegation in each case; to inspect the developmental works done by any government body in order to ascertain the authenticity of those etc.
During the process of ascertaining the information from various departments, the members of public are likely to suggest remedial measures and alternative policy proposals on different issues. For instance, in Rajasthan the suggestions of MKKS removed the serious anomalies existing in polices of rural development. Under the RTI law the authorities are supposed to make some suo moto disclosures.Once this is properly done, it would provide ample opportunities to the intellectuals, civil societies and to a common person to contribute their rich inputs to the process of decision making and their execution.
After having a strong law now, what is needed is to bring about a change in the mindset of bureaucracy. They should be trained to abjure their propensity for secrecy and adapt to the concepts of good governance. The major onus to constantly maintain pressure on the government and to popularise the use and benefits of the act lies on the civil society, the media and intellectuals. “It will take the form of a mass movement” hopes Arvind Kejriwal of Parivartan.Anna Hazare opines “once RTI becomes a part of the culture, the poor will get the real taste of freedom”.
Impartial Governor
(This article came in the 'South Asia politics' in November 2005)
The SC finally declared the order pronounced on 22nd May by the Union Government to dissolve the Legislative Assembly of the state of Bihar, which was taken on the basis of the report of the Governor Buta Singh, as unconstitutional, but did not undo the damage, probably because its too late reverse the process. It remains to be seen what strictures the apex court issues in its final verdict to prevent such actions in future. After the famous Bommai judgement it was hoped that the era of using the governors of the States by the centre as puppets to settle the political scores over the rivals may come to an end, but the recent three incidences, namely the Goa, Jharkhand, and Bihar have dashed such hopes. The problem lies more in the provisions of the constitution guiding the appointment, tenure and his powers than the persons holding the post. A thorough analysis follows.
The Impartial Governor
Pradeep Baisakh
Pradeep Baisakh
The SC finally declared the order pronounced on 22nd May by the Union Government to dissolve the Legislative Assembly of the state of Bihar, which was taken on the basis of the report of the Governor Buta Singh, as unconstitutional, but did not undo the damage, probably because its too late reverse the process. It remains to be seen what strictures the apex court issues in its final verdict to prevent such actions in future. After the famous Bommai judgement it was hoped that the era of using the governors of the States by the centre as puppets to settle the political scores over the rivals may come to an end, but the recent three incidences, namely the Goa, Jharkhand, and Bihar have dashed such hopes. The problem lies more in the provisions of the constitution guiding the appointment, tenure and his powers than the persons holding the post. A thorough analysis follows.
Two Hats
The Governor of a state is supposed to wear two hats, one as the constitutional head of the state and the other as the representative of centre. However in most instances he has acted rather as an agent of the centre as in above cases. The Governor enjoys discretionary powers under Art-163 (1) of the Constitution. The article however does not define as to what exactly constitute the discretionary powers of the Governor.Art-163 (2) simply makes the Governor the sole authority to decide-‘whether any matter is or is not a matter as respects which he is by or under the constitution required to act in his discretion’. This leaves substantial scope for the Governor in the state and his mentor – the ruling establishment at the centre, to twist the system with all impunity for the political advantage of the latter. The Governor, in numerous instances in past, has misused his office to recommend President’s rule in order to bring down the rival State Governments. He has similarly acted ‘in his discretion’ in appointing the chief ministers in a state in case of hung assemblies suitable to the interest of the ruling party at the centre. And in the case of Bihar he has acted in a very novel way as a loyal agent of the centre to prevent the rival group to stake claim. In fact, what else is he expected to do if he enjoys no security of tenure and when the continuity of his office depends on the sweet will of the ruling party/coalition at the centre? What merits discussion here is the background on which such discretionary powers were contemplated by the Constitution makers for the Governors. During the making of the Constitution the Indian states, through legally were made units of the union of India, they were not emotionally so integrated. Fissiparous tendencies were at their peak among the states and forces that wanted segregation from the union of India were hyperactive. There was real danger of these forces succeeding in their evil designs if necessary precautionary control were not ensured. Therefore the institution of Governor was so designed that the centre could keep a constant watch over the functioning of the states and can exercise control over them through him by making use of latter’s discretionary power and otherwise; and in extreme cases where there is a breakdown of Constitutional machinery in any State, the Centre could declare emergency basing on the reports of the Governor(or otherwise) and take over the administration of the state to its own hand. Arrangements were also made so that the states would not have any power to challenge the decisions and position of the Governor in any circumstance. However it was least expected by the fore fathers that such a well- intentioned arrangement would be so unceremoniously used by the later generation of politicians.
The Governor of a state is supposed to wear two hats, one as the constitutional head of the state and the other as the representative of centre. However in most instances he has acted rather as an agent of the centre as in above cases. The Governor enjoys discretionary powers under Art-163 (1) of the Constitution. The article however does not define as to what exactly constitute the discretionary powers of the Governor.Art-163 (2) simply makes the Governor the sole authority to decide-‘whether any matter is or is not a matter as respects which he is by or under the constitution required to act in his discretion’. This leaves substantial scope for the Governor in the state and his mentor – the ruling establishment at the centre, to twist the system with all impunity for the political advantage of the latter. The Governor, in numerous instances in past, has misused his office to recommend President’s rule in order to bring down the rival State Governments. He has similarly acted ‘in his discretion’ in appointing the chief ministers in a state in case of hung assemblies suitable to the interest of the ruling party at the centre. And in the case of Bihar he has acted in a very novel way as a loyal agent of the centre to prevent the rival group to stake claim. In fact, what else is he expected to do if he enjoys no security of tenure and when the continuity of his office depends on the sweet will of the ruling party/coalition at the centre? What merits discussion here is the background on which such discretionary powers were contemplated by the Constitution makers for the Governors. During the making of the Constitution the Indian states, through legally were made units of the union of India, they were not emotionally so integrated. Fissiparous tendencies were at their peak among the states and forces that wanted segregation from the union of India were hyperactive. There was real danger of these forces succeeding in their evil designs if necessary precautionary control were not ensured. Therefore the institution of Governor was so designed that the centre could keep a constant watch over the functioning of the states and can exercise control over them through him by making use of latter’s discretionary power and otherwise; and in extreme cases where there is a breakdown of Constitutional machinery in any State, the Centre could declare emergency basing on the reports of the Governor(or otherwise) and take over the administration of the state to its own hand. Arrangements were also made so that the states would not have any power to challenge the decisions and position of the Governor in any circumstance. However it was least expected by the fore fathers that such a well- intentioned arrangement would be so unceremoniously used by the later generation of politicians.
Two Issues
Therefore two issues need discussion here. One is relating to the procedure of appointment of the Governor and his continuity in the office. The other is relating to the power of Governor in the appointment of the Chief Minister of the State. The Sarkaria Commission and the National Commission for the Review on the Working of Constitution (NCRWC) conducted thorough study over the issue and made necessary recommendations. On the issue of the appointment and tenure of the office of Governor the suggestions of the two commissions are broadly as follows:
(a) The person to be appointed as a Governor
(i) Should be an eminent person;
(ii) Must be a person from outside the State;
(iii) Must not have participated in active politics at least for some time before his appointment
(iv) He should be a detached person and not too intimately connected with the local politics of the State.
(b) The appointment of Governor should be madesss by an impartial committee that includes the Chief Minister of the state.
(c) His tenure should be fixed and not subject to the ‘pleasure of President’
(d) The states should be given the power to impeach the governor in a similar manner to that of the President
The above recommendations primarily focus on appointment of eminent apolitical persons to the office and for the security of tenure of the same so that he can act independently and impartially.
Appointing CM
Therefore two issues need discussion here. One is relating to the procedure of appointment of the Governor and his continuity in the office. The other is relating to the power of Governor in the appointment of the Chief Minister of the State. The Sarkaria Commission and the National Commission for the Review on the Working of Constitution (NCRWC) conducted thorough study over the issue and made necessary recommendations. On the issue of the appointment and tenure of the office of Governor the suggestions of the two commissions are broadly as follows:
(a) The person to be appointed as a Governor
(i) Should be an eminent person;
(ii) Must be a person from outside the State;
(iii) Must not have participated in active politics at least for some time before his appointment
(iv) He should be a detached person and not too intimately connected with the local politics of the State.
(b) The appointment of Governor should be madesss by an impartial committee that includes the Chief Minister of the state.
(c) His tenure should be fixed and not subject to the ‘pleasure of President’
(d) The states should be given the power to impeach the governor in a similar manner to that of the President
The above recommendations primarily focus on appointment of eminent apolitical persons to the office and for the security of tenure of the same so that he can act independently and impartially.
Appointing CM
Constitutionally on the issue of the appointment of the Chief Minister the position of Governor is no different from that of the President of India vis-à-vis the Prime Minister. In case of a hung assembly the Governor has two options. (a) Conventionally he may invite the leader of the single largest party or group (the pre-poll alliance group) to form the Government. This is the ‘principle of non-assessment’ (b) He may explore all the options of satisfying himself that the appointed Chief Minister would provide a stable government. This is ‘principle of assessment’. The first proposition is free from controversy. In the exercise of the second option however, the President Mr. K.R.Narayanan set a healthy example in the year 1998 when the general election sprang a hung Parliament. In order to objectively satisfy himself he asked different claimants for the post of Prime Minister to submit the letters of support, which would sail them through the confidence motion in the Parliament. That apart he met the leaders of all the parties to ascertain their views. It was only after he was convinced that Mr. Vajpayee would win the confidence of the house basing on the letters of support presented to him, he appointed the latter as the Prime Minister. In appointment of the Chief Minister, a Governor can safely follow this healthy precedent while making their assessment.
However, the high standards set by the Presidents of India are probably not expected from the Governors given the partisanship shown by many of them in innumerable cases in past. Probably due to this reason, reiterating the principle of non-assessment, the Supreme Court in the Bommai Judgment in the year 1994 laid down the basic guidelines to be followed by the Governor while appointing the CMs. In its pronouncement the Court made it clear that the proper forum for the test of the strength of any party staking the claim to form the government is the floor of the house, not the Rajbhavan. . The Sarkaria commission, in order to minimize the scope of subjectivity of assessment, has suggested some steps to be followed sequentially while inviting a party or coalition to form the Government in the States. The order of preference is indicated below:
(i) An alliance of parties that was formed prior to the Elections.
(ii) The largest single party staking a claim to form the government with the support of others, including ‘independents’.
(iii) A post-electoral coalition of parties, with all the partners in the coalition joining the government.
(iv) A post-electoral alliance of parties, with some of the parties in the alliance forming a Government and the remaining parties, including ‘independents’ supporting the government from outside.
(v) The Governor while going through the process described above should select a leader who in his (Governor’s) judgment is most likely to command a majority in the Assembly.
Therefore the Commission wants the Governor to make use of his judgement but in a logical and principled manner.
How to elect Leader
However, the high standards set by the Presidents of India are probably not expected from the Governors given the partisanship shown by many of them in innumerable cases in past. Probably due to this reason, reiterating the principle of non-assessment, the Supreme Court in the Bommai Judgment in the year 1994 laid down the basic guidelines to be followed by the Governor while appointing the CMs. In its pronouncement the Court made it clear that the proper forum for the test of the strength of any party staking the claim to form the government is the floor of the house, not the Rajbhavan. . The Sarkaria commission, in order to minimize the scope of subjectivity of assessment, has suggested some steps to be followed sequentially while inviting a party or coalition to form the Government in the States. The order of preference is indicated below:
(i) An alliance of parties that was formed prior to the Elections.
(ii) The largest single party staking a claim to form the government with the support of others, including ‘independents’.
(iii) A post-electoral coalition of parties, with all the partners in the coalition joining the government.
(iv) A post-electoral alliance of parties, with some of the parties in the alliance forming a Government and the remaining parties, including ‘independents’ supporting the government from outside.
(v) The Governor while going through the process described above should select a leader who in his (Governor’s) judgment is most likely to command a majority in the Assembly.
Therefore the Commission wants the Governor to make use of his judgement but in a logical and principled manner.
How to elect Leader
Still another option what is available to the Governor is to send message to the House under Article-175 (2) and ask it to elect its own leader. This kind of arrangement was ordered in form of ‘Composite Floor Test’ by the Supreme Court in 1998 for UP Assembly and very recently for Jharkhand House. This arrangement is comparatively controversy free in so far as it rubs the Governor off the discretion to choose the Chief Minister. It is in fact necessary that the Governors should have minimum possible discretion in choosing the CMs. Because in past the Governors have made use of both the principles of assessment and that of non-assessment selectively to usher the way for the ruling party at Centre to form governments in the States. For instance in Kerla in 1965, in West Bengal in 1971 and in Haryanna in 1982 the principle of assessment was followed by the Governor otherwise a non-congress government would have got the chance to form government (Congress was at the centre). But in Rajasthan in 1967 the single largest party(Principle of non-assessment) was invited because congress was coming to power by this arrangement. In the year 2000 the Governor’s decision to invite Mr. Nitish Kumar of BJP to form the Government even after his inability to show the required number of letters of support was criticised as partisan and undemocratic as the RJD of Lalu Prasad had emerged as the single largest party and its pre-poll alliance with CPI (M) as the largest group. The Romesh Bhandari episode of UP in 1998, where the SC had to intervene to prevent the open murder of democracy, cannot be washed away from anybodye’s memory. Then, the Governor had simply tried to oblige the centre by dismissing the Kalyan Singh government and appointing Jagadambika Pal as the CM without giving the former a chance to show his strength on the floor of the house. He followed no such principle. The recent act of Jharkhand is in a way very similar to this example.
Not only in appointment of CMs but also in dismissal of Governments unceremoniously without following the norms of Democracy, the Governors have caused gross Constitutional improprieties and made thorough mockery of Democracy. In case of the Bihar this time almost all the medias covered the events those led to the midnight coup by the Governor and the Centre. No matter what plea is taken by them defending their decision, the timing of it establish the fact very unambiguously that the union cabinet budged to the compulsions of coalition politics, and the Governor to his mentor. It is therefore very appropriate time that the institution of Governor be thoroughly debated inside and outside the Parliament and necessary amendment be done to the Constitution to incorporate the suggestions given by Court judgements, and the Sarkaria Commission and the NCRWC with the aim to protect the independence and impartiality of him and to restore the high dignity attached to the august office by the Constitution.
(Mr Baisakh is a New Delhi based Freelancer)
Not only in appointment of CMs but also in dismissal of Governments unceremoniously without following the norms of Democracy, the Governors have caused gross Constitutional improprieties and made thorough mockery of Democracy. In case of the Bihar this time almost all the medias covered the events those led to the midnight coup by the Governor and the Centre. No matter what plea is taken by them defending their decision, the timing of it establish the fact very unambiguously that the union cabinet budged to the compulsions of coalition politics, and the Governor to his mentor. It is therefore very appropriate time that the institution of Governor be thoroughly debated inside and outside the Parliament and necessary amendment be done to the Constitution to incorporate the suggestions given by Court judgements, and the Sarkaria Commission and the NCRWC with the aim to protect the independence and impartiality of him and to restore the high dignity attached to the august office by the Constitution.
(Mr Baisakh is a New Delhi based Freelancer)
Power Shift
(This article came in the 'Mainstream' in October, 15, 2005 issue)
POWER SHIFT
Pradeep Baisakh
Nannu is a daily wage earner. He made many rounds to the Food and supply office to get a new ration card against the lost one, but to no avail. Finally, he filed an application under the Delhi Right to information Act (DRTI Act) to get the same. He was invited to the office, given the ration card with all honour and was offered a cup of tea by the officer! Does not it sound like a fiction when a bureaucrat in India who is ill famous for his authoritarian, callous and ‘mai baap’ attitude, treats a man on the street with so much of respect and dignity and obliges him by doing his work? The use of the right to information (RTI) acts is gradually spreading in different parts of the Country. The observations suggest that many people are getting their work done from the government authorities without paying bribe or using jack, and in a time bound manner. The responsiveness and the accountability of the public servants toward the people are increasing and the involvement and participation of the people in the process of governance is on the rise. Broadly what is been observed is the use of RTI has initiated the process of gradual ‘power shift’ from the politicians and bureaucrats to the people at large.
In Delhi under the guidance of Parivartan-a citizens’ initiative on RTI, the poor people started a campaign and made wide use of DRTI Act in order to get their monthly rations regularly under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Since such a campaign was becoming roadblock for the ration shop owners to make money through forgery and black marketing, they unleashed a series of violence against the workers of parivartan including attempting to murder some of them. In protest, the people boycotted the ration for a month and then marched in a group to the Food and Supply Office to verify the records in order to see what happened to their boycotted ration. A large contingent of women of the area led and participated in the march. The poor, illiterate women were asserting their constitutional right to know and were demanding that their monthly entitlement is given to them in the atmosphere of non-violence and dignity. It was a classic instance of women’s empowerment. The government of Delhi budged to their demands and accepted many of the recommendations infusing transparency and facilitating accountability into the system.
This is not the only example where the poorest of the poor people succeeded in bringing about systemic changes in government functioning. In Rajasthan, in early nineties, some labourers under the leadership of MKSS (a NGO) enforced their right to see the muster rolls from the authorities as a matter of rule. This movement eventually pressurized the government to remove the serious anomalies existing in polices of rural development.
During the initial phase of PDS movement in Delhi, Triveni, a woman from a poorest of the poor family got hold of the records and cash memos through RTI showing the delivery of rations made to her. All of them were found to be forged. Fearing that the eventuality may lead to disastrous consequences, the ration shop owners first tried to bribe her with hefty amount; then threatened her with dire consequence. Having failed to influence her by these methods and knowing fully that she was equipped with the information to proceed against them, they compromised with her and promised her regular supply of rations. It is clear from this example that where right to information is at work bribe and threat fail to act.
A social audit of the civil works done by the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) in the Sundernagri area of Delhi was conducted by the people of the area with the help of ‘Parivartan’ after getting hold of all the relevant records under the RTI. During the process of verification, the number and extent of involvement of the local people including the supposedly voiceless illiterate mass were high beyond imagination. It was followed by a Jansunwai where all the people of the area assembled to testify to find the veracity of the documents vis-à-vis the work done in realty. People, especially the women testified fearlessly. The finding suggested that in more than 50% cases the works simply did not exist on ground, not to discuss about the quality of the work done, which was found to be very poor. Some people of stake tried to disrupt the meeting, but were driven away by the people who were highly agitated after knowing the findings. It was convincingly proved in the meeting that the mass possesses enormous power within it and that all other power (muscle and money) fade away when people wake up to assert their rights. In the Jansunwai, the executive engineer, who was invited to respond to the findings, did not have any convincing answer to the ghost works and many of the queries of the people. The Jansunwai brought about a visible change in the psyche and morale of the people in the area toward the officials. For the first time they were witnessing that the so-called Mai Baap can be made to answer to them because of the use of RTI.
The people of the area, hitherto unorganized, got themselves organized in form of Moholla Samitis etc to protect their common interest. They kept strict vigil on the construction of roads, installation of hand pumps etc during when they were taking place. The local MLA, who was hostile to the Jansunwai, who was sending threat massages and disrupting the proceedings, approached to Parivartan with a compromising and cooperative gesture after it. The MCD also responded the Jansunwai by passing favourable orders aiming at making the process more open and transparent; the Municipal Councilor offered transparency in all civil works.
In the Defence Colony area of New Delhi the social audit in going on. The people in this posse colony, contrary to the common perception, are coming in large numbers to take the lead. During these get together, many other issues of common interest like the fast running electric meters, privatization of water etc are coming up. Though Resident Welfare Association (RWA) already exists there, after being equipped with the weapon of RTI the same RWA now feels to be in a commanding position vis-à-vis the government authorities to redress many of their grievances. This example shows that the RTI has not only made the voice to the people more audible and effective but also has facilitated the individuals to share a common platform to fight for a common cause with a greater confidence.
The people of Seemapari area got hold of the electoral rolls by using RTI. When a survey was conducted nearly 16% of the total names were found to be bogus and nearly 20% of the eligible voters’ names were missing. From the finding it can very well be imagined how much scope it provides for rigging and bogus voting, and to what degree it can affect the outcome of voting process where the margin of victory is very narrow. Alarmed by this, the election authorities rectified most of the anomalies in a meeting with the people of that constituency. During this process, the idea of having direct interaction of the people with the candidates clicked the minds of the people. In a public gathering the all candidature of different political parties were summoned to respond to the queries of the people. What was conspicuous in the meeting was the functioning of true democracy and the establishment of master servant relationship it its real form.
The practice of right to information therefore is gradually ushering the era of genuine democracy by tilting the balance of power between the ruler and the ruled in favour of the latter.
Pradeep Baisakh
Nannu is a daily wage earner. He made many rounds to the Food and supply office to get a new ration card against the lost one, but to no avail. Finally, he filed an application under the Delhi Right to information Act (DRTI Act) to get the same. He was invited to the office, given the ration card with all honour and was offered a cup of tea by the officer! Does not it sound like a fiction when a bureaucrat in India who is ill famous for his authoritarian, callous and ‘mai baap’ attitude, treats a man on the street with so much of respect and dignity and obliges him by doing his work? The use of the right to information (RTI) acts is gradually spreading in different parts of the Country. The observations suggest that many people are getting their work done from the government authorities without paying bribe or using jack, and in a time bound manner. The responsiveness and the accountability of the public servants toward the people are increasing and the involvement and participation of the people in the process of governance is on the rise. Broadly what is been observed is the use of RTI has initiated the process of gradual ‘power shift’ from the politicians and bureaucrats to the people at large.
In Delhi under the guidance of Parivartan-a citizens’ initiative on RTI, the poor people started a campaign and made wide use of DRTI Act in order to get their monthly rations regularly under the Public Distribution System (PDS). Since such a campaign was becoming roadblock for the ration shop owners to make money through forgery and black marketing, they unleashed a series of violence against the workers of parivartan including attempting to murder some of them. In protest, the people boycotted the ration for a month and then marched in a group to the Food and Supply Office to verify the records in order to see what happened to their boycotted ration. A large contingent of women of the area led and participated in the march. The poor, illiterate women were asserting their constitutional right to know and were demanding that their monthly entitlement is given to them in the atmosphere of non-violence and dignity. It was a classic instance of women’s empowerment. The government of Delhi budged to their demands and accepted many of the recommendations infusing transparency and facilitating accountability into the system.
This is not the only example where the poorest of the poor people succeeded in bringing about systemic changes in government functioning. In Rajasthan, in early nineties, some labourers under the leadership of MKSS (a NGO) enforced their right to see the muster rolls from the authorities as a matter of rule. This movement eventually pressurized the government to remove the serious anomalies existing in polices of rural development.
During the initial phase of PDS movement in Delhi, Triveni, a woman from a poorest of the poor family got hold of the records and cash memos through RTI showing the delivery of rations made to her. All of them were found to be forged. Fearing that the eventuality may lead to disastrous consequences, the ration shop owners first tried to bribe her with hefty amount; then threatened her with dire consequence. Having failed to influence her by these methods and knowing fully that she was equipped with the information to proceed against them, they compromised with her and promised her regular supply of rations. It is clear from this example that where right to information is at work bribe and threat fail to act.
A social audit of the civil works done by the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) in the Sundernagri area of Delhi was conducted by the people of the area with the help of ‘Parivartan’ after getting hold of all the relevant records under the RTI. During the process of verification, the number and extent of involvement of the local people including the supposedly voiceless illiterate mass were high beyond imagination. It was followed by a Jansunwai where all the people of the area assembled to testify to find the veracity of the documents vis-à-vis the work done in realty. People, especially the women testified fearlessly. The finding suggested that in more than 50% cases the works simply did not exist on ground, not to discuss about the quality of the work done, which was found to be very poor. Some people of stake tried to disrupt the meeting, but were driven away by the people who were highly agitated after knowing the findings. It was convincingly proved in the meeting that the mass possesses enormous power within it and that all other power (muscle and money) fade away when people wake up to assert their rights. In the Jansunwai, the executive engineer, who was invited to respond to the findings, did not have any convincing answer to the ghost works and many of the queries of the people. The Jansunwai brought about a visible change in the psyche and morale of the people in the area toward the officials. For the first time they were witnessing that the so-called Mai Baap can be made to answer to them because of the use of RTI.
The people of the area, hitherto unorganized, got themselves organized in form of Moholla Samitis etc to protect their common interest. They kept strict vigil on the construction of roads, installation of hand pumps etc during when they were taking place. The local MLA, who was hostile to the Jansunwai, who was sending threat massages and disrupting the proceedings, approached to Parivartan with a compromising and cooperative gesture after it. The MCD also responded the Jansunwai by passing favourable orders aiming at making the process more open and transparent; the Municipal Councilor offered transparency in all civil works.
In the Defence Colony area of New Delhi the social audit in going on. The people in this posse colony, contrary to the common perception, are coming in large numbers to take the lead. During these get together, many other issues of common interest like the fast running electric meters, privatization of water etc are coming up. Though Resident Welfare Association (RWA) already exists there, after being equipped with the weapon of RTI the same RWA now feels to be in a commanding position vis-à-vis the government authorities to redress many of their grievances. This example shows that the RTI has not only made the voice to the people more audible and effective but also has facilitated the individuals to share a common platform to fight for a common cause with a greater confidence.
The people of Seemapari area got hold of the electoral rolls by using RTI. When a survey was conducted nearly 16% of the total names were found to be bogus and nearly 20% of the eligible voters’ names were missing. From the finding it can very well be imagined how much scope it provides for rigging and bogus voting, and to what degree it can affect the outcome of voting process where the margin of victory is very narrow. Alarmed by this, the election authorities rectified most of the anomalies in a meeting with the people of that constituency. During this process, the idea of having direct interaction of the people with the candidates clicked the minds of the people. In a public gathering the all candidature of different political parties were summoned to respond to the queries of the people. What was conspicuous in the meeting was the functioning of true democracy and the establishment of master servant relationship it its real form.
The practice of right to information therefore is gradually ushering the era of genuine democracy by tilting the balance of power between the ruler and the ruled in favour of the latter.
(The author is a Right to Information(RTI) Activist)
Info law: fill in the blanks
Web Link: http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/74248/
(This article came in the editorial page of Indian Express on 12 July 2005)
The Right To Information (RTI) Act is still the focus of much debate, with agencies like the CBI and CVC demanding to be given immunity from being made to reveal information under it. How the government will respond to their request is not known yet, but exceptions of this kind could end up undermining its efficacy. There are, in fact, many lacunae in the new law that we need to know about.
The Central/State Information Commission (IC) is the appellate authority that is also responsible for encouraging the citizen’s right to know and enforcing various provisions of the act. Although it is seemingly an independent body, the process of the appointment of its office-bearers and its composition have shortcomings. The committee that recommends the names of the members of the IC will consist of the PM/CM, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha/legislative assembly and one cabinet minister. It does not include the chief justice of India (CJI)/CJ of the high court, as was originally recommended by the National Advisory Council.
The inclusion of the CJI would certainly have made the selection process more apolitical and fairer. As far as its composition goes, it should have been somewhat similar to that of the National Human Rights Commission, as this too is a high-powered rights commission. If not the retired chief justice, at least a retired judge of the SC (or HC, as the case may be) should have headed the Commission in order to make the institution more credible. Although the act has made the scope for choice fairly broad — it may include lawyers, judges, academics, journalists, bureaucrats — much however would depend on the subjective assessment of the selection committee which could end up appointing its hand-picked persons to the Commission.
The aggrieved citizen has no opportunity to directly approach the IC for appeal. The first appeal is to lie with the officer senior in rank to the public information officer (PIO) concerned, who will discharge the application within 30 days. The second appellate authority is the IC and the third is the High Court.
This provision has the inherent potential to not only delay the process of the disposal of the application but, more importantly, to discourage the applicant. It is necessary to study the psyche of any ordinary person of this country who is brought up in a culture where s/he has been made to accept the decisions of government officials without questioning them. Will s/he possibly think it appropriate to go for a second appeal challenging the wisdom of those who s/he considers as more knowledgeable? Nor will s/he like to make rounds in different offices to get the information.
There should have been some structural arrangement for periodic interaction between RTI activists and political executives, similar to the Delhi state council for right to information. Such a council could have the minister, department of administrative reforms, as its chairperson, and individuals from the field of social service and journalism, law, and so on, as its members. Such an arrangement would have made the government more sensitive to the issue and more accountable to the citizen under the new RTI regime.
Bringing the concept of third party under the purview of the law is a remarkable feature of the new RTI regime. Apart from others, the third party will cover private concerns, trusts and civil society organisations, and others, from whom the public cannot ask for information directly. Keeping in mind the right to privacy, the bill gives reasonable opportunity of representation to the third party before disclosing certain information concerning them to the public. Everything, in fact, lies in the court of the Public Information Officers (PIOs) and the ICs, who will take the decision to disclose or withhold the information asked for, keeping in view the representation submitted by the third party. Here the PIO should be guided by both the letter of the law that disclosure should be done “if the public interest in disclosure outweighs in importance any possible harm or injury to the interests of such third party by such disclosure”, and the spirit that the law aims for — to bring about openness and transparency to the system with the ultimate aim to protect and promote public interest.
There are certain issues which have not been addressed in the law and should not be overlooked during the formulation of rules. For instance, no time limit has been fixed for the ICs to dispose the appeal; the nature of the fees for obtaining the information should be made as clear as possible or else it will give PIOs scope for manipulating provisions that could result in discouraging and harassing applicants.
(The writer works with Parivartan, which is active on RTI issues)
(This article came in the editorial page of Indian Express on 12 July 2005)
Info law: fill in the blanks
Pradeep Baisakh Posted: Jul 12, 2005 at 0000 hrs IST
Pradeep Baisakh Posted: Jul 12, 2005 at 0000 hrs IST
The Right To Information (RTI) Act is still the focus of much debate, with agencies like the CBI and CVC demanding to be given immunity from being made to reveal information under it. How the government will respond to their request is not known yet, but exceptions of this kind could end up undermining its efficacy. There are, in fact, many lacunae in the new law that we need to know about.
The Central/State Information Commission (IC) is the appellate authority that is also responsible for encouraging the citizen’s right to know and enforcing various provisions of the act. Although it is seemingly an independent body, the process of the appointment of its office-bearers and its composition have shortcomings. The committee that recommends the names of the members of the IC will consist of the PM/CM, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha/legislative assembly and one cabinet minister. It does not include the chief justice of India (CJI)/CJ of the high court, as was originally recommended by the National Advisory Council.
The inclusion of the CJI would certainly have made the selection process more apolitical and fairer. As far as its composition goes, it should have been somewhat similar to that of the National Human Rights Commission, as this too is a high-powered rights commission. If not the retired chief justice, at least a retired judge of the SC (or HC, as the case may be) should have headed the Commission in order to make the institution more credible. Although the act has made the scope for choice fairly broad — it may include lawyers, judges, academics, journalists, bureaucrats — much however would depend on the subjective assessment of the selection committee which could end up appointing its hand-picked persons to the Commission.
The aggrieved citizen has no opportunity to directly approach the IC for appeal. The first appeal is to lie with the officer senior in rank to the public information officer (PIO) concerned, who will discharge the application within 30 days. The second appellate authority is the IC and the third is the High Court.
This provision has the inherent potential to not only delay the process of the disposal of the application but, more importantly, to discourage the applicant. It is necessary to study the psyche of any ordinary person of this country who is brought up in a culture where s/he has been made to accept the decisions of government officials without questioning them. Will s/he possibly think it appropriate to go for a second appeal challenging the wisdom of those who s/he considers as more knowledgeable? Nor will s/he like to make rounds in different offices to get the information.
There should have been some structural arrangement for periodic interaction between RTI activists and political executives, similar to the Delhi state council for right to information. Such a council could have the minister, department of administrative reforms, as its chairperson, and individuals from the field of social service and journalism, law, and so on, as its members. Such an arrangement would have made the government more sensitive to the issue and more accountable to the citizen under the new RTI regime.
Bringing the concept of third party under the purview of the law is a remarkable feature of the new RTI regime. Apart from others, the third party will cover private concerns, trusts and civil society organisations, and others, from whom the public cannot ask for information directly. Keeping in mind the right to privacy, the bill gives reasonable opportunity of representation to the third party before disclosing certain information concerning them to the public. Everything, in fact, lies in the court of the Public Information Officers (PIOs) and the ICs, who will take the decision to disclose or withhold the information asked for, keeping in view the representation submitted by the third party. Here the PIO should be guided by both the letter of the law that disclosure should be done “if the public interest in disclosure outweighs in importance any possible harm or injury to the interests of such third party by such disclosure”, and the spirit that the law aims for — to bring about openness and transparency to the system with the ultimate aim to protect and promote public interest.
There are certain issues which have not been addressed in the law and should not be overlooked during the formulation of rules. For instance, no time limit has been fixed for the ICs to dispose the appeal; the nature of the fees for obtaining the information should be made as clear as possible or else it will give PIOs scope for manipulating provisions that could result in discouraging and harassing applicants.
(The writer works with Parivartan, which is active on RTI issues)
Right to Information and Rural Development
(This areticle was carried in Kurukshetra, July 2005 issue as a cover page article)
Right To Information and Rural Development
Pradeep Baisakh
Right to information is a basic democratic right existent in all most all functional democracies, though mostly at conceptual level and less in practice. The concept has caught the limelight because of its inclusion as an aspect of good governance popularised by the World Bank. The highest judiciary in many judgments has ruled that the right to information is a fundamental right flowing from the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article-19 (a) the Constitution, and the Parliament has passed the Right to Information Act-2005 in the budget session to give effect to the concept. . As many as nine state governments have also passed brought such acts before.
Rural Development (RD) is probably the biggest challenge before the planners and the policy makers of India .Despite launching numerous schemes and programmes, and pumping corers of rupees for RD the overall picture of rural India continue to be grim. Today rural India is marked by high incidence of poverty and illiteracy, widespread disease, considerable unemployment, prevalent malnutrition level among children and woman and the masses at large , existence of miserable rural infrastructure like roads, electricity, primary health, drinking water etc, traditional way of farming ,lack of irrigation facilities and many other socio-political problems. The failure in improving the rural scenario is attributed less to the formulation of appropriate policies, more to their implementation. The problem lies in the unawareness on the part of people about the details of the programmes and prevalence of wide spread corruption during the execution of them. It is in these areas that the tool of ‘right to information act’ can make path breaking impact. The use of right to information can spread awareness among the masses about various ingredients of the developmental and welfare schemes bring about openness and transparency in their implementation thereby facilitating the process of people’s participation in both the policy formulation and implementation. Let’s discuss how.
It is pertinent to point out here that the government statistics on the achievements of the rural development programmes look quite satisfactory, but things are different on the ground. The instrument of right to information can get hold of the official records and then can catch the discrepancy by comparing them with the ground realities.
(a) RTI and Public Distribution System:
Hunger, malnutritution and occasional cases of starvation deaths in the rural areas are some causes of grave concern to any sensible individual. In order to ensure the food security and to maintain the appropriate nutritional level among the populace the Government has put in place the Public Distribution System(PDS), which is supposed to make available the monthly rations to the people in subsidised rate to the below poverty line(BPL) and the ‘poorest of the poor’ section of population apart from others. As much as 26,000 crores of rupees are spent per year by way of food subsidy in the process. However, due to the existence unholy nexus between the licensees of the fair price shops (FPS) and the officers of food supply department, substantial portion of the money is siphoned off through black marketing; as a result the whole PDS system is in shambles. But, the fact that the use of RTI can change the whole PDS system was proved by the people of Sunder Nagri area of Delhi. The case study is as following:
With the active help of Parivartan-a citizens’ initiative on RTI in Delhi, the people of Sunder Nagri area of Delhi got hold of the records of the FPSs by making wide use of the Delhi RTI Act. While the records were cross-verified by way of asking the ration card holders in that area, numerous discrepancies were found between reality and what the records had to show. Following the discrepancies, complain were made near the Food and Supply Office demanding the cancellation of the licenses of the erring FPSs. The authorities however preferred non-action. The people then filed another set of application, this time under RTI Act, near the same authorities seeking the information regarding the progress made on the application seeking action against the errant FPSs ,as a result of which the authorities promptly woke up to act . It may be pertinent to describe the nature of questions asked under RTI act seeking information on the progress made on the previous application:
Please provide the following information with respect to the same:
1.Please provide the daily progress made on my application.
2.Please give the names and designations of the officials with whom my application was lying during this period. Please intimate the periods when it was lying with which officer and what was the action taken by that official during that period.
3.According to your rules or citizens charter or any other order, in how many days should such a matter be dealt with and resolved. Please provide a copy of these rules.
4.The above officials have not adhered to the time limit mentioned in these rules. Are these officials guilty of violating these rules and hence guilty of misconduct under their conduct rules. Please give a copy of their conduct rule, which they have violated by violating the above mentioned rule.
5.What action can be taken against these officials for violating all the above rules and for causing mental agony to the public? By when this action would be taken?
6.By when will you act on my complains made?
Under the Delhi RTI act, the authorities are duty bound to furnish information within thirty days after the receipt of the application; if they fail in adhering the time limit then their salary would be deducted. Since it was difficult to answer the above questions, the authorities preferred redressing the grievances of the person(s) and requesting the withdrawal of such applications. This whole movement of Parivartan has borne fruit and the Delhi Government has accepted the following suggestions in the PDS.
1. The Govt has agreed to throw open the records of all the shops in Delhi for public inspection every Saturday. The people, without paying any fee and without giving any prior intimation can go to the nearest Food office and inspect the records.
2. If any discrepancy were found in the records during public inspection, the shop would be placed under suspension immediately on the spot and criminal proceedings be initiated subsequently.
Now the FPSs are seen always open in the area discussed. The authorities are ensuring that the ration is arriving near the FPSs on the 1st of the month. This is how systemic changes could be brought about in the complex system like PDS by the people through the use of RTI Act. This is in fact a landmark achievement for the people. If similar exercise is emulated in all rural areas of the country, then the starvation death and widespread malnutrition would be matters of past.
(b) RTI and the Poverty Alleviation and Employment Generation Schemes:
Two national programmes, specifically aiming at ensuring food security and improving nutritional levels in rural areas by way of providing additional wage employment to the people, who are unskilled, are in operation. They are SGRY (Sampoorn Gramin Rojgar Yojna) and NFFW(National Food For Work) Programme. Crores of rupees and lakhs of tones of food grains are supplied to villages to achieve the said objectives, but with little gain.The Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in case of SGRY and the Dist Collectors in case of the NFFW are the implementation authorities. It is an open fact that wide spread embezzlement and irregularities take place during the implementation of such programmes .In order to check these, information about the list of beneficiaries of these programmes, the muster rolls etc may be sought by any individual or a group of people or any civil society organisation under RTI Act .Having got the list the mentioned beneficiaries may be touched upon and enquired for cross verification if
(a) They have really been given the work, and
(b) If given, then whether they were paid the according to the figures shown in the records.
After the cross verification if any discrepancy is found between the records and what the beneficiaries said ,the facts may be put before the appropriate authority for action against all those who are parties to the fraud. These can also be discussed in the public platform like “jan sunwai” where the people are the participants and the jury both. Discussion in such forums takes place in an open environment and the versions of the beneficiaries are testified in a transparent manner. Even after these exercises ,if action is not taken against the guilty persons, then another application may be filed, this time under the RTI Act, similar to the ones done in case of PDS system seeking information on the progress of the complains made. This time the authorities will be compelled to listen to the grievances of the complainant(s) and may offer to compensate all the damages done to the victims and persuade for the withdrawal of the application filed under RTI. In the ultimate analysis the courts are there to be approached if the authorities still continue to be stubborn. It is appropriate to cite the example of the achievement of MKSS in this area.
“In a small village of Rajasthan in 1990 the workers demanded the minimum wages (under the Minimum Wages Act) for the work they were doing. They were told that they had not done the work, as proved in the records. When the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghathan( MKSS ) made a demand to see the records, they were told that these records are government accounts and therefore secret. Struggles followed and ultimately people were given the records. Cross examination revealed that in records all the workers were given the minimum wages, which was denied to them in realty. It is from here the group came to know the importance of access to government records. It became evident that it was necessary to access records in order to prevent corruption and to obtain the minimum wage.” It may be noted here that it is this struggle of MKSS in 1990s that the seed of RTI movement was implanted in India leading to the fruit in terms of the passage of a RTI Acts in both state and central level.
The National Employment Guarantee Bill that promises to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to every household proposes to converge all the wage employment schemes into one. The success of this scheme, once the bill is passed, would require wide use RTI acts as Mr. Jean Dreze, the NAC member and the architect of Bill, himself agrees.
Another similar issue of concern is the flawful implementation and prevalence of widespread nepotism, favouritism and slippery in the self-employment programmes like SGSY(Swarna Jayanti Gramin Swarojgar Yojna), PMGY(Prime Minister Gramodaya Yojna) etc. Some case studies suggest that full GramSabha meetings are not summoned while choosing the beneficiaries of poverty alleviation and employment generation programmes; in many cases the Self Help Groups (SHGs) simply do not exist. In the name of SHGs some influential persons in the village, who are near and dear to the Pradhan or the Panchayat members enjoy the fruit of all the schemes. The people either do not know about the schemes, or if they know, are getting the subsidised loans under these schemes only after paying bribes. In Rajasthan there is a popular saying: “Ya tho jack ho, ya cheque ho (You must have contacts to use or money for bribes).” fits very much here. The use of RTI, if done appropriately, would prove to be very effective in eliminating nepotism and favouritism and bring about transparency in the process of selection of beneficiaries and delivering good results.
(c)RTI and Rural Infrastructure:
The next major issue of concern is the development of infrastructure in the rural areas. The central government schemes like the PMGY(Prime Minister Gramodaya Yojna), IAS(Indira Awas Yojna), and PMGSY(Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojna) etc are in operation for catering the rural infrastructure like roads, drinking water, electrification, housing etc. In order to make the system work effectively the records of the public works done in a village or an area for one or more financial yeas may be sought under the RTI for conducting social audit. Inspection may be done by physically going to the work sites in order to see if
(a) The works exist or not, and
(b) If exist then whether the work done were of the satisfactory quality or not.
This kind of activity is presently going on with ‘Parivartan’ in Delhi. The volunteers of it and the people of various area of Delhi are asking the records of public works done in their areas. Verification done in some areas reveals that in many instances works exist only on papers, not in reality. In some other cases the work done are of poor quality. Apprehending the fact that corruption would come to limelight (as it has come on some cases) once the people start verifying the records, the authorities are approaching the applicants for compromise. The people however feel that they should have control over the government expenditure and want the following demands to be accepted. 1. Before spending any money in any area, the local people should be consulted. Not a single penny should be spent in any area without the approval from the local people.
2. When the work is in progress the people should have the right to inspect the same, and after the work is done the records of such works should be thrown open for public scrutiny.
3. Before making any payment for any work, satisfaction of the people should be ascertained. No payment should be made without the approval of the people.
Once these demands are accepted by the government the people can supervise the developmental process in their areas. And if similar exercise can be emulated in all the rural areas, proper execution of the infrastructure projects can be ensured.
Similarly the imaginative and innovative use of RTI can address the problems of iliteracy, poor health and sanitary condition, under performance of anganwadis and after all the underdevelopment of agriculture and irrigation in rural areas by ensuring the meaningful expenditure of the public money allocated for the purpose.
(d)RTI facilitates the involvement and participation of people in the development process.
During the process of ascertaining the information on various fields discussed above, the members of public are likely to suggest remedial measures and alternative policy proposals on those issues. Apart from this, under the RTI laws the authorities are supposed to make some suo moto publicity of information about various issues of public concern. Once this is properly done, it would provide ample opportunities to the intellectuals, civil societies and common people to contribute their rich inputs to the process of policy formulation, decision making and their execution. For instance, in Rajasthan the suggestions of MKKS removed the serious anomalies existing in polices of rural development ,and the Panchayati Raj Act was amended giving the Ward Sabha (a group of 50 to 80 homes) legal status and the right to conduct social audits of works carried out in its area.
(e) RTI and the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Similarly continuous RTI movement in the rural areas of different states may enable the people to be in a position to pressurise the governments of various states to incorporate some of the following suggestions for the effective functioning of the PRIs that hold the key to the development of rural areas.
1. It should be mandatory for the pradhans to properly inform the members of Grama Sabha about the timing and the purpose of the meeting.
2. The provision of quorum of the meetings is made mandatory before finalising the names of beneficiaries of the Poverty alleviation and Employment Generation programmes. The minimum presence of the women and the SC/ST members should also constitute the part of the quorum.
3. The plans of the development of rural infrastructure shoud be compulsorily approved, by way of signatures, by the Grama Sabha before the funds are released for their implementation.
4. All the necessary information should be suo moto displayed in Panchayat office notice board, and all the records of expenditure like bills, vouchers and muster rolls etc should be thrown open for public audit.
Some Prerequisites :
However there are some pre-requisites for the above discussed exercise to succeed. The first necessity is to have an effective RTI Act both at the central and the state level, (which we will fortunately have once the RTI Bill passed by Parliament gets the Presidential assent). In such acts at least four essential provisions should be present. They are:
(a) Access to information should be the rule, denial to it be the exception. The grounds of denial to information be clearly and specifically mentioned.
(b) There should be a fixed time limit within which the sought information is to be provided, failing which the Information Officer would be penalized.
(c)Penalty provision for non-compliance to the demand of information or for furnishing false information by the officials.
(d)Provision for an independent mechanism to address to the complaints of public denied information or provided with false information.
The second one is popularising the use of RTI Acts. For this the government should be made responsible to publicise the various provisions of the act. However for the effective publicity the civil society organizations, intellectuals, experts have to give leadership to masses as Ms Aruna Roy and MKSS in Rajsthan, Mr. Anna Hazare in Maharastra ,Mr. Arvind Kejerwal and Parivartan in Delhi are giving. The mass should be made to realise about the potential of such concept in redressing individual and public grievances and be encouraged to practice the same. The role of mass media is very important in highlighting the achievements of the use of RTI. Apart from the mainstream media the help of traditional medias like ‘nukads’, puppet dances, community radios, local news papers etc may be taken to spread the message to every rural household. Last, but not the least, a good number of Fast Track Corts should be constituted for the speedy disposal of corruption cases caught as a result of use of RTI.
Conclusion:
The success of the RTI movement depends on the will of the politicians to pass an effective law, on the bureaucrats to change their mindset and adapt it to the concepts of good governance, and on the civil society to maintain constant pressure on the government apart from popularising the concept and giving direction to populace. Then only it will be possible to empower the poorest individual of the remotest rural area of the country and would usher the era of democracy at work, at the grass root.
The author is asociated with PARIVARTAN-the Citizen's Initiative on RTI
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