From: Mani Ram Sharma
Chairman, Indian National Bar Association, Churu- Chapter
Nakul Niwas,
Behind Roadways Depot
Sardarshahar- 331 403-7 District- Churu (Raj)
INDIA TVC
Email:maniramsharma@gmail.com
Cell: 919460605417,919001025852
Dated: 24th Oct, 2013
FOR PERSONAL ATTENTION TO
The Secretary,
Department of Personnel and Training,
Government of India,
New Delhi
&
The Secretary,
Central Information Commission,
New Delhi
Sir,
SUO MOTU DISCLOSURE U/S 4 OF RTI ACT
Please recapitulate that Department of Personnel and Training, has issued detailed guidelines on suo motu disclosure vide No. No.1/6/2011-IR Dated the 15th April, 2013. The gist of the OM envisages as under:
“It may be kept in mind that proactive disclosure should be done in local language so that it remains accessible to public. All Public Authorities shall proactively disclose RTI applications and appeals received and their responses, on the websites maintained by Public Authorities with search facility based on key words. All discretionary /non-discretionary grants/ allocations to state governments/ NGOs/Other institutions by Ministry/Department should be placed on the website of the Ministry/Department concerned. Annual Accounts of all legal entities who are provided grants by Public Authorities should be made available through publication, directly or indirectly on the Public Authority’s website. Orders of the public authority should be uploaded on the website immediately after they have been issued. Website should contain all the relevant Acts, Rules, forms and other documents which are normally accessed by citizens.
Information must be presented from a user's perspective, which may require re-arranging it, simplifying it etc. Every webpage displaying information or data proactively disclosed under the RTI Act should, on the top right corner, display the mandatory field ‘Date last updated (DD/MM/YY)’. All government officers have to follow laid down office procedure manual or the other rules which gives details of how representations, petitions and applications from citizens must be dealt with. Templates, formats, and basic steps of decision-making are briefly explained in such manuals. These descriptions constitute the elements of decision-making processes in general.
The powers of each officer including powers of supervision over subordinates involved in the chain of decision-making must also be spelt out next to the flow chart or in a simple bullet-pointed format in a text-box. The exceptional circumstances when such standard decision-making processes may be overridden and by whom, should also be explained clearly. Where decentralization of decision-making has occurred in order to grant greater autonomy to public authorities, such procedures must also be clearly explained.
3.4.2 Citizen Charters, which are mandatory, for each central Ministry/Department/Authority, are good examples of vehicles created for laying down norms of performance for major functions and for monitoring achievements against those standards.
Funds released to various autonomous organizations/ statutory organizations/ attached offices/ Public Sector Enterprises/ Societies/ NGOs/ Corporations etc. should be put on the website on a quarterly basis and budgets of such authorities may be made accessible through links from the website of the Ministry/Department.
Each Ministry/Public Authority shall ensure that these guidelines are fully operationalized within a period of 6 months from the date of their issue. The Action Taken Report on the compliance of these guidelines should be sent, along with the URL link, to the DoPT and Central Information Commission soon after the expiry of the initial period of 6 months.”
I regret to say that some of the Departments/ Ministries/ Organisations have not only not complied with the guidelines but expressed ignorance or unawareness as to above guidelines while the outer time limit of 6 months fixed for compliance has expired. Therefore please call reports from all the Public Authorities now regarding compliance and issue suitable instructions to complete the task within the mandated period forthwith.
Please keep abreast me of the progress in the matter and meanwhile please acknowledge receipt.
Sincerely yours
Mani Ram Sharma