As reported by Nidhi Sharma in dailypioneer.com on 17 April 2008:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/archives...ves2%5Capr1708
Amendment to Karnataka RTI rules draws flak
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="450"><tbody><tr><td class="news"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="450"><tbody><tr><td class="news" colspan="2" valign="top">Want to file an
RTI application? If it is to seek information from Karnataka Government or its departments and organisations, brush up on your précis writing skills and get ready to shell out a good amount of dough. The State Government has amended the
RTI rules and asked all applicants to draft questions in not more than 150 words.</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="news" valign="top">
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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="news" colspan="2" valign="top">The notification issued by Karnataka Government's Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms' Janspandana Cell has amended the Karnataka
RTI Rules 2005. Through this amendment the Government has also cracked down on the queries of the applicants. Through this amendment it has laid down that the queries in an
RTI application would pertain to only one subject. If it is on more than one subject, the public information officer (
PIO) would reply to only the first subject and then return the application asking the applicant to apply again to seek information on the remaining subjects.
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</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="news" colspan="2" valign="top">A new Rule 14 has been inserted which reads: "14. Request relate only to single subject matter: A request in writing for information under Section 6 of the Act shall relate to one subject matter and it shall not ordinarily exceed 150 words. If an applicant wishes to seek information on more than one subject matter, he shall make separate applications."
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</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="news" colspan="2" valign="top">The amendment, the only one to be passed during the present President's Rule in Karnataka, has come under a lot of flak from
RTI activists, especially for the word limit set. Chief Information Commissioner of the Central Information Commission Wajahat Habibullah said: "If rules are to be amended then they should be placed in public domain because
RTI is a public Act."
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</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="news" colspan="2" valign="top">Speaking to
The Pioneer from Bangalore, State Chief Information Commissioner KK Misra said: "We do not want to talk about this issue. We do not want to be drawn in any controversy." When asked if the Information Commission was consulted before the rules were drafted, Misra said: "No. It is for the State Government to draft and notify these rules." Misra said that the commission had not taken up the matter with the State Government so far.
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</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="news" colspan="2" valign="top">The amendment has been notified under Section 27 (1) of the
RTI Act, which empowers the States to frame rules to facilitate the implementation of
RTI. Magsaysay award winner and
RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal pointed out: "The State Governments can make rules only to facilitate the Act not to restrict it. While the Act says that a
PIO has to assist a person who cannot read and write, the rules have put a word limit. In a way these rules have killed the spirit of the Act.
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</td> </tr> <tr> <td class="news" colspan="2" valign="top">There should have been sufficient public discussion before the rules were amended." Though Habibullah refused to be drawn into the controversy saying it is not his jurisdiction, he echoed similar sentiments when he said: "The rules cannot override the Act."
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