Some PIO`s are Asking huge money to provide information.

[sngupta]

So many PIO`s having the mentality to suppressed the information seeker by asking huge money to provide information. When only available information may only be supplied then how a PIO may ask huge money. Please tell my forum friends your interpretation in this regards.

[colnrkurup]

Section 7(3) of the Act is one of the trump cards available to a PIO. He can ask further fees representing the cost of providing the information AS DETERMINED BY HIM etc., It is little difficult to excape from this arbitrary determination of the further costs so long as he justify it in his calculations. In one of the recent orders the CIC implied his encouaging this practice.. To me, the only solution is to seek for 'inspection of the documments first' and make very specific request to the copies sought for.

[karira]

colnkurup,

It is not possible to ask for inspection of documents in a PA in all cases.
What if the documents are spread over different offices of the same PA ?

The best is to see and analyse the justification given by the PIO for the amount he has asked. In most cases, I have been involved with, it is very evident when the amount is justified and when it isn't.

Please look at the following case/thread:

Want info from Delhi police? Shell out Rs 1.5 lakh!

In this case, the information is already available in the public domain but no one in the Delhi Police seems to know that....and as a result the PIO asks for Rs. 1.5 Lakh to provide the information which is a few clicks away. Therefore, it becomes obvious that:
a) The PIO as well as senior officers were ignorant of what is happening in their own department
OR
b) It was a clear case of arbritary detrmination of the charges to be levied.

[mpai]

Originally Posted by karira

colnkurup,

It is not possible to ask for inspection of documents in a PA in all cases.
What if the documents are spread over different offices of the same PA ?

Seeking inspection of documents before payment of fees is the best option.

Manoj

[murgie]

Faced a similar problem in obtaining stale financial market data for academic research from the Bombay Stock Exchange. This was a request made well before RTI 2005 and which finally led to a favourable order of the Bombay High Court (dated Feb 18, 2005, on Writ Petition No. 3791 of 2004) directing BSE to give us data analagous to what NSE had given us earlier. BSE never appealed or denied anything. But never gave us the time of day for a long time. Last April at a meeting with several BSE officials and their lawyer, IT consultant, etc they said they really wanted to help but it would cost x+y+ ...= which came roughly to a quotation of over Rs.2+ crores (for something analagous to what NSE has given many academics routinely for less than Rs.20,000).

I asked some friends of mine with IT project mgmt experience for help. They helped me draft a request for a more specific explanation for the quoted costs. I have not heard back ever since. BSE's demutualization on May 17, 2007, hasn't made a whit of difference to its attitude, transparency be damned.

I'm praying that the exchanges will be brought within the scope of the RTI Act -- there is a cloud over that now -- so that I can see if the stated (though not often observed) RTI time limits help. But for the many times that this tactic is used by public authorities, there is clearly no easy short-term remedy. When people review the Act, we need to highlight how often this argument has been used by public authorities, and at least incorporate more serious penalties when the argument is used frivolously. Best,

Murgie

[maneesh]

Originally Posted by karira

a) The PIO as well as senior officers were ignorant of what is happening in their own department
OR
b) It was a clear case of arbritary detrmination of the charges to be levied.

I agree with you Karira that senior officers are ignorant of what happening in their department. Senior officer are routinely transfered from one charge to another charge and the information which can be accessed only if computerized which is penetrating slowly in Govt. offices.
I believe the first thing one should do after gettgin RTI to check on google who knows it will be available online .