RTI as a weapon

[roychintoo77]

dear friends
my office is facing a peculiar problem.Certain people in my office have formed a group with the intention of bringing all importat work to a halt. we are receiving more than a 100 RTI applications every day from panwallas,grocers,all kinds of people with no connection to our nature or purpose of work.Silly questions and frivolous information is being called for.this has resulted in a heavy increase in workload as a result of which importat work is suffering plz tell me
1- what protection do we have against such intentional misuse of such an important right
2- copies,paperwork,staff allocation for such work is causing economic damage.can we charge the applicant for such expenses.
regards
roychintoo77

[The Great]

RTI India Welcomes you Mr.Rahul Roy. I think, no rules has been framed yet to protect the misuse of the Act, asking Silly question. However, our learned members will tell you, if there is any ?

Yours Sincerely, A.K.Mishra

[indus]

It look like the whole intention of this group is to bring halt to work as the people are asking silly information which is no way related to you. you too can play a trick here.
ask for the proof of their citizen in this way you can filter some unnecessary applications

[shakti]

If the applications received by your office are having identical/same information.
you can opt folowing things

1.Put the requisite/detailed information on the web site of your department.
2.In case your department did't have web site at the moment put the same in print media and paste the copy of the same on the notice board of your office.
3.If the working of your department is transperant and legal in each and every manner then you should not worry and reply all the applcations as per RTI Act-2005.
4.After going through your post it is presumed that your department/organazation is directly reated to the matter of Public Concern & dealing with huge sum of funds /Public money.
5.Officers/employees of your department might be largely involved in wrong doings/corruption/favourism etc and this is a repulsive action by the suffers.
6.Update your office records on computer(s).So that the information can be provided at a click.
7.Advice every body in your office to do his offical/designated/requisite duty so that there should be no or any kind of problem to comman man/citizens.


"When war is declared,Truth is the first casualty"

[opsharma]

Originally Posted by roychintoo77

dear friends
2- copies,paperwork,staff allocation for such work is causing economic damage.can we charge the applicant for such expenses.
roychintoo77

Mr Roy,
You are very much permitted to charge costs as per RTI Act Sec 27 (2) and RTI Rules promulgated by your State . And as long as information seekers are paying ,as per laid down Rules , you cannot deny them information. RTI Act is clear on this subject. I do agree,its a pressure on your manpower but definitely not on finances because cost to the information seeker is many times higher . So I recommend ,please be transparent ,pleasent and civilised with information seekers,irrespective of their perceived status in society , and supply them information they seek within the scope of RTI Act. I can assure you , after sometime only genuine information seekers will come to your office.

[karira]

Originally Posted by roychintoo77

dear friends
my office is facing a peculiar problem.Certain people in my office have formed a group with the intention of bringing all importat work to a halt. we are receiving more than a 100 RTI applications every day from panwallas,grocers,all kinds of people with no connection to our nature or purpose of work.Silly questions and frivolous information is being called for.this has resulted in a heavy increase in workload as a result of which importat work is suffering plz tell me
1- what protection do we have against such intentional misuse of such an important right
2- copies,paperwork,staff allocation for such work is causing economic damage.can we charge the applicant for such expenses.
regards
roychintoo77

If you are really sure that this is the case and that it is putting severe strain on your staff and office, the best way to separate the wheat from the chaff would be to inform such applicants that the information requested by them will disproportionately divert the resources of the Public Authority (Sec 7(9)) and request them to come to your office and inspect the relevant files and select those pages where they want photocopies on payment basis as per the schedule of charges in the relevant RTI Rules (Centre or State - as applicable to you).

First, if the applicants have not given genuine contact details, then your letter will never reach them, although you will have proof that the letter asking them to come for inspection has been dispatched by you.

Second, those who are genuine applicants will reply to you or come directly for inspection. Those who are not (and presumably have been instigated by someone), will never turn up.

Third, even if they do turn up for inspection, remember that a applicant has to inspect himself/herself without any assistance of anyone (lawyer, friend, associate, etc...) unless he/she is "sensorily disabled". Even if that is the case, offer them your assistance rather than a person accompanying them. It will make the matter absolutely clear.

Originally Posted by indus

It look like the whole intention of this group is to bring halt to work as the people are asking silly information which is no way related to you. you too can play a trick here.
ask for the proof of their citizen in this way you can filter some unnecessary applications

Indus,

There is no provision in the RTI Act for a PIO to ask for proof of citizenship at the time of application.
Please see:

Citizenship Proof
CIC comments in decision regarding "Proof of Citizenship"
Delay Tactics by PIO

Some of the posts in the following thread:

30 days starts from which date?

[colnrkurup]

Dear Mr.Rahul Roy,
I think your projection of the issue is little exagerted. I advice you to follow the suggestion put forth by "shakti in post No.4" It will be better for you to furnish the information sought for in your own interest. It will clense your office and the entire system. I suspect that there is something drastically wrong somewhere to invite 100 application per day though I cannot absrob this. If the cityzens can go to the extend of wasting their time, effort and money, you cannot ignore them as an honest public servants. May I suggest you post the gist of one or two worst application for the informtion of this forum. Kindly take off from your mind that anyone is misusing the RTI Act. They are only using it fully.

Please bear in mind. The very aim of the RTI Act is to meet such eventuality where acording to you hundreds of cityzens found there is something wrong with your system and wish to correct you if you are wrong or wish to be told as to where the cityzen are wong. Instead of confronting them, face them squrely if you are right and you think that your style of functioing is perfect. Otherwise it is time for you to correct yourself.

Incidentally paanwallas and grocers are also part of WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA entitled to enjoy the same freedom of speech and expression as you are. Rather more than you, as they are not servants of the public but public themselves.

[prbhat_gen]

my personal experience says that all the CPIOs/SPIOs feel that the RTI applicant is wasting their (CPIO's/SPIO's precious time) time and that the information demanded in the application is simply useless.

[shakti]

Actualy their was a great problem in their thinking style they think that they are not Public Servents but Public is their Servent


" He can't think without his hat "

[prbhat_gen]

i truly agree with you SHAKTI.

also they are not actually in habit of working. they are only prompt to draw their salaries on time.

[roychintoo77]

while i fully agree that this is a hugely important right for the citizen,it has also become a weapon for mischevious and political minded staff who are using this act only to frustrate the office.Unions have joined into this game and are having a good time.I wish i could divulge more details about this whole issue but i cant.Thankyou friends for ur valuable advice

[shakti]

In life every thing has good and bad effects but I can surely say that at present applications filed under RTI Act-2005 are more then 99.99 % genuine in the real sense.

And if 00.01 % applications are filled by mischievous and political minded staff/persons.
It is negligible.

I feel when any government department sent any number of notices to any number of individuals more then 69 % are filed (Withdrawn/closed/nullified etc) by the same department/officers.

[prbhat_gen]

i would instead suggest these corrupt/inefficient/insincere PIOs & beaurocrats to take VRSs.

[jps50]

Thanks Col Kurup. Nice positive approach worth emoluting by PIOs. It is time for the PIO and other staff of the office of Shri Rahul to introspect and look within its own domain, rather than blaming the public. If same or near similar info is sought, why not have a small get-to-gether of all the requestors over tea etc and sort out the problem in a positive manner, rather than becoming legalistic and accusing. People will appreciate such a move and media can cover it, as it happened in pune in police dept which was inspected by rti activists under RTI. What Shri Rahul's office is facing is symptom of disease and not the disease itself.

[colnrkurup]

Well said jps 50 (Sorry, what a way to address - mentioning your name at top would have saved me from the embarrasement),

I would have solved the issue long time back exactly the way you have stated, of cource without Press. Such a gathering would have solved all the problems in the office and would have built in a very healthy relation. One cannot achieve such a mental make up overnight. It need a very broad outlook on man-management.

[bahl_ajay]

Dear Rahul,

Para 4 of DoP&T OM No.1/8/2007-IR dated 08 Nov 07 on Guidelines for information seekers under the RTI Act 2005, clearly states that " The Public Authority under the RTI Act is not supposed to create information, or to interpret information; or to solve the problems raised by the applicants; or to furnish replies to hypothetical questions. Only such information can be had under the Act which already exists with the PA."

Most of the PIOs are quoting this in their reply to the query of the applicant only if the applicant is a genuine one he reverts back to the AA and then on the merits the information is provided.

[snkmoorthy]

roychintoo 77, multitude of applications and trivial nature of queries need not deter a sincere PIO from giving information sought. motives of the applicants are irrelevant. one day or other, these vexatious information seekers would tire out. as a fellow PIO, i extend my sympathy but there is nothing we can do here except honouring our committments.

[mpai]

Originally Posted by roychintoo77

we are receiving more than a 100 RTI applications every day from panwallas,grocers,all kinds of people with no connection to our nature or purpose of work.Silly questions and frivolous information is being called for.this has resulted in a heavy increase in workload as a result of which importat work is suffering plz tell me
roychintoo77

Unlike the posts by members of this list, I would say that you and your office do not need any sympathy but should be congratulated instead. Any PA which received @ 100 applications per day, shows how popular it is. To an average PIO, each RTI Applications cannot take more than 1 minute (less than 60 seconds) to decided if it pertains to his/her PA or not. Which means, by the end of an hour or so you can always filter the RTI Application into those falling under Section 6(3) and that under 5(4) & 5(5) for all the 100 applications. Done that, the rest is childs play. You still have 29 days to go.

Besides, the law does not stop the CPIO from attending office on Saturdays, Sundays & Holidays. So in the interest of RTI, he/she can also attend office on those days. You cannot possibly receive any RTI Applications on those days ;-)

If I were in your shoes, I would be delighted if I were to receive so many RTI Application per day. Just recall how our freedom fighters, who spent years in prison, accompanied by frequent starvations, beating and finally hanging till death. Try to remember their sacrifices, so we can live in a free country. Also remember, our brave soldiers who lost their lives, working 24x7 fighting the many battles.

Be happy my friend. Let us do our bit in making the country better.

Lage Rao

Manoj

[colnrkurup]

You said it Mr.Pai. I would have been thrilled to receive 100 applications per day. These applictions will expose the inside out of my entire office and would have given me a golden opportunity to learn amount my office fully in such a short period. In fact the first 100 applications are good enough. Most of the subsequent applications should have been more or less a repeatation for which one does not have to go through the cases. On the reverse of the application itself one could write down the reply leaving rest of the work to the staff and put it up for signature.

[mpai]

Originally Posted by colnrkurup

You said it Mr.Pai. I would have been thrilled to receive 100 applications per day. These applictions will expose the inside out of my entire office and would have given me a golden opportunity to learn amount my office fully in such a short period.

On the reverse of the application itself one could write down the reply leaving rest of the work to the staff and put it up for signature.

Thats it Col Kurup. You have spoken like a true soldier.

To the rest of the members, RTI is like a dukan where the customer comes for goods in form of information. If the goods (info) is available in your dukan, you give it to him against cost, if not, you check if its available in another dukan and send him (his application) there. If its not available any where, you tell your customer, the good are not there. ;-)

Once any CPIO starts thinking this way, dealing with RTI Applications would be a cake walk.

Manoj

[vijendra singh]

Not only the PIOs ,but the info commisioners, "why u citizens have been troubling us. U can do some other jobs instead of information-seeking .Govt made this rule not for evrybody.You are disturbing the govt & us." Thus , mentality of PIOs &CIC could not be changed even after 3 years.BIG REFORM IS NEEDED.