Lapse in Govt website violates RTI

[sidmis]

Lapse in Govt website violates RTI
as reported by Rahul Mangaonkar,TNN, 18 Aug 2008

AHMEDABAD: The commissioner of schools and mid-day meals' proactive disclosure under Right to Information (RTI) Act on their website states that a public information officer (PIO) guilty of not providing information without any reasonable cause can also be jailed for five years along with getting penalized for up to Rs 25,000.

"It is not clear how in specific cases chief information officer will impose which type of penalty on the PIO. It is also not clear whether the first appellate authority can impose penalties," it adds.

The possibility of truant public information officers being packed off to jails is bound to send cheer among RTI activists and send shockwaves across the administration. This "amendment" though has not been passed by Parliament but in Gandhinagar by the commissioner schools and mid-day meals scheme.

The website of commissioner of schools and mid-day meals scheme states that the RTI Act has been presented in Parliament in December 2004 and is awaiting approval.

Fact of the matter is that while RTI Act will complete three years in October this year the commissioner of schools' website in its proactive disclosure of the mid day meals scheme has posted the draft of the RTI Bill in the form it was before it was passed and came into force on October 12, 2005.

In a state where even 14-year-old students know the provisions of RTI and file RTI applications to demand accountability and transparency, this lapse on part of the office of the commissioner of schools is being seen as a gross violation of RTI.

RTI activist Harinesh Pandya says, "This is a serious lapse on part of a state level office of the public authority. Before uploading their proactive disclosure the contents should have been checked by the commissioner. This is grave negligence on part of the officers. This shows that for senior officers RTI and the obligation of proactive disclosure is only a formality."
When commissioner of schools and mid-day meal scheme, Sanjay Nandan, was asked how this misleading information has been posted he had no answer. Nandan said, "The website is being developed, you can ask the PRO."

"This should be an eye-opener for the heads of all public authorities and they should check what information is being included and uploaded as part of their proactive disclosures," adds Pandya.
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Lapse in Govt website violates RTI-Ahmedabad-Cities-The Times of India