Laxities abound in RTI forms

[karira]

Ahmedabad, May 13: It seems that the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) has created its own version of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. A fleeting glance at the RTI application forms posted on the GSHSEB website reveals that many of the sections, to which an applicant is supposed to refer to while filing an RTI application, has been wrongly added to the form.
Consider this: The application on the website which an applicant files for the first time to get information under the Act has a sentence which says-- refer to Rule 6 to get more information about how to apply. On the contrary, this rule, which is a part of the State Government's rules of the RTI Act, is meant to throw light on reasons for an individual to file a first appeal.
In another line, the application form has been addressed to the 'Sarkari Mahiti Adhikari' (Government Information Officer) instead of a 'Jaher Mahiti Adhikari' ( Public Information Officer), who is the authority in any department to whom the application should be sent.
Similar mistakes can also be found in the form for the first appeal, supposed to be sent to the first appellate authority, if the information sought by the applicant is denied by the PIO or the applicant is dissatisfied with the information. For e.g, to file a first appeal, the application form asks the applicant to refer to Section 12 (1) of the RTI Act, 2005. However, Section 12 (1) of the Act refers to the constitution of the Central Information Commission and not to rules governing the filing of a first appeal. It is Section 19 of the Act which states that a person can file a first appeal if he is aggrieved with the reply to his RTI application within a period of 30 days of the reply.
In another part of the application wherein the last date for sending in the appeal is supposed to be given, the applicant has been asked to refer to Rule 5 (3) to know about the same. However, this rule is not even present in the State rules for RTI. R K Pathak, Chairman of the GSHSEB points out that the RTI Act is final.
He said, "These mistakes might have occurred due to manual error. Action will be taken and the mistakes will be corrected."
Manwhile, Harinesh Pandya of Janpath, which has taken an initiative called 'Mahiti Adhikar Gujarat Pahel' (MAGP), says that the GSHSEB is misguiding people.
"If the GSHSEB does not remove these mistakes, the MAGP will be forced to file a complaint with the State Information Commission," he said.


Laxities abound in RTI forms

[karira]

They can consult this forum for "free" information and suggestions.
Veterans of this board will know better than GSHSEB.