New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government’s lack of urgency in filling vacancies in the 11-member Central Information Commission has whittled down the strength of Information Commissioners to an all-time low of seven. Against this background, the government’s attempts to amend the 2005 Right to Information Act, allowing the state governments to decide the salaries of Information Commissioners has irked large sections of activists. The RTI activists perceive in the latest move yet another attempt to weaken the transparency movement.

Proposed amendment does not equate CIC with Election Commission

It has been recently learnt that the Centre has drafted an amendment to the RTI Act, seeking to remove the provision mandating pay parity between Chief Information Commissioner and Chief Election Commissioner. At present, the RTI Act also ensures pay parity between state Information and central Election Commissioners.

The Department of Personnel and Training is of the opinion that since the roles and nature of both the Commissions are different, their emoluments should vary as well. Further, the department has noted that while the Election Commission is a constitutional body, the Central Information Commission is only a statutory body looking into complaints and appeals.

The amendment, which could not be brought in the Budget session of Parliament, may be pushed through in the next Monsoon session. The changes would give state governments the power to decide salaries of state information commissioners. Something that is worrying RTI activists, who believe such a move would compromise functioning of the commissions.

Anjali Bharadwaj of Satark Nagrik Sangathan said “the proposed amendments, which will reportedly empower governments to decide salaries of information commissioners, are totally regressive. They are aimed at weakening the institutions of information commissions.”

‘Move would undermine independence of commissioners’

She said the move would undermine the independence of information commissioners. “The high status accorded to commissioners under the RTI Act is to empower them to carry out their functions in an independent manner and direct even the highest officials to comply with the RTI law. By seeking to empower the central government and state governments to decide salaries of information commissioners, the BJP government is trying to undermine the independence of commissioners and diminish their stature.”

Centre doing nothing to clear backlog of appeals

Bharadwaj further said the Centre appeared least inclined to address the problems pertaining to the transparency movement. And that such actions were only weakening the transparency movement. “It is shocking that instead of addressing problems relating to the implementation of the RTI Act, for instance, the large backlog of appeals/complaints resulting from non-appointment of information commissioners, the government is attempting to weaken the Act through the proposed amendment.”

She recalled that a nationwide report on the performance of information commissions brought out by Satark Nagrik Sangathan & the Centre for Equity Studies had earlier this year highlighted how there were currently 4 vacancies in the Central Information Commission and 4 more posts were due to fall vacant later this year.

“The central government has failed to make appointments, despite repeated representations by civil society. Even in states, the situation is extremely concerning. The report highlighted that at the present rate of disposal and the number of pending appeals/complaints, an RTI appeal filed in West Bengal Commission would take 43 years to dispose, while in Kerala it would take 6.5 years,” she said.

Significantly, the Congress has assured that it would oppose any move to dilute the RTI Act through amendment. Party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala has gone on record to say that Congress would “oppose this amendment tooth and nail”.

This issue of questionable RTI amendments was also raised at the release of the book, “The RTI Story: Power to the People”, authored by Aruna Roy and MKSS collective.

‘Post of chief IC kept vacant for six months’

Speaking at the book launch, former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said he was not certain if the attempts to dilute the RTI Act have intensified under the Modi regime. What however he could say with certainty was that under this regime ” the position of the Chief Information Commissioner was virtually kept vacant for six months”.

He also noted that even as Modi has spoken about strengthening the RTI Act, there have been no visible steps to strengthen it “in practice.”

Dilution through omission and commission

For her part, Roy spoke about how the previous UPA government too had attempted to dilute the RTI Act. But the present government, she said, was trying to do so “by omission and commission”.

Meanwhile, the PMO hedged sharing details about appointment of information commissioners. Reacting to a recent response from the Prime Minister’s Office on April 13, RTI activist Commodore (Retd.) Lokesh K. Batra said there was reluctance on part of the government to share information.

Batra noted that in his query filed on March 19, 2018, he had sought further information on the “appointments of two Information Commissioners” which had been approved by the PMO, the certified copy of which was provided to him by the PMO under RTI on January 25, 2018.

However, in its response this time the PMO said, “the office had received a file from Department of Personnel and Training relating to constitution of screening committee/ selection committee for selection of current ICs in CIC and the same has been returned to DoPT along with this office ID Note.”

Further, the PMO in its response said that “since the proposal was processed on DoPT’s file there the RTI application was transferred to DoPT under section 6(3) of RTI Act, 2005”.