Showcased as one of the biggest achievements of UPA-I, the Right to Information (RTI) today seems to have has become a thorn in the flesh of UPA-II as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself came down heavily on it as on its seventh anniversary. He said that citizens’ right to know should definitely be circumscribed if disclosure of information encroaches upon someone’s personal privacy.

Consequently, RTI activists are a worried lot and slammed the prime minister for his comments.

“There is a fine balance required to be maintained between the RTI and the right to privacy ... The citizens’ right to know should definitely be circumscribed if disclosure of information encroaches upon someone’s personal privacy,” said Manmohan Singh in his inaugural speech at the 7th annual convention of the Central Information Commission here.

“There are some obvious areas of concerns about the way the RTI Act is being used presently. There are concerns about frivolous and vexatious use of the Act in demanding information the disclosure of which cannot possibly serve any public purpose,” he added.

The issue of a separate legislation on privacy is under consideration of an expert group under Justice AP Shah.

The PM pointed out that there are other important issues that needs to be addressed like how much information should entities set up in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) be obliged to disclose under the RTI Act. “Blanket extension of the Act to such bodies may discourage private enterprises to enter into partnerships with the public sector entity. A blanket exclusion on the other hand may harm the cause of accountability of public officials,” he said.

Bringing PPP projects under the RTI Act has been a bone of contention between authorities and activists as the latter believe most of the big projects are these days carried out under PPP model and their exclusion could harm transparency in such capital intensive projects.

He further said that there may also be a need to change perceptions about RTI: “This important legislation should not be only about criticizing, ridiculing, and running down public authorities. It should be more about promoting transparency and accountability, spreading information and awareness and empowering our citizens,” Singh said.