Watchdog mooted for open govt

The creation of an independent chief information commissioner who will be appointed by the President for a five-year term on the basis of the recommendations of an appointing committee presided over by the Prime Minister, with the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India as members, has been proposed as part of an amended Right to Information Act by the National Advisory Council (NAC).

The chief information commissioner and state commissioners cannot be members of Parliament or state legislatures.

Drafted by Aruna Roy, the brain behind the movement for the right to information in Rajasthan, the draft amendment excludes Cabinet papers from the purview of the proposed law and accepts the jurisdiction of the Official Secrets Act, which has given rise to some debate among the non-government organisations on why this should be so.

The thrust of the draft ame-ndment is that individuals have the right to information already in the public domain and can ask for it, rather than merely having the freedom to information.

The draft amendment will "give effect to the fundamental right to information, which will contribute to strengthening democracy, improving governance, increasing public participation, promoting transparency and accountability in the Union, State and local-self government institutions and will enable persons to obtain access to records of public authorities in a swift, effective, inexpensive and reasonable manner," the draft amendment says.

The purpose of designating an official for this job is to ensure anyone who has asked for information should not be denied his request. A system of enquiry and punitive damages has been devised in the amended law for appeals by an individual whose right to information has been infringed.

Rather than having to go to court to demand justice, the chief information commissioner has been empowered to hear complaints and correct injustice.

The National Advisory Council draft amendment envisages accountability to the legislature. All information commissioners will be required to file reports to the state legislature and Parliament, as the case may be, at the end of the year, with a detailed summation of the number of queries for information, how many were entertained, how many replied and why some were not entertained.

The amended draft has launched a debate in the National Advisory Council, a section of which is asking if it is correct, in the pursuance of the objectives of the draft amendment, to accept an existing negative list of institutions from which information cannot be sought.

A list of 19 organisations to which the Freedom of Information Act does not apply, including organisations like Assam Rifles, has been retained in the National Advisory Council draft.