Bhubaneswar: While the state government is patting its back for transparency and efficiency, some RTI activists have criticised the deliberate attempt by the authorities to weaken the RTI Act by denying information to the general public.
They alleged that the 5T (Transparency, Teamwork, Technology, Time and Transformation) slogan widely propagated by the state government is going to be a damp squib if the officials in almost every department avoid giving vital information.
Speaking to the media at a presser Saturday, Pradeep Pradhan, president of Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan, said, “Odisha is the first state in the country which since beginning has been trying to destroy this law (RTI Act) in Odisha by framing anti-people Odisha RTI Rules, 2005 which are ultra vires to Mother Act.” The rule makes application form in the specified format compulsory for seeking information in violation of the Section 6(1) of the RTI Act.
However, the same rule has also a good provision in it regarding the dissemination of information as per Section 4(1)(b) that directs each Public Authority from office of Governor to gram panchayat level to proactively and voluntarily disclose 17 types of information in Odia language on their website.
The 17 specific types of information that should be made public by the authorities include procedure to be followed in decision-making process, norms set by it for the discharge of its function, a directory of officers and employees, manner of execution of subsidy programme, name and designation of public information officer.
The Sub-rule 2 of rule (2) of Odisha RTI (amendment) Rules, 2006 directed the Public Authorities to maintain a register for day-to-day record of the members of the public who visit its offices in connection with accessing or inspecting suo moto information proactively disclosed by the authority under.
During the initial days, the state government tried to make this fantastic provision non-operational but later took steps in this regard due to the pressure of the activists. It created software in 2009 through which all the data would be uploaded on a website namely ‘www. rtiorissa.gov.in’ which has been later changed as www.rtiodisha.in for the publication of all the data under section 4 of the Act.
However, just two-three years later, the website has been lying defunct as the authorities have failed to upload the 17 types of information as per the RTI act.
Information about Department of Parliamentary Affairs can be seen updated up to 2014 only while the Office of Governor till 2017. Most of the information available is useless now in 2019. Odisha State AIDS Control Society did not update the information after 2012 and the State Social Welfare Board since 2009.
Most of important information on Women and Child Development has not been updated since 2016. Information about Budget of the Dept. is available up to 2008-09 only.
Most interestingly, no information is available on the portal on Odisha State Cooperative Bank, the department that got mired in controversy over graft charges of a whooping Rs 600 crore.
Information about Department of Food Supply and Consumer Welfare has also not been updated since 2017 (in some case) and 2018 (in other cases).
Several other departments including Odisha Mining Corporation, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment and State Commission for Women have not been updated for many years.
This apart, the authorities also are yet to provide information in Odia language. As per information obtained under RTI, the
I & PR Department’s nodal department has written a series of letters to all department to update their disclosed information in Odia language.
On June 29, 2017, in response to complaint petition No. 643/18 lodged by Pradhan with the Odisha Information Commission, the I & PR Department again wrote a letter to heads of all departments to update the RTI Portal regularly in Odia and English language as per section 4(4) of the RTI Act. But it has yielded no result s of yet.
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