Mumbai: There is some good news for citizens filing Right to Information (RTI) applications with the BMC. A civic circular dated June 2 has listed six directives for public information officers (PIOs) and civic officials to ensure that citizens are not tossed around but get better responses and information, failing which penal provisions will be closer home.
As per the directives, the BMC is a single public authority, inclusive of all its departments and sub-departments. Civic officials, therefore, can no longer forward an application to another department within the BMC, terming it another public authority under section 6(3) of the RTI Act. The state government or the railways can be termed as separate public authorities, though.
Penal provisions
The sections of the Act that apply to the BMC in such cases are 5 (4) and 5 (5). While section 5 (4) states that a PIO may seek the assistance of any other officer for the proper discharge of duties, section 5 (5) states that an officer/s whose assistance is sought under section 5 (4) will have to provide all assistance. If violated, it will invite penal provisions.
Activist Kamlakar Shenoy, who was part of the process that went into the issuing of the circular, said that applicants will hugely benefit from this. “Applicants will also not get lost when they seek information on one subject that involves more than one department. Moreover, they won’t have to file many appeals that were increasingly becoming the norm when information was not provided,” said Shenoy, adding that even if more than one department of the BMC is involved only one appeal would have to be filed if the required information is not given.
"Officers cannot shirk responsibility any longer"
Bhaskar Prabhu of Mahiti Adhikar Manch, also part of the process, said that an officer cannot shirk responsibility any longer as he is deemed PIO under section 5(5). “If an applicant goes to a ward office, officers cannot turn her/him away saying that they approach the head office,” he said.
Meanwhile, the other directives include mentioning contact details in the reply, proper sections to be cited for denying information, suo motu disclosure of information, information pertaining to subject be provided and being present at the office when they are calling the applicants. “Now unscrupulous officials cannot transfer applications to other departments,” said Shenoy.
