Skip to main content

RTI: Only 13% of Central Ministries compliant with transparency directive


By Venkatesh Nayak*
To ensure compliance with proactive information disclosure obligations under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act), under Rule 10 of the Rules of Procedure in Regard to the Proceedings of Cabinet, 1987, government ministries/ departments are required to submit reports to the Cabinet Secretariat every month. With the exception of the Ministry of Coal no other Ministry had volunteered to make this information public.
In April 2016, the Central Information Commission (CIC) had issued a recommendation to the Cabinet Secretariat to upload monthly reports of work done by all Ministries and Departments on their respective websites. Within two months of the CIC’s recommendation, the Cabinet Secretariat issued a circular to all Central Ministries and Departmentsrequiring them to upload monthly reports of their major achievements, significant developments and important events. Ever since, Parliament has been asking questions regarding compliance with this circular.

Central Government admits in Parliament, absence of mechanism to monitor its own transparency directive

On 08 February, 2018, Mr. V. Vijaysai Reddy, MP (YSR Congress) of Andhra Pradesh asked the Hon’ble Prime Minister (PM) in the Rajya Sabha about the existence of the CIC’s order, the Cabinet Secretariat’s circular and as to whether the Government has any mechanism to monitor the compliance across Central Ministries and Departments.
In a written reply to the Unstarred Question of the MP, the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (who assists the PM) has once again said that the Government does not have any mechanism to monitor compliance with its own transparency directive
Earlier, in March 2017, the same Minister gave a similar reply to a similar question regarding compliance with the CIC/Cab Sectt.’s directive raised by Mr. Rajesh Ranjan, MP @ Pappu Yadav and Ms. Ranjeet Ranjan, MP (both belonging to Rashtriya Janata Dal) in the Lok Sabha.

Current status of compliance with the transparency directive across Central Ministries and Departments

Anticipating the Central Government’s reply, we we kept ready a quick website check of 52 Central Ministries and 52 Departments under their charge for compliance with the requirement of proactive disclosure of monthly activities and achievements. Our findings about the status of compliance across these 104 entities are given below:
Status of compliance across 52 Central Ministries:
  • Only 13% of the Central Ministries are either fully or reasonably compliant with the transparency directive. Nevertheless, this may be taken as considerable improvement over the compliance rate of 8% that we reported in March 2017 when the issue was raised in the Lok Sabha. If only 47 Ministries that have their own websites are counted, the compliance rate in 2018 goes up to 14.89%;
  • Having uploaded all monthly reports up to January 2018 the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change is the only entity to comply fully with the transparency directive;
  • Three Ministries- Civil Aviation, Coal and Petroleum and Natural Gas have published monthly reports up to December 2017;
  • The Ministry of Finance has published monthly reports up to November 2017 only;
  • The Ministry of Earth Sciences has published monthly reports from January – December 2017. Reports of previous months are not accessible on its website;
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs is also reasonably compliant with the transparency directive having uploaded reports up to December 2017. But monthly reports for May and July 2017 are missing from this section of its website;
  • The Ministry for Textiles has uploaded the monthly report for December 2017 only. Earlier reports which we found during our last round of compliance survey seem to have been taken off the website;
  • While the Ministry of Mines seems to have stopped publishing monthly reports after February 2017, the Ministry for Rural Development seems to have stopped this practice after July 2016. The Ministry for Corporate Affairs has revived its practice of publishing monthly bulletins since November 2017 which had started in April 2015;
  • Five Ministries (Commerce and Industry; Communications; Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution; Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises and Science and Technology) do not have separate websites of their own. Instead they are accessible to the public through the websites of their constituent departments.
Status of compliance across 52 Central Departments: 
  • Less than 6% (5.7%) of the 52 Central Departments are compliant with the transparency directive having published monthly reports up to December 2017. Of the Depts. that have their own websites, only 6.5% (3 of 46) are compliant with the transparency directive; This figure has remained stagnant since we monitored compliance in 2017;
  • Only the Depts. of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and Food and Public Distribution have uploaded all monthly reports up to December 2017. None of them had uploaded the monthly report for January 2018 at the time of this despatch;
  • DoPT deserves credit for displaying the link to monthly reports more prominently on its Home Page than any other Central Ministry or Department;
  • Department of Justice has published all reports for the calendar year of 2017 but seems to have removed reports of previous months;
  • Department of Investment and Public Asset Management has published only bullet pointed information (2-4) for each month. While the report for December 2017 is accessible easily, earlier reports are archived requiring some effort to trace on the website.
  • Similarly, the monthly reports of the Dept. of Pharmaceuticals are published intermittently and require some effort to locate amidst other documents;
  • Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances stopped publishing monthly reports after January 2017;
  • Department of Health and Family Welfare has not been regular with the publication of its monthly reports. They started publishing in August 2016 but did not resume the practice until June 2017. Publication has stopped once again after October 2017;
  • Six Departments (Border Management; Home; Internal Security; J&K Affairs, Social Justice and Empowerment and States) do not have websites of their own but link to their parent Ministry’s website. Five of these Depts. are under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
(This research was put together by John Mascrinaus and Shikha Chhibbar of ATI Programme, CHRI and Geetika Vyas of Symbiosis Law School NOIDA who interned with CHRI.)

Urgent need for establishing a monitoring mechanism

Section 25(1)(c) of the RTI Act obligates the Central Government to require all public authorities under its control to publish accurate information about their activities from time to time. This is a statutory mandate. The CIC/Cab. Sectt.’s transparency directive is the right steps in this direction. However, the evidence indicates a deficit of both political and bureaucratic will to ensure compliance with this transparency requirement. The Central Government has not committed to developing a mechanism to monitor compliance despite being reminded twice in Parliament. Perhaps it is time to move the CIC again to issue a binding direction for establishing such a mechanism under the Cabinet Secretariat or the DoPT.
—
*Programme Coordinator, Access to Information Programme, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.
Post a Comment
Read more

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”
Post a Comment
Read more

A Marxist intellectual who dwelt into complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape

By Harsh Thakor*  Professor Manoranjan Mohanty has been a dedicated advocate for human rights over five decades. His work as a scholar and activist has supported revolutionary democratic movements, navigating complex areas of the Indian socio-political landscape. His balanced, non-partisan approach to human rights and social justice has made his books essential resources for advocates of democracy.
Post a Comment
Read more

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.
Post a Comment
Read more

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 
26 comments
Read more

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 
1 comment
Read more

Unlike other revolutionaries, Hindutva icon wrote 5 mercy petitions to British masters

By Shamsul Islam*  The Hindutva icon VD Savarkar of the RSS-BJP rulers of India submitted not one, two,or three but five mercy petitions to the British masters! Savarkarites argue: “There are no evidences to prove that Savarkar collaborated with the British for his release from jail. In fact, his appeal for release was a ruse. He was well aware of the political developments outside and wanted to be part of it. So he kept requesting for his release. But the British authorities did not trust him a bit” (YD Phadke, ‘A complex Hero’, "The Indian Expres"s, August 31, 2004)
8 comments
Read more

Outreach programme in medical education: Band-aids for compound fractures

By Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Recently, the National Medical Commission (NMC) of India, introduced two curricular changes in medical education, both at the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels, ostensibly to offer opportunities for quality medical education and to improve health care accessibility among the underserved rural and urban population.
7 comments
Read more

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.
Post a Comment
Read more