Training Course

Right to Information Act

Thematic Focus of the Course

Democracy means meaningful participation by the people in the public affairs. A democratic government must be sensitive to the public opinion, for which information must be made available to the people. Information and knowledge are instruments of transformation. Transparency, openness and accountability are the basic postulates of a responsive, responsible and accountable government. Effective accountability rests on the peoples’ acquaintance with the information and circumstances for the decisions taken. Openness and full access to information are two pillars of any democratic state.

The Right to Information Act enacted on June 15, 2005, is an instrument to promote transparency and accountability in administration. One of the major objectives of the Act is to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority by enabling citizens to access information held by or under the control of public authorities. The legislation confers on all citizens a right to seek information and correspondingly makes it the duty of the public authorities to disseminate information for better governance and accountability. Thus by implementing the Act in letter and spirit, a sea change can be achieved towards transparency and accountability in governance.

To make optimum use of the legal space that the Act provides, it is important to appreciate its wider context. More than a law, Right to Information is a process, a tool, a concept that envisages a different approach to governance. The law has widest possible reach covering Central and State Governments, Panchayati Raj Institutions, local bodies and recipients of government grants but would not apply to the intelligence and security organizations except if the information relates to the allegations of corruption. It was expected that RTI Act would usher in a new era of performance and transparency to benefit the common man in the complex modern world and empower the people to judge if the government was functioning in public interest. RTI will give public-spirited people an instrument to prevent misuse of public power and funds. However, the Act has not yet reached the stage of implementation which was envisioned and one of the grey areas is proactive disclosure of information.

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