Prashant Prabhu Tendolkar on Friday was inducted as the new State Chief Information Commissioner. In a interview with Padmavati Prabhu, he spoke about the RTI Act, its misuse, and his plans on clearing the backlog of pending cases
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The Goan: How do you plan on clearing the backlog of cases in the State Information Commission which have been pending for quite some time?
Prashant Prabhu Tendolkar: Firstly, I want to ensure that all my actions should be within the purview of the Right to Information Act. Then, for the purpose of implementation, my first priority is to clear the backlog. We will first have to see the setup in the office, and considering this we will then decide on how to clear the backlog, and this could be done by placing matters in the Board. However, there may be some unwanted petitions that could be sorted out by disposal. Considering the time period that these petitions have been pending, there may be instances wherein some of the petitions might have become infructuous and have to be cleared. Then, the other thing could be done by taking the matters with the shortest date - this may be possible or considering the oldest matter to be taken on priority basis. If we adopt this system, then I think that backlogs can be sorted out. But this might take some time, say maybe a year or so.
TG: What are your thoughts on the RTI Act?
PPT: According to me, the RTI Act is actually a very good piece of legislation. The basic idea of this Act is to reduce and weed out corruption and introduce transparency in the working of the government. So, if it is properly implemented with the intention for which it is constituted, I feel it is a useful Act.
TG: Even though the Act mandates government offices to display basic information on its websites or at offices, this is not being done.
PPT: As far as display of information on websites and others is considered, there might be a difference of opinion as all the information just cannot be put out in public domain. But there may some relevant information for certain people. In such cases, the department should provide the information to the person concerned so that the applicant is convinced that no injustice is meted out to him/her. But, despite this, if he/she feels that injustice has been done, then the person can definitely take up the matter with the appropriate forum for redressal of grievance. Therefore, apart from displaying information on the website, officers should also give priority to provide information under the Act.
TGE: There are even instances wherein the RTI Act is being misused.
PPT: Curbing misuse of RTI cannot be taken up as a general issue. We have to take it up on a case-to-case basis. There may be some cases wherein this Act may be used to terrorise government offices, which is not warranted. And if this is the case then government officers may not be able to perform sincerely. So, we will have to consider each and every case, whether it is a genuine application that is filed, or whether it was just for the purpose of terrorising or threatening some government officers.
TGE: How important you think is training necessary for public information officers (PIO)?
PPT: Sometimes, during my practice as a lawyer, I used to send applications for obtaining information under the Act. At that time, I have come across instances wherein some PIOs weren't giving out information or providing information which they could have avoided. This is basically because of lack of knowledge. They should be imparted training and given knowledge on what information they should provide and which they cannot give. Finally, they are also liable for penalty in case it is held that they have purposely withheld the information.
TGE: In the Commission’s annual report, one of the recommendations that have been made is to have RTI as a subject in educational institutions. Comment.
PPT: I feel that RTI as a subject should be introduced because children as future citizens should know their basic rights they enjoy as citizens of this country. Eventually, they will have to get their works done through government departments. Once they know their rights, then the person on the other side, who is the government officer, will be aware of their knowledge and he will therefore be forced improve himself.
