Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Public Authority
public authority meansany authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted(a) by or under the Constitution; (b) by any other law made by Parliament; (c) by any other law made by State Legislature; s.2 (h)
Public Authority
Contd..
public authority meansany authority or body or institution of self- government established or constituted(d) by notification issued or order made by the appropriate Government,
s.2 (h)
Public Authority
Contd..
obligations of public authorities and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated; s.4(1) (a)
Pro-active Disclosure
Every public authority shall publish within one hundred and twenty days from the enactment of this Act-
i.
ii. iii.
iv.
Pro-active Disclosure
Contd..
v) Rules/regulations/instructions/manuals/records held vi) Categories of documents held by it vii) Arrangements for citizen consultations viii) Details of boards, Councils, Committees, etc
Pro-active Disclosure
Contd..
Pro-active Disclosure
Contd..
ix. x.
Details of material in electronic form held by the office Facilities available to citizens for accessing information
xi. Details of PIO s xii. Such other information as prescribed. And update these publications every year
Publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing decisions which affect the public Provide reasons for its administrative / quasi judicial decisions to affected persons
A template for preparing the Information Handbook under Section 4(1)(b) is available at http://righttoinformation.gov.in/
Dissemination of Information
Provide as much information suo motu to the public through various means of communications, including internet Such that public sparingly resort to the use of the Right to Information Act to obtain information.
Dissemination of Information
Contd..
Published material may be made available to the public at a reasonable price conforming to rules, if any, made under the Act. Disseminate Information through notice boards, news papers, public announcements, media broadcasts, the internet or any other means.
Obligation of Public Authorities at all levels to designate: Public Information Officers in all administrative units/offices Assistant Public Information Officers at all sub divisional/sub district levels
(iv) making necessary changes to its practices in relation to the maintenance, management and destruction of records;
(v) enhancing the provision of training on the right to information for its officials; (vi) by providing it with an annual report in compliance with clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 4;
(b) require the public authority to compensate the complainant for any loss or other detriment suffered;
f)
any facts which indicate an effort by the public authorities to administer and implement the spirit and intention of the Act; recommendations for reform.
g)
Key Points
Designate as many PIOs /APIOs as are necessary Designate PIOs who are relatively senior in rank Uniformity among Public Authorities in their publication of materials to facilitate easy access to Information Prepare guides / handbooks for PIOs, APIOs and Appellate Officers. A simplified Dos and Donts list could be prepared by every public authority for use as a check list by the APIOs, PIOs and AOs. Ensure that information is easily available with the PIOs to enable them to provide information to the citizens.
Thank You