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Transparency-audit of public-authorities by CIC

Transparency-audit-report of compliance by public-authorities now put on CIC-website is shocking with just 838 out of total 2092 registered with Central Information Commission CIC having responded till 31.10.2012 to the questionnaire sent by CIC on 12.07.2018 despite repeated reminders. Department of Personnel and Training DoPT and CIC should take the matter of not responding to the CIC-questionnaire as a serious non-compliance to RTI-mechanism through CIC issuing show-cause notices to public-authorities having deliberated avoiding responding to the CIC-questionnaire.

It is also a cause of worry that only 19-percent of responding public-authorities could qualify for A-grade with score above 90-percent while majority 35-percent of public-authorities were placed in lowest category E with score less than 60-percent with some public-authorities even getting zero-percent score. For motivating top-scorers and shaming low-scorers, DoPT and CIC should give media-advertisements about top ten public-authorities having scored highest and lowest scores respectively. DoPT and CIC should call a meeting of departmental heads of public-authorities put in E grade to ensure improving performance in a time-bound manner. Otherwise such constituting such study-committees is mere wastage of public-money.

Improving compliance of section 4-1-b of RTI Act can result in saving of huge public-resources because various study-reports reveal that number of RTI applications can be reduced by 60-70 percent if there is complete compliance of section 4-1-b of RTI Act by public-authorities.

 

SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL

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