PROJECT REPORT

ON

RIGHT TO INFORMATION-A CASE STUDY

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE

DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 2010-13

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

SUBMITTED BY:

MAIMS LOGO

Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Management Studies

Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi PSP Area, Plot No. 1, Sector 22, Rohini Delhi 110086

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STUDENT DECLARATION CERTIFICATE FROM GUIDE CERTIFICATE FROM ORGANISATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

CHAPTER SCHEME I INTRODUCTION II RESEARCH DESIGN 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 PURPOE OF THE STUDY RESEARCH OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY LIMITATION

III FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS IV SUGGESTIONS V CONCLUSION VI BIBLIOGRAPHY VII EVALUATION ATTENDANCE SHEET VIII SCHEDULE FOR PROJECTCOMPLETION

STUDENT UNDERTAKING

This is to certify that I have completed the Project titled RIGHT TO INFORMATION-A CASE STUDY in MAHARAJA AGRASEN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES under the guidance of MRS. SANGEETA MALIK in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree of Bachelor of Business Administration at Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Management Studies, Delhi. This is an original piece of work & I have not submitted it earlier elsewhere.

Name of the Student

CERTIFICATE (In institutes letter head)

This is to certify that the project titled RIGHT TO INFORMATION-A CASE STUDY is an academic work done by submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Bachelor Of Business Administration from Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Management Studies, Delhi, under my guidance & direction. To the best of my knowledge and belief the data & information presented by him/her in the project has not been submitted earlier.

Name of the Faculty Guide MRS. SANGEETA MALIK

I INTRODUCTION Background In order to promote, transparency and accountability in administration, Parliament passed Right to Information Bill, 2004 on 15th June, 2005, The Right to Information Act was notified in the Gazette of India on 21st June, 2005. The Right to Information Act has become fully operational from 12th October, 2005. so as to enable a citizen of India to secure access to information under the control of Public Authorities.

Why right to information? We all pay taxes. Even a beggar on the street pays sales tax when he buys anything from the market. This money belongs to us. But where does this money go? Why are there no medicines in the hospitals? Why are people dying of starvation? Why are the roads in such pathetic conditions? Why are the taps dry? Now we have a right to question governments. The Parliament of India has passed Right to Information Laws, which empower citizens to question the government, inspect their files, and take copies of government documents and also to inspect government works.

Overview of right to information

The Right to Information Act 2005 provides effective access to information for citizens of India, which is under the control of the public authorities. It promotes transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. It extends to the whole of India except the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In order to ensure greater and more effective access to information, it was decided to repeal the Freedom of Information Act, 2002 and enact another law for providing an effective framework. To achieve this object, the Right to Information Bill was introduced in the Parliament and was passed by the Lok Sabha on 11th May, 2005 and by the Rajya Sabha on 12th May, 2005 and it received the assent on 15th June, 2005. It came on the Statute Book as THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 (22 of 2005).

THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 An Act to provide for setting out the practical regime of Right to information for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or incidental there to. WHEREAS the Constitution of India has established democratic Republic; AND WHEREAS democracy requires an informed citizenry and transparency of information which are vital its functioning and also to contain corruption and to hold Governments and their instrumentalities accountable to the governed;

AND WHEREAS revelation of information in actual practice is likely to conflict with other public interests including efficient operations of the Governments, optimum use of limited fiscal resources and the preservation of confidentiality of sensitive information; AND WHEREAS it is necessary to harmonies these conflicting interests while preserving the paramountcy of the democratic ideal; NOW, THEREFORE, it is expedient to provide for furnishing certain information to citizens who desire to have it.

RESEARCH DESIGN 1.1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

Purpose of the study is to know the application of right to information Research objectives of the study Research methodology of the study

III DATA ANALYSIS

Object of the Right to Information Act

The basic object of the Right to Information Act is to empower the citizens, promote transparency and accountability in the working of the Government, contain corruption, and make our democracy work for the people in real sense. An informed citizenry will be better equipped to keep necessary vigil on the instruments of government and make the government more accountable to the governed. The Act has created a practical regime through which the citizens of the country may have access to information under the control of public authorities. What is Information Information is any material in any form. It includes records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form. It also includes information relating to any private body which can be accessed by the public authority under any law for the time being in force. Right to Information under the Act 1. A citizen has a right to seek such information from a public authority which is held by the public authority or which is held under its control. This right includes inspection of work, documents and records; taking notes, extracts or certified copied of documents or records; taking certified samples of material held by the public authority or held under the control of the public authority. 2. The public authority under the RIT Act is not supposed to create information; or to interpret information; or to solve the problems raised by the applicants; or to furnish replies to hypothetical questions. Only such information can be had under the Act which already exists with the public authority. 3. A citizen has a right to obtain information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through print-out provided information is already stored in a computer or in any other device from which the information may be transferred to diskettes. 4. The information to the applicant shall ordinarily be provided in the form in which it is sought. However, if the supply of information sought in a particular form would disproportionately divert the resources of the public

authority or may cause harm to the safety or preservation of the records, supply of information in that form may be denied. 5. The Act gives the right to information only to the citizens of India. It does not make provision for giving information to Corporations, Associations, Companies etc. which are legal entities/persons, but not citizens. However, if an application is made by an employee or office-bearer of any Corporation, Association, Company, NOG etc. who is also a citizen of India, information shall be supplied to him/her, provided the applicant given his/her full name. In such cases, it will be presumed that a citizen has sought information at the address of the Corporation etc. Exemptions from Disclosure The right to seek information from a public authority is not absolute. Sections 8 and 9 of the Act enumerate the categories of information which are exempt from disclosure. At the same time Schedule II of the Act contains the names of the Intelligence and Security Organizations which are exempt from the purview of the Act. The exemption of the organization, however, does not cover supply of information relating to allegations of corruption and human rights violations. The applicants should abstain from seeking information which is exempt under Section 8 and 9 and also from the organizations included in the Second Schedule except information relating to allegations of corruption and human right violations. The List of 22 exempted organizations is given below:

Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Ministry of Finance Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Finance Directorate of Enforcement, Ministry of Finance Narcotics Control Bureau Aviation Research Centre Special Frontier Force Border Security Force, Ministry of Home Affairs Central Reserve Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Ministry of Home Affairs Central Industrial Security Force, Ministry of Home Affairs

National Security Guard, Ministry of Home Affairs Research & Analysis Wing of The Cabinet Secretariat Assam Rifles, Ministry of Home Affairs Sashastra Seema Bal, Ministry of Home Affairs Special Protection Group Defense Research and Development Organization, Ministry of Defense Border Road Development Organization Financial Intelligence Unit, India Directorate General Income Tax (Investigation) National Technical Research Organization National Security Council Secretariat

Central Public Information Officers Application for seeking information should be made to an officer of the public authority who is designated as Central Public Information Officer (CPIO). All the public authorities have designated their Central Public Information Officer and have posted their particulars on their respective web-sites. This information is also available on the RTI PORTAL (www.rti.gov.in). Persons seeking information are advised to refer to the web-site of the concerned public authority of the RIT PORTAL for ascertaining the name of the concerned CPIO. If it is found difficult to identify or locate the concerned Central Public Information Officer of a public authority, application may be sent to the Central Public Information Officer without specifying the name of the CPOI at the address of the public authority. Assistance Available From CPIOs The Central Public Information Officer shall render reasonable assistance to the persons seeking information. If a person is unable to make a request in writing, he may seek the help of the CPIO to write his application. Where a decision is taken to give access to a sensorial disabled person to any document, the Central Public Information Officer, shall provided such assistance to enable access to information, including providing such assistance to the person as may be appropriate for the inspection. Method of Seeking Information

A citizen, who desires to obtain any information under the Act, should make an application to the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the concerned public authority in writing in English or Hindi or in the official language of the area in which the application is made. The applicant can send the application by post or through electronic means or can deliver it personally in the office of the public authority. The application can also be sent through a Central Assistant Public Information Officer appointed by the Department of Post at sub-divisional level or other sub-district level. Fee for Seeking Information The applicant, along with the application, should send a demand draft or a bankers cheque or an Indian Postal Order of Rs10/- (Rupees ten), payable to the Accounts Office of the public authority as fee prescribed for seeking information. The payment of fee can also be made by way of cash to the Account Officer of the Public authority or to the Central Assistant Public Information Officer against proper receipt. The applicant may also be required to pay further fee towards the cost of providing the information, details of which shall be intimated to the applicant by the CPIO as prescribed by the Right Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005. Rates of fee as prescribed in the Rules are given below: a. rupees two (Rs.2/-) for each page (in A-4 or A-3 size paper) created or copied; b. actual charge or cost price of a copy in large size paper; c. actual cost or price for samples or models; d. for inspection of records, no fee for the first hour; and a fee of rupees five (Rs.5/-) for each subsequent hour (or fraction thereof); e. for information provided in diskette or floppy rupees fifty (Rs.50/-) per diskette or floppy; and f. for information provided in printed form at the price fixed for such publication or rupees two per page of photocopy for extracts from the publication. If the applicant belongs to below poverty line (BPL) category, he is not required to pay any fee. However, he should submit a proof in support of his claim to belong to the below poverty line. The application not accompanied by the prescribed fee of Rs.10/- or proof of the applicants belonging to below

poverty line, as the case may be, shall not be a valid application under the Act and therefore, does not entitle the applicant to get information. Format of Application There is no prescribed form of application for seeking information. the application can be made or plain paper. The application should, however, have the name and complete postal address of the applicant. Even in cases where the information is sought electronically, the application should contain name and postal address of the applicant. The information seeker is not required to give reasons for seeking information. Time Period for Supply of Information 1. The CPIO should supply the information within thirty days of the receipt of the request. Where the information sought for concerns the life or liberty of a person, the same should be provided within forty-eight hours of the receipt of the request. 2. Every Public authority is required to designate an officer at each subdivisional level or other sub-district level as a Central Assistant Public Information Officer (CPAIO) to receive the applications or appeals under the Act for forwarding the same to the Central Public Information Officer or the first Appellate Authority or the Central Information Commission. If request for information is received through the CAPIO, the information may be provided within 35 days or receipt of application by the CAPIO in normal course and 38 hours plus 5 days in case the information sought concerns the life or liberty of person. 3. In case of an application transferred from one public authority to another public authority, as referred to in para 21, reply should be provided by the concerned public authority within 30 days of the receipt of the application by that public authority in normal course and within 38 hours in case the information sought concerns the life or liberty of a person. 4. The Central Public Information Officers of the intelligence and security organizations specified in the Second Schedule of the Act may receive applications seeking information pertaining to allegations of corruption and human right violations. Information in respect of allegations of violation of human rights, which is provided only after the approval of the

Central Information Commission, should be provided within forty-five days from the date of the receipt of request. Time limit prescribed for supplying information in regard to allegations of corruption is the same as in other cases. 5. Where the applicant is asked to pay additional fee, the period intervening between the dispatch of the intimation about payment of fee and the payment of fee by the applicant shall be excluded for the purpose of calculation the period of reply. The following table shows the maximum time which may be taken to dispose of the application in different situations: Time limit for disposing of applications Situation Supply of information in normal course. Supply of information if it concerns the life or liberty of a person Supply of information if the application is received through CAPIO. Supply of information if application/request is received after transfer from another public authority: a. In normal course b. In case the information concerns the life or liberty of a person. Supply of information of information by organizations specified in the Second Schedule: a. If information relates to allegations of human rights. b. In case information relates to allegations of corruption. Supply of information if it relates to third party and the third party has treated it as confidential. Supply of information where the applicant is asked to pay additional fee. Should be provided after following the procedure guidelines. 30 days 38 hours

Time limit for disposing off

05 days shall be added to the time period indicated

a. Within 30 days of the receipt of the application authority. b. Within 38 hours of receipt of the application by

a. 35 days from the receipt of application. b. Within 30 days of the receipt of application

The period intervening between informing the app payment of fee by the applicant shall be excluded

If the CPIO fails to give decision on the request for information within the prescribed period, the Central Public Information Officer shall be deemed to have refused the request. It is pertinent to note that if a public authority fails to comply with the specified time limit, the information to the concerned applicant would have to be provided free of charge.

First Appeal If an applicant is not supplied information within the prescribed time thirty days or 48 hours, as the case may be, is not satisfied with the information furnished to him, he may prefer an appeal to the first appellate authority who is an officer senior in rank to the CPIO. Such an appeal should be filed within a period or thirty days from the date on which the limit of 30 days of supply of information is expired or from the data on which the information or decision of the CPIO is received. The appellate authority of the public authority shall dispose of the appeal within a period of thirty days or in exceptional cases with 45 days of the receipt of the appeal. Second Appeal If the appellate authority fails to pass an order on the appeal within the prescribed period or if the appellant is not satisfied with the order of the first appellate authority, he may prefer a second appeal with the Central Informational Commission within ninety days from the date on which the decision should have been made by the first appellate authority or was actually received by the appellant. The appeal made to the Central Informational Commission should contain the following information:i. ii. iii. iv. Name and address of the appellant; Name and address of the Central Public Information Officer against the decision of whom the appeal is preferred; Particulars of the order including number, if any, against which the appeal is preferred; Brief facts leading to the appeal;

v.

vi. vii. viii.

If the appeal is preferred against deemed refusal, particulars of the application including number and date and name and address of the Central Public Information Officer to whom the application was made; Prayer or relief sought; Grounds for prayer or relief; Verification by the appellant; and Any other information, which the Commission may deem necessary for deciding the appeal. The appeal made to the Central Informational Commission should be accompanied by the following documents:

i. ii. iii.

Self-attested copies of the order or documents against which appeal is made; Copies of the documents relied upon by the appellant and referred to in the appeal; and An index of the documents referred to in the appeal. Complaints If any person is unable to submit a request to a Central Public information Officer either by reason that such an officer has not been appointed by the concerned public authority; or the Central Assistant Central Public information Officer has refused to accept his or her application or appeal for forwarding the same to the Central Public information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be; or he has been refused access to any information requested by him under the RTI Act; or he has not been given a response to a request for information within the time limit specified in the Act; or he has been required to pay an amount of fee which he considers unreasonable; or he believes that he has been given incomplete, misleading or false information, he can make a complaint to the Central information Commission. Imposition of Penalty As pointed out above, an applicant under the Act has a right to appeal to the Central Information Commission and also to make complaint to the Commission. Where the Central Information Commission at the time of deciding any complaint or appeal is of the opinion that the Central Public

Information Officer has without any reasonable cause, refused to receive an application for information or has not furnished information within the time specified or malafidely denied the request for information or knowingly given incorrect, incomplete or misleading information or destroyed information which was the subject of the request or obstructed in any manner in furnishing the information, it shall impose a penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees each day till application is received or information is furnished subject to the condition that the total amount of such penalty shall not exceed twentyfive thousand rupees. The Central Public Information Officer shall, however, be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before any penalty is imposed on him. The burden of proving that he acted reasonable and diligently and in case of denial of a request that such denial was justified shall be on the Central Public Information Officer.

CASE STUDIES Construction of Street is possible with the magic of RTI Act. Submitted by pardeep rapria I am a resident of Rishi Nagar,Kaithal(Haryana).My street was lying in a ruined condition due to political reasons because resident of my street did not the M.C. in the elections of Municipal Council. Many times I requested the present to construct my street and drew her attention towards the fact that other street has already been constructed, but all in vain. On 24.11.2006 I went to the office of Municipal Council with a RTI Application and asked following questions:- 1.What are the reasons that my street has not been constructed, when adjacent streets has already been constructed.2.Give me the reasons of such a long delay in constructing the street.3Give me the name and designation of the officer who is responsible for causing delay in the construction of street.4.Whether any plan has been sanctioned for the construction of this street. In this regard let me know the estimated value of the construction of the street. On seeing my application the officers of the Municipal Council said,: This is OK by our brotherhood with you is also somethig,you street will be constructed without filing this RTI Application. But I submitted my application. Surprisingly within a week officers and a contractor visited my house and said, Everything will be done according to your wish. And now the construction of street is almost complete. This magic

is possible only with the use of RTI Act. Pardeep Rapria Rishi Nagar,Kaithal(Haryana) LL.B,English Honours Mob.N.-09896040307

Anomaly in Recruitment Exercise DELHI Submitted by SUNIL BAGORIA In Year Dec '2000, Airports Authority of India advertised a recruitment notice in Employment Newspaper for the post of Sr. Superintendent (Electronics) in pay scale of Rs. 3450-6100(pre-revised). Accordingly Recruitment Exercise was executed, and written & interview was conducted for this post. At the time of interview all candidates were informed by department the pay scale is due for revision in AAI, hence successful candidates will be appointed on revised designation & scale of pay decided by management for this recruitment exercise. After completion of this recruitment exercise selected candidates were offered appointment for the post of Sr. Assistant (E). There was no indication for pay scale in appointment offer, it was only indicated as * and it is likely to be revised to Rs. 6300-12060. On asking, the CHQ informed to candidates, that there is no change in grade of post & scale of pay. On faith on AAI, Candidate joined on offered post. At the time of Joining, Candidates were offered course schedule for Sr. Superintendent (E) for Ab-initio course. After one month of joining, wage revision order was issued, and it was shocking to us, that by mischief, AAI appoint us on 3 grade lower posts. In this regards all affected candidates submitted their grievance, but nobody take our representation seriously. Effect of RTI Act 05: In 2007/08 we use RTI Act'05, and asked details regarding this recruitment exercise. We ask for providing all documents/record/correspondence/noting file issued during the period from interview to issuing appointment offer. The Information provided to me revealed some facts like, 1. Board of Selection Committee declared result for selection for the advertised post of Sr. Superintendent (E).

2. ED (P&A) approved list of candidate for appointment on advertised post. 3. Member (P&A) - the competed appointing authority gives his approval on list. 4. HR Cell issued instruction to personal section for issuing appointment offer for the post Sr. Superintendent (E). 5. Concern Directorate & Tainting Cell intimated to personal section for competition of recruitment process and date for Ab-initio course for the advertised post of Sr. Superintendent (E). 6. But by the negligence/intension of personnel section, they issued appointment offer for 3 grade lower post of Sr.Assistant (E). Present status:Some information is still due for sought i.e. name of person who take decision for changing in the grade of post for appointment, etc. After hearing CIC Prof. M.M.Ansari had given direction to CPIO for providing other requested information, and give instruction to CPIO, AAI to process the case for rectification of anomaly in recruitment exercise.

Right to Information Act, 2005 is a revolutionary law - use it Submitted by KAMAL ANAND I, Kamal Anand working for association called People For Transparency' at Sangrur wanted to inspected master plan & other documents in the office of District Town Planner Sangrur. Hence I had given a call to the office of District Town Planner' telling that I wanted to inspect such & such documents under The Right to Information Act'. The concerned officer had told me that I could come at any time. I went to the office of District Town Planner & presented my application for the inspection of the records & had told them that I was entitled to inspect the records maintained by them. The concerned officer told me that I can inspect any document I want to inspect under The Right to Information Act 2005 or otherwise, even without submitting my application under the Act. Because they know that under the act I am legally entitled to inspect records. They had offered me cup of tea and dealt with me in very cordial manner. I want to convey through this story that culture is changing. Some bureaucrats understand that public has right to information about the working of their departments. People should make maximum use of The

Right to Information Act', to create & maintain this culture. The preamble of the Act clearly says that information will be given to the person, who desires to have it. So have desire for information and call for information as much as you can. Contribute by playing active role in the promotion of The Right to Information Act'. There are many failures faced by us when we go to the other offices in Sangrur area, where the officer are not so co-operative. They even refuse to receive our application under the Act. One such office is the office of Civil Surgeon Sangrur', where Addl. Civil Surgeon Sangrur' had refused to receive the application under RTI. Having expert knowledge about The Right to Information Act', we stressed that our application should be received. It was received by the Civil Surgeon Sangrur', who is senior to the PIO in the same department. The Right to Information Act 2005 is a revolutionary law. So please make use of it. Don't think about failure, but only about the success. Kamal Amanda/o People for Transparency Telephone Exchange Road Near Sank

IV SUGGESTIONS

V CONCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS

VI BIBLIOGRAPHY

Word or list of the words referred in a text or consulted by you for writing report. It should be arranged in alphabetical order by name of the authors.

For books Name of the author (last name first) Title of the book, Edition, year of publication, No of Vol. (if any) Name and place of publisher. Example: Kothari, C.R. Research methodology, 3rd edition, 1997, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi. For Research Papers, Published articles, Magazines, Periodicals, Journals, Newspaper etc. Name of the author(last name first), Title of the article, (in quotation mark) Name of the Journals/ Periodicals/ Magazines etc in italics, Volume number, year, Page numbers. Example: Wortman,Maxs (Jr.) Entrepreneurship : An Integrating Typology and Evaluation of the Empirical Research in the field, Journal of Management, Vol.13(2), 1967,pp 259-279.

Online published material on World Wide Web (Alphabetically arranged Webliography) Name of the Website, Date and time of referring the Website, Name of the Author, Title/Topic

VII EVALUATION ATTENDANCE SHEET MAHARAJA AGRASEN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES ATTENDANCE FOR PROJECT REPORT

Name of the student Class Roll No.

: : :

Name of the Supervisor :

S.No.

Date

Time

Progress Report

Signature Signature of the of student Supervisor

10

*Minimum (8out of 10) 80% attendance compulsory. Coordinator

VIII SCHEDULE FOR PROJECT COMPLETION

S.No. 1

Date

Activities to be Completed Initial discussions and finalization of title

10th May 2009 2 14th 2009 3 4 5 6 August Finalization of chapter scheme

As Per Project Ch-1 Introduction Guide Ch-2 Instructions Ch-3 Ch-4

7 11th September 2009 8 23rd September 9 30th september

Final Draft

Approved draft will be submitted and will go for binding

Final submission of report after 30th no report will be accepted