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INTRODUCTION
After the fulfillment of biological needs what we need the most is information.
Information is a natural curiosity and a power to fulfill other needs like security and
socialization. Freedom of information is the mother of all rights and liberties. Also
the human beings can fully grow in an environment in which they have the
freedom to know and express fearlessly, what they know and feel. Thus to fulfill
this purpose Right To Information Act was passed in the year of 2005.
Right To Information Act was enacted by the Parliament of India, giving citizens
right to access records of the central and the state government. It applies to all
states and UT’s except the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Besides many other human
rights of our constitution Right To Information is the basic human right that
protects and develops the human life.

HISTORY
In India for over 60 years of independence it’s did not include RTI as a
fundamental right; due to which under the traditional system of governance
secrecy was the norm in the working of the government, and transparency, an
exception. Under the cover of Official Secrecy Act 1923, Indian Evidence Act 1872
and various other such Acts even simple and harmless information was denied to
the public….. India is a mature vibrant democracy. And the meaning of democracy
is “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Means in a
democracy people are the masters. Government exists to serve them and is
responsible to its people who pay her taxes. Being in a democratic country we
should have right to question them on decisions they take on our behalf and why
such decisions are being taken. Like in a very simple e.g. when our mom tell us to
go the market with a 10 Rs. note on coming back she asks for the account.
Government spends billions of Rs. in my name won’t I ask for my accounts. This
money belongs to us and we have the whole right to make sure it is being utilized
in a proper manner. We have right to question government. RTI allows people to
do that.
Several voices were raised from time to time by Right to Information supporters
asking such questions to the Government and the very first and successful attempt
was made in Devdungri, a village in Rajasthan in the form of MKSS movement or
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangthan, to bring in transparency in village accounts. At
that time none might have expected that a small group of people, in a remote
village were stepping towards a historical achievement of the RTI Act.
The former Indian Administrative Service Officer Mrs. Aruna Roy along with Mr.
Shankar Singh & Mr.Nikhil Dey started their mission in Devdungri. Their main issue
was that workers were not getting their wages according to the work done by
them. And when this issue was raised and Government employers were asked to
show their attendance register; they said no to them and said “there are no such
orders to show like as this is our official record.” So from there this question was
raised- why are they hiding? Why they are not giving the information they need?
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Gradually it became a national movement. People became conscious about their

rights and started demanding information from the Government According to CIC
(Central Information Commissioner) - Mr. Wajahat Habibullah “Earlier, if we went
to ask for the information from a govt employee their theory was like – Don’t give
it… you could be actually penalized or suspended if you were discovered giving
such information even if it was not confidential. Now, generally it is understood
that if somebody asks for any information – please, Give it… So that’s a ‘C change’
that’s coming in the thinking”. It was due to international trend and increasing
consumerism, privatization and awareness among the Indian masses that led to
the enactment of RTI act which came into force on 12th October, 2005 placing India
among 55 countries that have such legislation.

PROCEDURE FOR FILING REQUEST FOR INFORMATION UNDER RTI ACT

 A person who desires to obtain any information shall make a request in
writing or through electronic means in English or Hindi or in the Official
language of the area in which application is being made to the PIO (Public
Information Officer) of their respective area accompanying with fees of Rs.
10.00, which is to be paid in form of cash or DD to the concerned authority.
 In case a person who cannot write, the duty of the central or state
information officer to provide all reasonable assistance to the person in
presenting the case or request on his behalf.
 In case an application is made for information which is held by another
public authority, it is the duty of the PIO to transfer such application to
other public authority within the period of 5 days.
Time Limit
 In any case it is the responsibility of the PIO to reply to the applicant within
30 days from the date of receipt of such request. While in the last case the
time allowed to reply is 30 days but computed from the day after it is
received by the PIO of the transferee authority.
 If life or liberty of any person is involved, the PIO is expected to reply
within 48 hours.
 And if PIO fails to provide information within this period, the applicant can
appeal or complaint to the appellate authority who would be a senior to the
PIO and shall give the decision in 30 days.

EXEMPTION FROM DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

RTI Act lays down that what should not be given. It doesn’t lay down what can be
given. This is a lesson that has been learnt from us even by the World Bank. They
have remolded their disclosure policy in line with our act to bring into the
disclosure policy only what cannot be disclosed. So everything else is subject to
disclosure.
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Under the act following information have been exempted from disclosure:
1. Information received in confidence from foreign governments.
2. Information prejudicial to security, strategic, scientific or economic interests
of the country.
3. Breach of privilege of legislatures.
4. Information related top cabinet papers.
5. Information which has been expressly forbidden to be published by any
court of law or tribunal.

RTI IN RURAL INDIA

As we know that various groups and individuals of urban areas are using Right To
Information Act as a tool to fight against corruption in a very innovative way
because of there being wide awareness about the act, high rate of literacy and
developed means as compared to rural India. But then rural India is not lacking
behind in any respect and is equally making the efforts as that of urban India to
get the benefits under the act. It’s encouraging to see how rural people, who
usually do not have access to government officials and machinery, are forcing
government to respond. But the hard fact is that the examples of using RTI,
though present, is not too frequent in rural areas because of lack of awareness
among the people about it and its impact on their lives. Therefore to motivate
people, success stories of RTI need to be spread. Some of these are discussed
here:
i. Uttar Pradesh: Keshav village in Bahraich district of UP is
one such example. Five inspired residents of the village filed Right to
Information application and questioned the district administration about the
conditions of the village roads and drains. They also asked why there are no
allotments under ‘Indira Awas Yojna’. The administration immediately acted and
the construction of roads and drains in the village began. Since then, 32
villagers have been allotted the house under the ‘Indira Awas Yojna’.
ii. Bihar: Bihar set a great example by creating a dedicated
phone line for Right to Information. Where Right to Information can be filled
through a phone call. Even an illiterate villager can file his RTI application by a
call. Use of ICT tools have been wildly appreciated by the media and the people
because of its user friendly format. Each call costs Rs10.00 as fee and a copy of
application is sent to the applicant through courier.
iii. Allahabad: In Shankargarh of Allahabad daily wagers had a
tough time arranging a proper meal as they were not receiving rations on their
cards. On 19 December, 2006 some 21 villagers prepared RTI applications and
questioned the Administration, the very next day all the ration card holders got
their rations.
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iv. Rajasthan: Kanhayalal, a resident of Rajasthan after getting

fed up of endless trips to Government officers and infinite pursuits of the paper
traits for the registration of his land resorted to RTI. He just asked two simple
questions:
a) Why has he not received registration papers?
b) Who has been responsible for the delay?
This single RTI application got the officials to measure the size of plot and begin
the process of registration.

It can be seen in all the above examples that most of the RTI applications were
related to PDS, Ration card, BPL card, Indira Awas Yojna, Condition of the villages
etc. So for this RTI is playing the major role in transforming and improving the
lives of people by providing them all kinds of information they require.
But as we know every coin has two sides, RTI besides proving beneficial to the
masses has certain shortcomings too:
1. Lack of speedy appeal for non compliance of request.
2. Lack of central PIO which makes it difficult to pinpoint the correct PIO to
approach for request.
3. The manner on which information commissioners are appointed is not
transparent.
4. Growing backlog of appeals within some commissions.
5. Highly decentralization of RTI Act 2005 although it’s a national law its
proper implementation still hinges on the efforts of 35 states and territorial
government. This leads to unevenness.
6. Under the Act state governments are empowered to make their own rules
which cause confusion.
Besides some shortcomings, the Indian law, which took a decade to take its final
shape, has several positive clauses like penalty, time limits, independent appeals
and public interest override.
Such features have made the Indian law among globe best.
Moreover open and free access to information is also valuable in ensuring equitable
economic development.

All in all RTI can be summarized to have the following:

 The RTI is the basis of all the other rights.
 The RTI allows for participation of citizens in decision making.
 RTI promotes transparency and accountability of government.
 RTI is an anti-corruption factor.
 RTI increases political discussion and debate.
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So at last it can be rightly said that RTI is a major step towards strengthening
democracy and democratic reforms in our country. It will help empower citizens,
keep the law makers and elected representatives on their toes and make them
accountable for their work of lack of it.
To make Right To Information Act really useful. Each and every citizen- rich or
poor, educated or illiterate, rural or urban, young or old- must be made thoroughly
aware of the provisions of the RTI Act. Only then it will be empowering the masses
in the real sense.