Government to go for monetary review of RTI
9 Jan, 2013The central government has decided to conduct a study regarding RTI Act to ascertain the expenditure incurred in providing the information to the citizens. Earlier, the government had got a study conducted through PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2009 about the factors impeding the process of providing information to the citizens under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
The prescribed fee for getting information by filing an application under the RTI Act is Rs. 10/- but the officials have been complaining of high cost involved in the whole process. The Department of Personnel and Training has invited bids for conducting the study that will cover both states and the central government.
Scope of the study
To study the trends in filing of RTI applications/ appeals across the country.
a) To determine the level of satisfaction among the people with the functioning of the RTI Act, in general.
b) To study the use of RTI by different users like:
i. Types of applicants (in cases where applicant type is identifiable from application)
ii. Assessment of the type of Information sought and its classification into:
- personal information sought by employees;
- procurement related, information sought without any apparent objective / purpose;
- general information sought without specificity across sections/ fields.
iii. As assessment of the levels of government and the percentage of RTI applications received by them — field offices, HODS, Secretariat, etc
c) To record the experience of Public authorities at different levels in dealing with RTI applications and appeals.
d) To calculate the cost to government in providing information under RTI.
e) The public perception about the extent of reduction in corruption as a result of the functioning of the RTI Act.
The study will cover both States and Central Govt, across various sectors, and will cover public authorities at Centre, State, district and panchayat level. The areas of study will be decided in consultation with the Department of Personnel and Training.
The time frame for the study is 6-9 months.
For the copy of the original circular, please click - http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/images/1_26_2012-IR-04012013.pdf