Right to Information Bill introduced in Goa assembly

Goa is planning another liberation.

Bowing to pressure from organisations like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Goa became the second state in the country to move towards a Right to Information Act, but one that makes many allowances for secrecy.

The Goa government plans to throw the issue open for public debate before discussing it in the House and proposes to pass the Bill in this assembly session itself. The Congress government had earlier rejected the demand to make the draft policy recommendations public, fearing that an act on the lines of the one passed in Tamil Nadu would result.

But the process has gained momentum, partly owing to a a series of judgments which declared that the right to know is a facet of the fundamental right of speech. "The right to information is indispensable for increasing and enforcing accountability, says Information Minister Domnick Fernandes.

Journalists, academicians and human rights activists, who earlier organised seminars to debate the kind of legislation Goa needs, had doubted the state government's sincerity when they were provided with no information on the Right to Information Bill, since it was still a "secret".

At those seminars, top bureaucrats had criticised the act as applied in TN, claiming it focussed on how to avoid giving information. "It's better not to have a Bill instead," one of them said. The Goa Bill also has several provisions found in the TN Act, which authorises the state to withhold any information which will prejudicially affect "public order". What such potent information would be was not defined.

Other secrets included those pertaining to India's sovereignty and security, international relations and trade, commercial secrets and information protected by law (including the Official Secrets Act and the conduct rules for government servants). That about covers everything.

The only clearly defined feature of the Bill is that the public is allowed access to any information which cannot be denied to the state legislature within 30 working days from making a formal application.

However, the Goa government is setting up a 10-member state council, consisting bureaucrats and outsiders, to promote the culture of openness and transparency and to monitor the process of providing information.

The legislation claims that not supplying information or furnishing false information will be a cognisable offence, with a fine up to Rs 5,000 and Rs 50 per day for any delay after 30 days. The appellate authority is specified as the administrative tribunal.

Fernandes claimed the current draft will better the one in Tamil Nadu, since it has not only corrected the errors of the act as applied there, but had also taken tips from the model draft prepared by Justice P B Sawant, chairman of the Press Council of India and the H D Shourie Committee recommendations.

"The comprehensive Bill has converted our needs into a right. But it needs further clarification on the vague exemptions mentioned in it as well as on who would be the competent authority to furnish information," said Kashinath Jalmi, the state Opposition leader. As of now, that too remains a secret, the state claiming it will be notified "later on".

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