This office memorandum outlines further directives for public authorities to enhance suo motu disclosure as per Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005. Following a committee’s recommendations, public authorities are instructed to analyze frequently sought information and publish it proactively on their websites. Key measures include establishing consultative committees with stakeholders to advise on information to be disclosed, setting up ‘Information and Facilitation Centres’ to educate citizens, forming committees of PIOs and FAAs to identify frequently asked information categories, ensuring proactive disclosures are organized for easy retrieval in a searchable database, dating uploaded information, and assigning transparency audits to training institutes. A Nodal Officer will be responsible for website organization.
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Annexure
F. No. 1/34/2013-IR
Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
(Department of Personnel & Training)
North Block, New Delhi
Dated the 16th March, 2016
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Subject: Report of the Committee set up under the chairmanship of Dr. Devesh Chaturvedi, Joint Secretary, DoPT to examine the recommendations of the Committee of Experts on suo motu disclosure under Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005.
A Committee of Experts consisting of Shri A.N. Tiwari, former Chief Information Commissioner and Dr. M.M. Ansari, Information commissioner of Central Information Commission was constituted to recommend, inter-alia, measures to further strengthen implementation of Section 4 of the RTI Act, 2005. The Committee submitted its Report which has been accepted by the Government and an OM dated 29th June 2015 was issued to all public authorities to follow the recommendations of the Committee. Thereafter, DOPT has issued instructions to all Public Authorities in this regard vide O.M. No. 1/1/2013-IR dated 9th July, 2015 that the Departments must make an analysis of information which is sought most often from applicants and provide it on their website as suo-motu disclosure.
Competent Authority has further directed that:
- The Public Authorities shall constitute Consultative Committees consisting of office bearers of key stakeholder, association on rotational basis to have a systematic and regular interaction between the officials of the Public Authorities to advise what information to be uploaded as suo motu.
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‘Information and Facilitation Centres’ (IFCs) may be set up in each public authority, where public dealing is involved to educate the citizens about the information / documents available on the website of the department concerned and to provide printed publications to the citizens the categories of information that are frequently being sought under the RTI Act and provide copies of information as per RTI Rules, 2010.(3) In each public authority, a committee of PIOs and FAAs with rich experience of dealing with RTI applications and appeals is set up to identify the categories of information that are frequently asked by applicants. Such information must be disclosed in the public domain to make it more user friendly and should also be reviewed at regular intervals.
(4) Information that is proactively disclosed must be properly categorized and organised in such a manner that it facilitates easy retrieval. Information on the website must be organised in a searchable and retrievable database to enable people to access the records. The Nodal Officer of each Public authority be made responsible for this.
(5) Web site, and other medium and publication of each public authority, relating to Section 4 compliance must carry the date (where appropriate for each bit of information) on which the information was uploaded/printed.
(6) The task of undertaking transparency audits may be given to the respective Training Institutes under each Ministry/Department/Public Authority and across the States and Union Territories.
To
All Ministries / Departments.
Copy to NIC, North Block, New Delhi with the request to upload website.