Krishnaraj Rao supports conducting RTI inspection of files of public authorities arguing that it is the duty of citizens to ensure transparency and accountability of public institutions.

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INTRODUCTION: The idea of conducting RTI inspection of files of public authorities evokes mixed feelings. Some people argue that it amounts to obstructing the work of public authorities – an unpatriotic act. Some nice people feel that it is uncivilized, a bit like invading someone's space and doing dadagiri. Does the RTI Act empower citizens to do this audacious-sounding thing?

In this article, I want to address these arguments and questions, and show you sections of RTI Act that give priority to the 'right to inspect' over the 'right to file an RTI application'. I want to show you how taking inspection is in fact a way of doing your PIO and the entire system a huge favour! 
In the context of our inspection of files of the Maharashtra State Information Commission tomorrow, I want to show you all "the method in our madness". Please give me a patient hearing.
 

One evening some months ago, my MTNL landline suddenly went dead, along with several thousand others in Mumbai's populous suburbs of Borivli and Malad. Upon investigation, it was learned that a gang of thieves had dug up and stolen underground cables worth several million rupees, working in broad daylight on busy roads! What a daring theft!

But this theft might have been prevented, if only some passerby had asked the fake telecom workers to show identity cards, letter of authorization for digging etc. Confronted by inquisitive citizens, it is likely that the thieves would have fled, and thousands of telecom consumers like me would have benefitted.
Our Right to Information is not exercised only by filing RTI applications. It is to be exercised by going out of our way to find out why and how public works are being carried out. In case of the MTNL cables theft, it was not only people's RIGHT to ask questions, it was their DUTY. The theft happened because we failed in our duty.
 

Theft of public wealth is currently happening on a grand scale. How?

1)      Builders and contractors are colluding with state governments and municipal corporations to misuse public spaces and loot public wealth. Vijay Kumbhar, Vinita Deshmukh and others are fighting a huge land scam at Baner-Balewadi, on the outskirts of Pune. They have unearthed most of the information through RTI inspections. But in many other places, such as Virar on the outskirts of Mumbai, citizens have not been so vigilant, and the theft is already a fait accompli.

2)      Private Companies like Reliance and Tata Motors are looting both farmers and taxpayers in the name of building SEZs and putting up automotive plants. These private enterprises are being given dirt-cheap land and huge tax breaks to enable them to make profits. Some of these undue concessions are being questioned by activists, but a lot of them are going unnoticed.

3)      Airport Authority companies like DIAL, BIAL and MIAL are looting the state coffers. Despite being given large swathes of cheaply acquired lands to build a public infrastructure, they are indulging in fraudulent accounting practices to avoid sharing revenues with the government. Toll collection contractors too are looting the state in collusion with MSRDC – earning massive profits by deliberately underestimating the real numbers of highway vehicles paying toll-tax. People like Sanjay Shirodkar are fighting to expose this massive corruption through various methods, including RTI inspection.

4)      Public spaces in cities are being looted by moneyed and influential people. Reserved plots and recreational grounds are fraudulently given by municipal corporations for private enterprises. Roads and footpaths are encroached by private shopkeepers, hoteliers etc, while the municipal corporation looks the other way. Unauthorized structures and slums are built on vacant public lands, patronized by municipal corporators, MLAs and former policemen. Many activists such as Citispace are fighting a losing battle to save public spaces for the public.

The battle to save public spaces and public wealth is a lost cause. The looters are myriads, moneyed and have various privileges and "discretionary powers", and we, the citizens who question them are outnumbered, have shoestring budgets and very little power. (What is worse, we are divided among ourselves – like the 500-odd infighting kingdoms that enabled the British to rule over us. Our energies are squandered in finger-pointing and one-upmanship, while looters carry on.)

The designers of our democracy created systems of audits, checks and balances. Some of these are working quite well; they routinely gather precious data that can be used for system-correction. But for want of political will, there is no system correction. RTI Activists must study this voluminous data lying in hundreds of dusty files and thousands of statistics, analyze, take notes, make comparisons with norms and rules. And then we must create pressures by agitations, public awareness, media etc. This data is not accessible through RTI applications because one cannot formulate meaningful questions for such data. Therefore, the only way to collect this data is for large numbers of citizens to frequently inspect many public authorities.

It is every citizen's duty to become a guardian of public space and public wealth – to become an unpaid policeman. We are democracy's last line of defense. If we see a wrong being committed, it is now our duty to be "nosy" and "meddlesome" , and to poke our noses in other people's affairs.

 

These sections of RTI Act encourage us to inspect in many ways:

Sec 2 (j): "Right to information" means the right to information accessible under this Act which is held by or under the control of any public authority and includes the right to —

(i)            inspection of work, documents, records;

(ii)           taking notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records;

(iii)          taking certified samples of material;

(iv)         obtaining information in the form of diskettes, floppies, tapes, video cassettes or in any other electronic mode or through printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device.

 

Sec 4 (1): Every public authority shall —

(a)  maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the right to information under this Act and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerised are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources, computerised and connected through a network all over the country on different systems so that access to such records is facilitated;

(b)  publish within one hundred and twenty days from the enactment of this Act,—
(Here, under sub-sections (i) to (xvii) various categories of information are mentioned under this section in great detail.)

(c)  publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public.

(d)  provide reasons for its administrative or quasi-judicial decisions to affected persons.

 

4 (2): It shall be a constant endeavour of every public authority to take steps in accordance with the requirements of clause (b) of sub-section (1) to provide as much information suo moto to the public at regular intervals through various means of communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information.

4 (3): For the purposes of sub-section (1), every information shall be disseminated widely and in such form and manner which is easily accessible to the public.

4 (4): All materials shall be disseminated taking into consideration the cost effectiveness, local language and the most effective method of communication in that local area and the information should be easily accessible, to the extent possible in electronic format with the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, available free or at such cost of the medium or the print cost price as may be prescribed.

Explanation — For the purposes of sub-sections (3) and (4), "disseminated" means making known or communicated the information to the public through notice boards, newspapers, public announcements, media broadcasts, the internet or any other means, including inspection of offices of any public authority.

Please note: the above 'explanation' is also part of section 4 of RTI Act 2005; it is not something I made up! I have only highlighted the relevant parts.
In a nutshell, the sections above stress the obligation of public authorities to compulsorily give information without being asked, by publishing on websites and in various media, and by allowing inspection. Voluntary disclosure must minimize the need for RTI applications. As other options for publishing are mostly not implemented, inspection is the preferred means for giving information; the right to inspect takes precedence over the right to file RTI applications and have them answered.
 
What is "inspection of works, documents, records"?

For example, a citizen sees road-digging in progress. He/she has a right – and indeed a duty – to spend 15-20 minutes understanding what is going on. He has a duty to ask questions and ask for documents that prove that the road-diggers are authorized. He is authorized to take Xerox copies of any identification or permissions that he is shown, and to ask for the names of the contractor and municipal engineer responsible, and to get proof of the starting and completion date of the road project (see attached format made by Shailesh Gandhi). He has the right to phone the municipal engineer, draw samples of the cement-concrete mix and other raw materials, have them certified by the engineer or supervisor, send them to laboratories for testing and file complaints by phone or in writing if anything is amiss.

If we fail to exercise these rights, they will always remain in theory. It is the duty of each activist to put these rights into practice, and pave the way for other citizens to do so. Our inspection of the SIC's office (and indeed, many municipal offices earlier) is in fulfillment of this duty.

 

A format to inspect Information Commissioners' hearings orders

On Monday, 17th November (tomorrow), our group will get a sample of 120 files of appeal proceedings for studying. We shall note down our observations in the attached table created by G R Vora – a leading RTI activist, analyst and speaker. This table will enable us to measure the extent of RTI compliance within the system (i.e. PIOs, 1st AAs and SIC) in an objective way. We do not intend to enter into the particulars of any case; we will only look at compliance of various sections of RTI in scores of cases. We will collect quantitative data to counter hollow arguments such as the need to "deal with appeals on a case-by-case basis".

We are not "raiding" the SIC's office to obstruct work and derive egotistic pleasure. We are doing what every responsible citizen should do – asking the right questions to see how our country is being administered.

 

A matter of moral courage

To pursue an RTI application doggedly for months and years, to conduct an inspection, to complain against wrongdoings, to petition and agitate for systemic changes, to question public authorities – these are acts of great moral responsibility and moral courage. It requires "balls". I am privileged to be surrounded by people who have great moral courage – who have been questioning authorities for many years and even decades, even before the RTI Act was conceptualized.

The company of such people inspires me and makes each day of my life worth living.
Drawing inspiration from such people, and to remove the obstacles from the path of such people, we are in the process of questioning Information Commissioners, in order to build pressure on them to truly perform their duty. My fellow citizens, this is not a matter of legal niceties, but a matter of moral courage.