How Slogan
“5T( TRANSPARENCY) – A Big Farce in Odisha”
Dear friends
Presently 5T (Team Work,
Technology, Transparency, Transformation and Time Limit) is
much-hyped buzz word and media-driven propaganda in Odisha. This
word “5T” is coinised by Chief Minister to bring transparency and
transformational changes in the state. It
has become just
like Guru Mantra for state
machinery and its execution
has been given top priority by the
people at helm of affairs
of the administration. I doubt whether
Chief Minister can speak
about 5 minutes about
this 5T without written documents
prepared by bureaucrats. Many people close to Ruling party are
seen exhilarated publicly about
5T. I strongly
feel that this slogan “5T”
is calculatedly design by
pet bureaucrats of
Chief Minister to divert attention of the people
from real issues and deceive them.
I will herewith
deal about only “
Transparency” How it
is a big farce in Odisha.
Since 2005, as I have marked ,
while speaking and claiming his Govt.
as Transparent Govt., Chief Minister
has never uttered a single
word about RTI – A sun-shining law enacted to enforce
transparency and accountability in the administration across the country.
The country has been benefitted a lot from this law in respect of opening up the system
to the common people and transforming the administration from a
colonial, opaque and secretive
system to a system of
transparency.
Odisha is the first
state in the country
which since beginning tries to
destroy this law in Odisha
by framing a anti-people , illegitimate
Odisha RTI Rules, 2005 which
is ultra vires to Mother Act.
Introduction of arbitrary compulsory of
Application Form { violation
of section 6(1) of the RTI Act} and
rejection of application for information due to
failure to fill up
Form correctly is the
biggest impediments on the path of exercising power
to seek information by the common people. It has
been seen several times that the common people even the
educated urban people have
not been able to fill up
this eleven-column complicated
application without external advise. That’s why a major chunk of populace of rural
and tribal areas have not been
able to file RTI to access information. However, due to
constant and continuous campaign
on RTI by few
inspired RTI Activists and Civil
Society Groups, the
common people are
seen being able
to fill up the Application Form to demand for information.
Arbitrary provision of
collection of fees for information from BPL people { violation of
section 7(5) of the RTI Act } and demand for submission of
proof of citizenship at the
time of submission of RTI Application { violation of section
6(2) of the RTI Act) by
State RTI Rules has damaged
greatly prospect of RTI in
Odisha.
Coming back to discussion
about issues how the State Govt.
has systematically destroyed
prospect of transparent administration in Odisha, I herewith highlight few examples for reference of the
public.
1. As per
section 4(1)(b) of the RTI Act, Each
Public Authority ( each Govt. offices
starting from office
of Governor to
Gram Panchayat office) shall
proactively ( voluntarily) disclose 17
types of information in Odia
language in their website and must
be available with PIO
for inspection by the public
during their visit
to the office. As per
Rule-2(2) of Odisha RTI (amendment) Rules, 2006, Each Public
Authority shall maintain a Register
for day-to-day record of the members of the public
who visit its offices in connection with accessing or inspecting
suo motto information proactively disclosed
by the said authority under
section 4 of the Act. The
17 type of information which needs to be proactively disclosed by
different authorities are particulars of its organization,
functions and duties, powers and duties
of its officers and employees, procedure followed in decision-making process, norms
set by it for the discharge of its function, a directory of officers and employees, manner of execution of subsidy programme, name and
designation of public information
officer, particulars of recipient of concession and permits etc. At the
primary stage, the State
Govt. under Nabin Patnaik, Chief
Minister tried to make
this fantastic provision non-operational.
2. After a lot
of protests by RTI
Activists and intervention of the Information Commission, the
Chief secretary invited
a high- level meeting of Secretaries of all
Departments on 15.5.2009 to reveiew
implementation of section 4 of the RTI Act. In this meeting
it was decided
to develop a softwire for webhosting all the
proactively disclosed information. All the Public authorities were
requested to update their
information as per template and complete
the process of disclosure
of information by 31st May, 2009. The I and PR
Department , Nodal Department for
RTI engaged a Nodal
officer to monitor
implementation of section 4 of the RTI Act by all the
Departments.
3. In
2009, the
State
Govt. developed
a fantastic
website RTI Portal
(
www.
rtiorissa.gov.in which has been changed
as www.rtiodisha.in for
disclosure
of
all
section 4-related
information of
all department
and subordinate
offices
of the state. At
primary
stage , 17 types of
proactively
disclosed
information of
so many
offices
was
uploaded
in this
website.
The
State
Govt. got
award
for this
fantastic website
at
national level
which was
greatly
highlighted
in media.
4. But after
two to three years, this website
became garbage with
dissemination of outdated information.
As per section of
4 of the RTI Act, this
17-types of information is required
to be updated by each
office in every year. The website
was kept idle for
years together till today.
5. To
find out
the
commitment
of State Govt. to
enforce
transparency
in
administration,
this
website (
www.rtiodisha.in)
was searched/ inspected
the
updated
information
of various
departments.
It
was
observed
horrible
and
outdated
information are
exhibited in
link of almost
all
offices.
Not
a single
information of
any
department
and
subordinate
offices
have been
completely updated
upto 2019.
Few examples are cited here for
better
understanding
of the readers.
·
Information about department of Parliamentary
Affairs is seen updated upto 2014. Most of the information are useless.
·
Information about 17 types of disclosed information
of office of Governor, Odisha has
not been updated from 2017.
·
Information about 17 types of disclosed
information of Odisha
Legislative Assembly has
not been updated from 2013.
·
Information
about Department of
Food Supply and
Consumer Wlfare has
not been updated since
2017 ( in some case) and
2018 ( in other cases).
·
Information of Odisha State
AIDS Control Society is
not updated from 2012.
·
Information about Odisha
State Cooperative Bank
was completely Nil
and Blank.
·
Information of
State Social Welfare Board
is not updated since 2009.
·
Many
important information of Women
and Child Development
is not updated
from 2016. Information about
Budget of the Dept. is
available upto 20008-09.
·
No
information about Kalimela
Tahasil of Malkangiri
district is available. But it
is written updated till 2018.
·
Most of
the information of Collectorate, Malkangiri is
updated upto May, 2019.
·
Information of
Odisha Mining Corporation is
not updated since
2016. No information about budget available.
·
Information of Department of Agriculture and
farmers’ Empowerment is not updated FROM 2017. Sri Gagan Dhal is still APC. Budget for the Dept. is available
upto 2008-09.
·
Information of
State Commission for Women
is updated upto 2014.
6. As per
section 4(4) of the RTI Act,
all proactively disclosed
information should be available
in Odia language. As per
information obtained under RTI,
the I and PR Department, Nodal Dept.
has written series of letters
to all Department
to update their
proactive disclosed information in Odia
language. On 29.6.2017., Information and Public relation Department
wrote letter to the PIOs of all departments for publication of RTI information
in Odia language. Similarly, in response to my complaint petition No. 643/18 in
Odisha Information Commission, the I and
PR Department has written letter to heads of all departments to update regularly
RTI Portal both in Odia and English language as per section 4(4) of the RTI Act. But
astonishingly, no step has been
taken by any department
to disseminate this RTI information in Odia language.
At the same time, the State Govt.
has amended Odia Language
Act and issued
direction for introduction of odia language in all
official correspondence. But nothing
has happened till yet.
7. Despite order of High Court, Odisha
Information Commission never gives its decisions in Odia language. It is still in English. The
illiterate people face a lot of
difficulties to understand the
English-written decision of the
commission.
8. RTI
On-line system for filling RTI Application is dysfunctional since inception due to faulty system. Nobody uses this system to file RTI Application to any office.
Pradip Pradhan
M-9937843482
Date-31.8.19
