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1. |
How
is the State Information Commission constituted? |
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- The State Information
Commission will be constituted by the State Government through a
Gazette notification. It will have one State Chief Information
Commissioner (SCIC) and not more than 10 State Information
Commissioners (SIC) to be appointed by the Governor.
- Oath of office will be
administered by the Governor according to the form set out in the
First Schedule.
- The headquarters of
the State Information Commission shall be at such place as the State
Government may specify. Other offices may be established in other
parts of the State with the approval of the State Government.
- The Commission will
exercise its powers without being subjected to any other authority.
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2. |
What
is the eligibility criterion and what is the process of appointment of
State Chief Information Commissioner/State Information Commissioners? |
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The
Appointments Committee will be headed by the Chief Minister. Other
members include the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly
and one Cabinet Minister nominated by the Chief Minister.
The qualifications for
appointment as SCIC/SIC shall be the same as that for Central
Commissioners.
The salary of the State
Chief Information Commissioner will be the same as that of an Election
Commissioner. The salary of the State Information Commissioner will be
the same as that of the Chief Secretary of the State Government. (S.15)
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3. |
What
are the powers and functions of Information Commissions? |
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- The Central
Information Commission/State Information Commission has a duty to
receive complaints from any person -
| a) |
who
has not been able to submit an information request because
a PIO has not been appointed ; |
| b) |
who
has been refused information that was requested; |
| c) |
who
has received no response to his/her information request
within the specified time limits ; |
| d) |
who
thinks the fees charged are unreasonable ; |
| e) |
who
thinks information given is incomplete or false or
misleading ;and |
| f) |
any
other matter relating to obtaining information under this
law. |
- Power to order inquiry
if there are reasonable grounds.
- CIC/SCIC will have
powers of Civil Court such as -
| a) |
summoning
and enforcing attendance of persons, compelling them to
give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce
documents or things; |
| b) |
requiring
the discovery and inspection of documents; |
| c) |
receiving
evidence on affidavit ; |
| d) |
requisitioning
public records or copies from any court or office |
| e) |
issuing
summons for examination of witnesses or documents |
| f) |
any
other matter which may be prescribed. |
- All records covered by
this law (including those covered by exemptions) must be given to
CIC/SCIC during inquiry for examination.
- Power to secure
compliance of its decisions from the Public Authority includes-
| a) |
providing
access to information in a particular form; |
| b) |
directing
the public authority to appoint a PIO/APIO where none
exists; |
| c) |
publishing
information or categories of information; |
| d) |
making
necessary changes to the practices relating to management,
maintenance and destruction of records ; |
| e) |
enhancing
training provision for officials on RTI; |
| f) |
seeking
an annual report from the public authority on compliance
with this law; |
| g) |
require
it to compensate for any loss or other detriment suffered
by the applicant ; |
| h) |
impose
penalties under this law; or |
| i) |
reject
the application. (S.18 and S.19) |
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4. |
What
is the reporting procedure? |
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- Central Information
Commission will send an annual report to the Central Government on
the implementation of the provisions of this law at the end of the
year. The State Information Commission will send a report to the
State Government .
- Each Ministry/
Department has a
duty to compile reports from its Public Authorities and send them to
the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission,
as the case may be.
- Each report will
contain details of number of requests received by each Public
Authority, number of rejections and appeals, particulars of any
disciplinary action taken, amount of fees and charges collected etc.
- Central Government
will table the Central Information Commission report before
Parliament after the end of each year. The concerned State
Government will table the report of the State Information Commission
before the Vidhan Sabha (and the Vidhan Parishad wherever
applicable). (S.25)
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