GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES AND PENSIONS
(DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL & TRAINING)
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 32
(TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.07.2018)
AMENDMENT IN RTI ACT
- DR. SHASHI THAROOR:
Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Government is considering a proposal to amend the Right to Information
Act, 2005;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the present status of the said proposal;
(c) whether the proposed amendments have been proactively made public as per the prelegislative
Consultation Policy, 2014 and as per Section 4(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 and if
so, the details thereof;
(d) if not, whether the amendments will be placed in the public domain as per the said policy
and if so, the details thereof; and
(e) whether any form of pre-legislative consultation has taken place while formulating this
proposal and if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES
AND PENSIONS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
(DR. JITENDRA SINGH)
(a): Yes, Madam.
(b) to (e): A notice of intention has been given to introduce “The Right to Information
(Amendment) Bill, 2018” in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and its passage during the current
session of Parliament. The purport of the amendments proposed is to provide for enabling
provisions under the RTI Act to frame Rules regarding salaries, allowances and conditions of
service for Chief Information Commissioners and Information Commissioners and State
Information Commissioners. Presently, there are no such provisions available under the RTI Act.
Consultations with Department of Expenditure, Department of Legal Affairs and
Legislative Department have been undertaken while preparing/ formulating the RTI
(Amendment) Bill, 2018.
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Relevance
As per the Pre-legislative Consultation Policy, 2014, draft bills and legislative proposals should be proactively made public and shared in the public domain. As per the response of the PMO, the Government has violated this policy in preparing the RTI (Amendment) Bill, 2018, raising serious questions about the intent of the Government in moving these amendments, which will overall weaken the RTI.
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