RTI activists in the city feel they are.

They say that the city’s “corrupt” bureaucracy, by hiking the RTI fees, has merely displayed its high-handedness and made an attempt to hide its nefarious activities. While the administration claims to be contemplating the idea of rolling back the RTI fee hike, RTI activists appear determined to continue their struggle against the decision.

RK Garg, a city-based RTI activist, told Newsline that he had moved another application to the Chief Information Commissioner, under Section 18 of the Act, asking him to direct Chandigarh Administration to issue necessary instructions to the Chandigarh Administration to at least update their official website. “What kind of a transparency is this? Who are the bureaucrats to decide what is frivolous and what is not? The information, which they might be terming as frivolous, could be quite informative for a common man. Moreover, when the residents are getting so aware that they have started exposing the corrupt practices going on in the bureaucracy, why would the bureaucrats like it,” Garg mentioned.

Hemant Goswami of Burning Brain Society said, “It’s a sheer game being played by the corrupt bureaucrats. They are trying to kill the RTI. One can recall the way information was sought from official departments before RTI came into force. One could go and bribe the dealing hands and get the information. By hiking the RTI fee, the bureaucrats are in a way encouraging corruption. If I need some information, which could be summed up in 100 pages; the cost for which would be about Rs 1000, as per the new rates. One could go and pay the bribe of Rs 200 to the dealing hand and get the information. Why would anybody file the RTI? The bureaucrats’ decision to hike the RTI fee indeed is an attempt to save their own skin and hide their wrong doings.”

While Garg has written to the CIC, Goswami has also shot off a letter to the UT Home Secretary on the behalf of the civil rights activists, mentioning that the administration should “scrap the illegal rules first and then Chandigarh could be made an example for the rest of the country to follow the RTI”.

“If the administration supports the civil society and scraps the illegally notified RTI rules, we can actually make Chandigarh a model city on this count too. The administration can also form an ‘Advisory panel on RTI implementation’ comprising of civil rights activists, journalists, lawyers, prominent citizens, etc,” Goswami added.

“The city is governed by the Union Home Ministry. The rates applicable at the Centre should have been made applicable here as well. The administration should seriously think on rolling back the RTI fee hike. In case a person really wants information, he would file RTI anyways. But the RTI fee hike appears against the spirit of the Act,” said Chandermukhi Sharma, a municipal corporation councillor.

“The fee of Rs 10 per photocopy is unreasonable and against the provision of Section 7(5) of the RTI Act, which requires reasonable fee. Photocopying is charged at just 40 paisa per copy and the Central Government has already incorporated an additional sum of Rs 1.60 to compensate for all manpower used, storage charges, etc. So it was improper to increase the charges to Rs 10 per page. There are already recommendations that the application fee too be scrapped but surprisingly, instead of following this recommendation, the unmindful bureaucracy has increased the application fee to Rs 50,” said Hitender Jain, another civil rights activist.