Rules yet be framed for RTI enforcement

Information commission given only a camp office without logistics
The government has neither framed any rules nor set up information delivery units in all government offices for the enforcement of the Right to Information Act 2009.
The Information Commission, which has only been given a ‘camp office’, on the other hand, can hardly function for lack of logistics and manpower.
‘We are working in a camp office and we expect to have a full office with the required manpower and logistics for the commission soon,’ the chief information commissioner, M Azizur Rahman, told New Age Tuesday.
He said the commission was working out the draft rules which would be put into a final form in a few days.
‘We are going to hold a workshop on the draft rules next month to accommodate opinions of experts,’ he said.
The commission has temporarily been provided with five rooms at the National Institute of Mass Communication and two officials — a deputy secretary of the establishment ministry and a deputy director of the institute.
Three employees — one of Bangladesh Betar, another of the mass communication institute and the other of the Press Information Department — have been attached to the commission to help the commission in preparing the groundwork, according an official concerned.
The chief information commissioner said the authorities had allocated a space at the archaeology department to house a temporary office of the commission and an initial fund of Tk 1 crore had been released for its operation.
More than 400 officers have been designated by various ministries, divisions and other government offices for the establishment of information delivery units under the law which came into effect on July 1.
‘More than 400 officers have already been designated by different ministries, divisions, directorates and other government offices for this purpose [setting up information delivery units as required by the law],’ said the information ministry’s senior assistant secretary Md Laisur Rahman in a written reply to queries.
He informed New Age in a letter issued on August 17 the Information Commission had started functioning in a temporary office located in the National Institute of Mass Communication.
‘An organogram has been prepared and forwarded to the establishment ministry for approval. In the meantime, a proposal has also been sent to the establishment ministry and the comptroller and auditor general’s office for attachment of officials to the Information Commission to carry out day-to-day functions,’ said the letter.
New Age applied to the information ministry on July 26 seeking information on implementation of the RTI law and functioning of the Information Commission.
Under the RTI act, all citizens now have the right to get information and in case of denial by the authorities concerned, they could lodge complaints with the commission.
The law was originally introduced by the interim government of Fakhruddin Ahmed on October 20, 2008.
Each government office, in keeping with the law, was supposed to appoint an official at the proposed information delivery unit.
The government on July 1 formed the three-member Information Commission with retired secretary M Azizur Rahman as chief information commissioner under the Right to Information Act 2009.
The other information commissioners are retired secretary Mohammad Abu Taher and Dhaka University sociology professor Sadeka Halim.
People seeking public information will need to apply in writing or prescribed forms or by e-mail to the designated officers by paying a reasonable fee to be set for the specific information.

Courtesy of NewAgebd