State Level RTI : West Bengal

What We do

State Level RTI : West Bengal

Law

In May 2005, the national Right to Information Act 2005 was passed by Parliament. The RTI Act 2005 received Presidential assent on 15 June and came fully into force on 12 October 2005. (For more information on the passage of the RTI Act 2005 and implementation at the national level, click here.) The RTI Act 2005 covers all Central, State and local government bodies and applies to the State Government of West Bengal.

The High Court at Calcutta notified The Calcutta High Court (Right to Information) Rules 2006 which was published in the Kolkata gazette on 2 February 2007 and came in to effect from that day.The West Bengal Government has started implementing the RTI Act 2005. The Government has issued "West Bengal Right to Information Rules, 2006". The West Bengal Right to Information Rules 2006 was amended vide a notification by the Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Government of West Bengal. This was published in the gazette on 11 November 2008.

For a list of Public Information Officers and Appellate Authorities designated by the State Government, click here.

Details of Fee & Costs

Application

Rs 10

Mode of payment

Court fee, Non-judicial stamp paper of rupees ten, Demand Draft, Bankers Cheque, Indian Postal Order, payable in favour of " (name of the link bank) a/c Government of West Bengal, RTI Act"

Additional Fees:

  

(A-4) paper created or photo copies

Rs 2 per page

Large size paper

Actual cost price

Sample or models

Actual cost price

Floppy/CD/diskette or any other electronic mode

Rs 50 per item

Inspection of records

Rs 5 for each 15 minutes or a fraction thereof

Publication and printed form

Actual cost fixed and Rs 2 per page of photocopy and information in printed form
 

Second Appeals and complaints against non-disclosure of information may be filed with the West Bengal State Information Commission

State Information Commission Contact Details

11 A, Mirza Galib Street, Khadya Bhaban, Kolkata-700 087
FAX- (033) 2252-0501
Phone No-   (033) 2252-0509
Email: scic-wb@nic.in

Website: http://wbic.gov.in/home.do

Newsupdates, Activities & Advocacy

  • Allowing greater transparency in the evaluation system, Calcutta High Court on 5 February 2009 ruled that a student has the right to see his answer sheets, and educational institutions should allow it. A division bench of Calcutta High Court of Chief Justice S.S. NIjjar and Justice Dipankar Dutta went by the judgment of Justice Sanjib Banerjee of the same court and held that all agencies conducting exams are bound to show the answer script if an examinnee demands it under the Right to Information Act 2005 within four weeks of their filing the application. All agencies from Calcutta University to ICSE/CBSE and various school authorities will come under the purview of the order. The ruling will come into effect when a certified copy of the order reaches the examination conducting agencies. With this landmark judgment it becomes mandatory for all dissatisfied examinees to look at the answer scripts. (6 February 2009)
  • Replying to a question in the house, Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee has said that four committees have been set up under the Central Information Commission to expedite the process of gathering and disseminating information including a Monitoring Commitee, Website Committee, Rules Commitee and Intelligence and Security Agency. He also stated, that after the state-level office has been made operational, offices in the district level will also be set up.
  • The Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR) has finalized draft rules for the implementation of the RTI Act 2005. The draft rules have been sent to the Law Department for vetting and amendments. The State Government is yet to set up the State Information Commission though, DPAR officials have made an outlay of approximately Rs. 20 crores for setting up and running the Commission.

Resources & Articles

Government

CHRI

  • CHRI (2010) 3 thematic RTI posters on police, health and public distribution system in Bangla.
  • CHRI (2005) Forwarding Information Requests and Appeals: A Step by Step Guide for Assistant Public Information Officers under the Right to Information Act 2005, prepared by Mr Venkatesh Nayak.
  • CHRI (2005) Processing Information Requests: A Step by Step Guide for Assistant Public Information Officers under the Right to Information Act 2005, prepared by Mr Venkatesh Nayak.

Miscellaneous

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