|
State
Level RTI: Tamilnadu
Law
Tamil
Nadu was the first state in India to enact an access law, namely
the Tamil
Nadu Right to Information Act 1997. The Act was passed by the
Legislative Assembly in the first half of 1997, received the assent
of the Governor on 4 May 1997 and was notified the following day.
It is notable that the government initiated the process of developing
a law. There was no civil society movement advocating for the right
to information in the State.
Though
it was positive that Tamil Nadu was the first state to pass an access
to information law, in fact the law is weak and has been widely
criticised by civil society. Most problematically, the Act has 21
exemptions, including 12 sub-clauses, many of which are unclear
in their application. Appeals are available, but only internally
rather than to an independent body. The Act also fails to require
proactive information disclosure by the Government.
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 Act and implementation at the national level, click here.)
The RTI Act 2005 covers all Central, State and local government
bodies.
It
is not clear at this time as to whether the Tamil Nadu RTI Act
will be repealed. Notably though, the Tamil Nadu Government has
already taken some initial steps to implement the new national
RTI Act. The government has issued Right
to Information (Fees) Rules 2005.
The
Tamil Nadu Government issued the Tamil
Nadu Right to Information (Fees) Rules, (Amendment) 2006.
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 |
Cash,
Demand draft or bankers cheque |
| Additional
Fees: |
|
A-4
/ A-3 paper |
Rs
2 per page |
Large
size paper |
Actual
cost |
Publication
and printed form |
At
price so fixed of publication or at Rs 2 per page per page
photocopy or in printed form |
Samples
and Models |
Actual
cost |
Floppy/CD/diskette
or any other electronic mode |
Rs.50/- |
Inspection
of records |
Free for first hour and Rs 5 for each 1
hour or a fraction thereof; |
Second Appeals and complaints against non-disclosure of information may be filed with the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission.
State
Information Commission
| S.N. |
Name
of Commissioner |
Contact
|
|
1 |
Mr. S. Ramakrishnan
State Chief Information Commissioner |
Tamilnadu
Information Commission
Kamadhenu Co-operative Supermarket Building,
1st Floor,Teynampet (near Vanavil)
Old no: 273, New no: 378
(Post Box No-6405, Teynampet)
Anna Salai - 600 018
Chennai.
Telefax:044 24357580
Email: sic@tn.nic.in
Website: http://www.tnsic.gov.in
|
|
2 |
Mr.
Thiru G Ramaskrishnan IAS (Retd)
State Information Commissioner |
|
|
3 |
Mr.
Thiru R Rathinaswamy IAS (Retd)
State Information Commissioner |
|
|
4 |
Mr.
Thiru T.R Ramasamy IAS (Retd)
State Information Commissioner |
|
|
5 |
Dr. R. Perumalsamy
State Information Commissioner |
|
|
6 |
Mr.
Thiru T Srinivasan
State Information Commissioner |
|
|
7 |
Dr.
(Smt) Sarada Nambi Arooran
State Information Commissioner |
|
Newsupdates,
Activities & Advocacy
- The Tamil
Nadu Government has constituted a State Information Commission
and prescribed Rules for accessing information under the RTI
Act 2005, which came into force all over the country on Wednesday.
A Gazette notification issued by the Public Department on 7 October
states there will be a State
Chief Information Commissioner and two Information Commissioners.
The Rules issued under separate notification prescribe an application
fee of Rs. 50 by cash, DD or Banker's Cheque as well as additional
fees for copying information, inspection of records, collecting
samples and models etc. CHRI
in a letter has urged the Government to urgently amend the Rules
reducing the fees for applying for information.
- The Tamil Nadu Government has issued four gazette
notifications (No.225,
226,
227,
228)
on 14 October, exempting 32 agencies from the purview of the RTI
Act 2005. CHRI
in a letter to the Government has urged the latter to reconsider
the exemption of such a vast number of agencies.
- The Catalyst Trust, Consumer Action Group and
Human Rights Foundation have jointly prepared a new civil
society draft Right to Information Act which they have recommended
should replace the current Tamilnadu Right to Information Act
1997. The draft Act has been given to the Governor, the Speaker
of the Legislative Assembly and the Chief Secretary. In a Letter
to the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu the groups explained
the background to their initiative. They have also sent copies
of the draft Act to all Members of the Legislature and have proposed
a meeting soon with the leaders of the legislative parties to
discuss their draft Act.
- The Human Rights Advocacy and Research Foundation
(HRARF) works on right to information in Tamil Nadu and has published
a resource book on the topic (see below in Resources and Articles).
For Further Information: Contact HRARF at No.10, Thomas
Nagar, Little Mount, Saidapet, Chennai-600015. Tel: 91-44-2353503.
Fax: 91-44-2355905. E-Mail: hrf@md3.vsnl.net.in,
hrf@xlweb.com
-
The Catalyst Trust works on
right to information and electoral reform in Tamil Nadu.
For Further Information: Contact the Catalyst Trust
at H-1/8, TNHB Complex, Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai- 600 041. E-Mail:
akvmani@md5.vsnl.net.in
Resources
& Articles
Government
CHRI
Miscellaneous
Links
EMAIL
US
To update us on your RTI activities / share your RTI stories
|
|
|
