Dillydallying treat to hearing of cases at Orissa Information Commission- How to remedy it?
Dear friends
On 22.7.2011 I had been to the office of the Orissa Information Commission to attend hearing of a complaint case. I reached at 10.50 AM, filled up Hazira and submitted it in the reception counter. Thus I myself ready to attend the hearing of my case by Mr. Tarun Kanti Mishra, State Chief Information Commissioner. It had already struck 11 0'clock. The hearing of the cases in the office of all Information Commissioners had already started, except, to my surprise, in the office of Mr. Jagadanand, State Information Commissioner. It needs to be mentioned here that the Commission has fixed 11 0'clock as the time to start hearing of the cases. But to my wonder I noticed that several complainants including some previously known to me, after duly submitting their hazira were hanging around hither and thither in the corridor of the Commission. I asked them, "What is the matter? And what is the purpose of your visit?" All of them replied that they were waiting for Mr. Jagadanand, SIC who had not arrived yet. By that time, it was already 11.10 AM, and I also kept waiting along with those complainant friends. Around 11.25 AM I found the vehicle of Mr. Jagadanand speeding fast into the Commission's office. From his vehicle he rushed hurriedly to his office and took the seat to start the hearing. As I noticed, he first started reading the case himself for a few minutes to understand the case. By that time it had struck 11. 35 AM, and then only he started hearing of the case.
Out of my curiosity to know the cause of his delay in coming for the hearing, I on enquiry got to know from Commission's office that Mr. Jagadanad had been to CYSD to deliver his speech as a guest speaker at the meeting organized in CYSD and therefore got late.
This is not a solitary instance of Commissioners getting late in attending to the hearing of cases, and the complainants getting consequently harassed for no fault of theirs. It has become almost a regular practice on the part of the Information Commissioners in making delay in arrival at the Commission's office and delayed start of hearing of the cases. To a layman, there is no difference between Commissioners and bureaucrats in the matter of being unpunctual in attending their respective offices. In contrast, I have noticed that the Commissioners at Central Information Commission do attend the hearing of the cases exactly at 10 o'clock the time officially fixed for the purpose. But, peculiarly enough, here in Orissa, the Information Commission has fixed 11 AM as the time for starting the hearing session. The logic cited by the office of the Commission in support of such delayed time-schedule is that the paper works are being done during the first hour from 10 AM to 11 AM. But the question remains, can the office work be deferred to the last hour of every working day, say between 4 to 5 PM. Then, the Information Commissioners of Orissa will have to come to the office sharp at 10 0'clock, just as the Commissioners at Centre and in States are doing.
As I know, Mr. Jagadanand is a habitual late comer. He devotes the prime time of the day in attending so-called seminars and workshops as Guest Speaker organized by this or that NGO on issues, which may not be directly connected to RTI. But a simple question haunts me all the time- are we the tax paying citizens paying him a salary of about Rs. 1, 50,000/- per month to attend the seminars and workshops of his choice, neglecting his statutory duty of hearing the cases of complainants and appellants? .
A question may pop up in the minds of some people as to why we the RTI activists are raising this issue at all. It may seem a silly matter to them. But, is it a silly matter? Certainly not. As a matter of fact, the casualness and inefficiency of Orissa Information Commissioners has resulted in pending of more than 15,000 cases with the Commission. On an average the Commission is taking more than 3 years to dispose a case. Because of the inordinately prolonged delay in hearing of the cases, the complainants are getting frustrated, feeling hopeless and consequently losing their faith on RTI Act itself. Since inception of the Commission the civil society organisations and RTI activists have been demanding a quick disposal of the cases, and appealing to the Commission to devote most of their time to hearing of the cases, which is their primary and statutory duty. But, to our dismay, the Commission has ever since moving in a negative mode. Earlier, the Commissioners used to hear cases six days in a week. But now it has been reduced to five days only. Saturday is virtually a holiday for them.
However, to image themselves as efficient Commissioners in terms of disposal of cases, they have adopted a novel, but nasty ploy i.e. remanding the pending cases to the concerned 1st Appellate Authorities, without hearing the cases themselves. As a result of this, large numbers of complainants and appellants are being denied justice and as well the concerned information, the subject matter of their grievance. Moreover, the Commission in course of their direction ask the complainants to approach the Commission again with a fresh complaint in the event of re-denial of information by the concerned PIO and appellate authority.
As expected, the Commission having gained functional experience over the years should hear and dispose larger number of cases to cut down the pendency. But, it is a matter of regret that number of cases being heard by the Commission gets reduced day by day. Earlier the Commissioners were hearing 18 to 20 cases, which were as such a meager number. But as of now, the Information Commissioners hear merely 8 to 10 cases per day. The lethargy of the Commissioners has destroyed the hope of the people for seeking justice from the Commission.
At the other end of the spectrum we find that each Information Commissioner receives about 1.5 lakh rupees per month, that is, about Rs.5,000/- per day, which is about 50 times the daily wage of an NREGA worker. But the service rendered by the Commissioners in lieu of this hefty salary is out and out substandard. Even it can be termed as daylight cheating and misuse of the public money. It is also seen than the Commissioners, projecting themselves as highly learned persons, are in the habit of delivering high-sounding speeches about the rights and duties of the citizens. But, genuinely speaking, is their performance worth learned persons. It has become a mania with some Commissioners decorate the dais of the workshops and seminars to guest speakers, though neglecting their statutory duty to deliver justice to the aggrieved people.
What the Commission should do?
As more than 15000 cases are pending with the Commission, it should be first and foremost duty of the Commission to clear the huge pendency by way of devoting more time to hearing and disposing the cases and thereby giving proper justice to the Complainants and appellants. The Commission should remember that mere disposal of the cases without giving opportunity of hearing to the complainants and appellants or without understanding their concerns and interests is bound to prove counter-productive against the RTI Act itself .
a. Prior to attending the hearing, the Commissioners should do their homework by way of thoroughly reading the cases and getting updated thereon. The wrongful practice of the Commissioners spending 10 to 15 minutes for going through a case at the start of the hearing, must be jettisoned forthwith. This practice kills away the time of the parties and also delays the hearing and disposal of a case. Further, the eagerness of the Commissioners to finish the hearing even without understanding the situation and concerns of the complainants in respect of his grievance is also unwarranted.
b. Hearing of the case should start at 10 AM every day except Sunday and Govt. Holidays. The hearing should continue up to 5 PM, and if circumstances so require, up to 6 PM with a lunch break for an hour in between. The Commission should write the decision at the end of each hearing and hand over a copy of it on the same day to the concerned parties. All the Commissioners need to be computer-literate and put in place a proper internet arrangement in the office of the Commission, accessible by the common visitors. It is more important than setting up a CCTV unit in the office of the Commission.
c. Like Central Information Commission, the Orissa Commission should go for audio and video hearing of the case. This system needs to be put in place as quickly as possible. Engaging so many adhoc staff and several security guards is not at all required in the office of the Commission. These unnecessary expenses can be checked and the funds so saved can be utilized for developing the e-system in a full-fledged manner, so as to serve quick and proper justice to the citizens.
d. The huge pendency demands daylong hearing of cases for their disposal. The Commissioners shouldn't be so fussy about maintaining elaborate office paraphernalia while dealing with the administrative matters. To deal the administrative matters, a good number of the staff have been engaged in the office. The Commission should devote less time for administrative work, but more time in disposal of the cases. Otherwise, the way the pendency is rising, the people would soon lose their faith not only on Commission but also on RTI Act itself. It needs to be remembered, if RTI loses its ground, a transparent and accountable system of governance system will ever remain a day dream in the state. The history will not excuse the killers and betrayers of RTI.
e. All the case-related correspondence with the people should be made in Oriya, as the common people in Orissa cann't understand orders and notices of Commission written in English. When Orissa has become Odisha, it is absolutely desirable on the part of the Commission to continue correspondence with the people of the State only in Odia.
Regards
Pradip Pradhan
Date- 25.11.2011
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