[HumJanenge] Govt puts limits on your right to info

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Govt-puts-limits-on-your-right-to-info/Article1-911648.aspx

Now there is a limit to how many questions you can ask under the right
to information law.

The government has introduced a 500-word limit for RTI applications
under new rules notified last week and decided to make applicants pay
for the postage too if the charges exceed Rs. 50.

Right to Information Rules, 2012 has been in the works for 21 months
that saw civil society accuse the government of curbing its right
through the backdoor.

Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) had taken up
negotiations with the government on behalf of the civil society. As
part of a compromise formula, the Department of Personnel and Training
(DoPT), however, has agreed to give up the move to bar applicants from
raising more than one subject. http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/Popup/2012/8/11-08-12-pg-10a.jpg

It was part of the same deal that the NAC agreed to the 500-word limit
but emphasised that applications exceeding this limit should not be
rejected. The July 31 notification, however, does not explicitly
incorporate this disclaimer, leaving applicants at the mercy of
government departments.

Incidentally, the NAC had declared less than four months ago that the
new rules "have been put in abeyance". But the Prime Minister's Office
– which had been holding on to the file since January – appears to
have cleared the restrictions.

Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan, who had pushed the original proposal
as the central minister in 2010, has implemented a similar set of
"retrograde" rules in the state.

The new rules also make it mandatory for poorest citizens to produce a
BPL certificate every time they seek information to get fee exemption.

The only positive news is an enabling provision to let applicants pay
online if this facility is available with public authorities. Once
this facility is set up when the postal department launches online
postal orders, NRIs would be able to use