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| 1 |
How
is the State Information Commission constituted? |
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- The State
Information Commission will be constituted by the State Government
through a Gazette notification. It will have one State Chief
Information Commissioner (SCIC) and not more than 10 State Information
Commissioners (SIC) to be appointed by the Governor.
- Oath of office
will be administered by the Governor according to the form set out in
the First Schedule.
- The headquarters
of the State Information Commission shall be at such place as the
State Government may specify. Other offices may be established in
other parts of the State with the approval of the State Government.
- The Commission
will exercise its powers without being subjected to any other
authority.
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| 2. |
What
is the eligibility criterion and what is the process of appointment of
State Chief Information Commissioner/State Information Commissioners? |
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The
Appointments Committee will be headed by the Chief Minister. Other members
include the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and one
Cabinet Minister nominated by the Chief Minister.
The qualifications
for appointment as SCIC/SIC shall be the same as that for Central
Commissioners.
The salary of the
State Chief Information Commissioner will be the same as that of an
Election Commissioner. The salary of the State Information Commissioner
will be the same as that of the Chief Secretary of the State Government.
(S.15)
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| 3 |
What
are the powers and functions of Information Commissions? |
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- The Central
Information Commission/State Information Commission has a duty to
receive complaints from any person -
| a) |
who
has not been able to submit an information request because a
PIO has not been appointed ; |
| b) |
who
has been refused information that was requested; |
| c) |
who
has received no response to his/her information request
within the specified time limits ; |
| d) |
who
thinks the fees charged are unreasonable ; |
| e) |
who
thinks information given is incomplete or false or
misleading ;and |
| f) |
any
other matter relating to obtaining information under this
law. |
- Power to order
inquiry if there are reasonable grounds.
- CIC/SCIC will
have powers of Civil Court such as -
| a) |
summoning
and enforcing attendance of persons, compelling them to give
oral or written evidence on oath and to produce documents or
things; |
| b) |
requiring
the discovery and inspection of documents; |
| c) |
receiving
evidence on affidavit ; |
| d) |
requisitioning
public records or copies from any court or office |
| e) |
issuing
summons for examination of witnesses or documents |
| f) |
any
other matter which may be prescribed. |
- All records
covered by this law (including those covered by exemptions) must be
given to CIC/SCIC during inquiry for examination.
- Power to secure
compliance of its decisions from the Public Authority includes-
| a) |
providing
access to information in a particular form; |
| b) |
directing
the public authority to appoint a PIO/APIO where none
exists; |
| c) |
publishing
information or categories of information; |
| d) |
making
necessary changes to the practices relating to management,
maintenance and destruction of records ; |
| e) |
enhancing
training provision for officials on RTI; |
| f) |
seeking
an annual report from the public authority on compliance
with this law; |
| g) |
require
it to compensate for any loss or other detriment suffered by
the applicant ; |
| h) |
impose
penalties under this law; or |
| i) |
reject
the application. (S.18 and S.19) |
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