Right to Information Bill in limbo

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">KOLKATA: When he took charge on May 18, 2001, he had promised transparency in his governance and administration.<br /><br />Circa 2004: The committee formed to work out ways of making information available to citizens is still waiting for a clarification from West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.Several other states have, however, implemented the Right to Information Act and some are in the process of introducing it. But in Buddha''s Bengal, the four-member committee is not only sitting idle for a year now, there appears little hope too. At recently-held meetings in Birbhum, Kalyani and Howrah, senior health department officials were warned against talking anything official with anyone. Officials of the Pollution Control Board and environment department too have received similar instructions. And, ironically, the chief minister is the information and cultural affairs minister too.<br /><br />Several states have already introduced the Bill on Right to Information. The Freedom of Information Bill, 2000, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 25, 2000. As per clause (18), the information Bill, 2000, empowers state governments to form rules to carry out the provisions of the Act.<br /><br />These matters relate to, inter alia, the fee payable to obtain information from any organisation, and the authority to be prescribed before which an appeal may be made against the decision of the Public Information Officer.<br /><br />Tamil Nadu, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Maharashtra have passed the Right to Information Bill. The legislation will empower the people with the Right to Information about various government schemes, their stages of implementation and other details. Delhi, Gujarat and Kerala too have decided to introduce the Right to Information Bill.<br /><br />The committee here comprised four civil servants — P K Choudhury, Dilip Chakrabarty, Jahar Sarkar and Samar Ghosh — who were entrusted with the job of working out the modalities.<br /><br />After holding a few meetings, a proposal was sent to the chief minister''s office asking for a clear guide-line about specific areas and the kind of transparency the government was looking at.<br /><br />The worst sufferers have been those who had invested in the government portal <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Banglar Mukh</span>. The portal has remained a non-starter.</div> </div>