RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 – IMPLEMENTATION

The right to Information Act 2005 replaces freedom of Information Act. It has come into effect from 21st June 2005. It will apply to all the Public Sector Banks. It is provided in the Act that provisions under Section 4(1) and Section 5(1) and (2) had come into force at once and the remaining provisions under Section 4 (1) shall be implemented before 20th October 2005. The Banks are required to publish the following information on or before 20th October 2005.

 

* The particulars of its organization, functions and duties.

* The powers and duties of its Officers and Employees.

* The procedure followed in the decision making process, including channels of supervision and accountability.

Under Section 4, every Public Authority shall maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and form which facilitates the Right to Information under this Act and access to such records is facilitated.

* Every Public Authority is required to designate as many officials as Central Public Information Officers in all administrative Offices to provide information to persons requesting for the information under the Act.

* Section 8(1)(d) provides for exemption from disclosure of information which would harm the competitive position of the third party.Clause (J) of Section 8(1) further exempts any information which relates to personal information, the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual.

 

* The following information may be provided.

a) A directory of Officers and Employees and employees may be published up to a specified level.

b) A statement of Board, Councils, Committees and other bodies consisting of two or more persons constituted as its part or for the purpose of its advice.

c) The Names, designations and other particulars of the Public Information Officers.

 

Disposal of request:

On receipt of a request for information, the Asst Public Information Officer , as expeditiously as possible and in any case within 30 days of receipt of the request, in consultation with Chief / Public Information Officer shall either provide the information or reject the request for any other reasons specified in Section 8 & 9 of the Act.

If the information sought for concerns the life or liberty of a person, the same shall be provided within forty-eight hours of the receipt of the request.

In case of rejection, the same shall be communicated to the person who has made the request along with the reasons for such rejection, the particulars of the Appellate Authority and the period within which an Appeal against such rejection may be preferred.

Fee Structure:

The information will be provided against the payment of the prescribed fee. Additional fees may be collected depending on the cost of providing the required information like electronic format / print.

The booklet containing all the information as the captioned Act will be made available at all Branches / Offices of the Bank and the contents of the Book will be displayed in the Bank’s web site.

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