তথ্য অধিকার আইন

The Daily Star, Thursday, May 30, 2024

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

Bangladesh’s adoption of the Right to Information (RTI) Act in 2009 was a transformative move,empowering its citizens to access information available to most public authorities on mattersrelated to their work. It was a significant step towards making public authorities more transparentand accountable to the people. The Information Commission (IC) was constituted in 2009 toensure the law’s effective implementation. The commission is mandated to publish an annual report, giving a detailed account of its work and the performance of the demand side (citizens seeking information) and the supply side (public authorities who supply them).

The recent release of the 2023 Annual Report by the Information Commission has sparked a
significant surge in interest, with national dailies, civil society and NGOs all actively discussing its findings. This heightened attention is a promising indication, reflecting a growing recognition of the law’s potential benefits. However, it also underscores the crucial role of each stakeholder in fully harnessing this potential. Each of us, as stakeholders, plays a vital part in this journey towards transparency and accountability, and our active engagement is key to its success. Read more

The Daily Star, Thursday, May 16, 2024

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

India’s right to information (RTI) regime has been going through a rough patch since the Bhartiya Janata party (BJP) government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in May 2014. RTI activists and informed citizens are concerned that the government is weakening the power of the law. One illustration of this is the delay in nominating information commissioners, leading to a huge backlog of requests. In August last year, opposition Indian National Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of “killing the RTI Act bit by bit,” adding that it is “not just an attack on the constitutional right, but another step in the conspiracy to end democracy.”

Against this backdrop, the unanimous decision on February 15, 2024 of a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Indian Supreme Court, led by its chief justice, to strike down the now infamous Electoral Bonds Scheme of 2018 and order the disclosure of a huge amount of sensitive information hitherto concealed from citizens came as a shot in the arm of India’s RTI Act, 2005. In Bangladesh, there is much to learn about the enormous potential of our own RTI Act, 2009 from the Indian experience. Read more

The Daily Star, Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

The arrest and imprisonment of a journalist last month in Sherpur District over his request under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2009 has rattled concerned citizens. According to media reports, on March 5, Shafiuzzaman Rana, a correspondent for Bangla daily Desh Rupantor went to the office of the Nokla UNO (Upazila Executive Officer) to submit an RTI application about the purchase of computers and laptops under a government project. Rana asked for a receipt of the application, but the office assistant asked him to wait till the arrival of the UNO, who was at a meeting. This apparently led to heated discussions between the two, upon which Rana called the deputy commissioner of the district directly to complain.

Hearing the commotion, the UNO returned to her office and a more serious altercation broke out between the two sides. Nokla police were called in and Rana was quickly arrested for misbehaviour with public officials. With equal alacrity, a mobile court conducted by the assistant commissioner (land) sentenced Rana to six months’ imprisonment and ordered the seizure of his two mobile phones. He was charged with “trespassing into a government office, causing commotion, obstructing government work, creating a disorderly situation, and misconduct.” Read more

The Daily Star, Friday, March 15, 2024

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

Office-goers in Dhaka’s Agargaon area were frustrated by a makeshift mini market that had sprung up on the sidewalks outside their buildings, and annoyed by the stench, trash, and blood from the slaughtering of chickens right in front. After several attempts to end the ordeal, an employee of the University Grants Commission (UGC), one of the offices in the neighbourhood, resorted to the Right to Information (RTI) Act. He sent an information request to the Designated Officer (DO) of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) seeking a copy of the authorisation provided to run the market—and if none was obtained, to know what measures were taken for its eviction.

The next day, the market was gone. A very polite Designated Officer of DNCC called the applicant to reassure him that the closure was permanent. It would have been better, though, if the applicant had insisted on a written reply as that would most likely have led to in-depth discussions on the subject within the DNCC hierarchy Read more