তথ্য অধিকার আইন

The Daily Star, Wednesday February 15, 2023

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

The first case was brought to our attention by RTI activists promoting the law at the grassroots level in Bangladesh.

One of the reasons we write this column is to show our readers how people here and abroad make use of Right to Information (RTI) legislation. Today, we look at two examples each from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. All four demonstrate the vast range of ways in which RTI can push for government transparency and accountability. The Sri Lankan examples show the use of the law at the state level, while the Bangladeshi examples show its use at the lowest level of administration.

A group of RTI activists in Sri Lanka asked the highest-level police authorities for information on detainees on remand under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The activists wanted to know how many detainees were held, the condition of their mental and physical health, and how many were released without any charges. This application for information was refused. In October 2022, the Sri Lankan Information Commission directed the police to provide the information. Read More

Ruhi Naz, Shamsul Bari, January  14, 2023

“Why do you people work on promoting RTI (Right to Information) when there are so many important tasks to do, like working with health issues, water and sanitation programmes, and so on? RTI is a high-thought activity to be undertaken by intellectuals. What would a marginalised person do by knowing this law?”

These angry questions were directed to an RTI worker by the deputy commissioner of a northern district of Bangladesh.

Another senior official once asked an RTI applicant: “What are you going to do with the information? Why do you want it? Who motivated you to show such a daring attitude? You are going to be in deep trouble if you keep seeking information from government officers.” Read More…

The Daily Star, Thursday December 15, 2022

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

The global surge in the adoption of right to information (RTI) or freedom of information (FOI) laws since the fall of the Soviet Union and the breakup of Eastern Europe three decades ago appears to have died down. Once regarded as the democratic “rite of passage” for nations, the law’s use is in fast decline, and the main reason for that is the growing autocratisation of governance. The promise of the law – increased transparency in governance through independent access to government-held information, exposing corruption and maladministration and encouraging citizens to participate more fully in the political process – has failed to live up to expectations. Citizens increasingly fear that their RTI interventions in probing questionable government actions may land them in trouble. Read More..

The Daily Star, Tuesday November 15, 2022

Shamsul Bari and Ruhi Naz

Syed Fazle Rabbi Dollar, a resident of Bogura, has been concerned about the harmful effect of the rampant use of nitric acid on the environment and its abuse by criminals. He has been particularly bothered by its uncontrolled use at more than 500 jewellery shops/workshops in his city. He learnt that 400 of these enterprises had no licence at all to use nitric acid in their workshops. And yet, all of them used it indiscriminately to dissolve solid metals such as gold, silver and bronze, causing health hazards and emitting foul smells. Nitric acid can lead to breathing problems and severe asthmatic attacks. The liquid discharge from the acid used in these workshops passes through drains to end up in the nearby Karatoa River, poisoning its water and killing fish and other living organisms.

To make things worse, as obtaining acid was relatively easy, acid-related crimes, including acid attacks on people, were on the rise. Efforts by the local community to draw the local administration’s attention towards the problem produced little result. So, an exasperated Fazle Rabbi finally decided to submit a Right to Information (RTI) request to the Office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Bogura on July 31, 2022. He sought information on how many business entities/workshops were issued licences to use nitric acids, whose licences were renewed, and the number of those who had licences to sell and transport acids. And then he waited. Read More…