Proactive disclosure

This is a work on what can be considered the most important section of the Right to Information Act, 2005 that 'obliges' the Public Authorities to provide on their own information that is held by them in an effort to lessen the burden on the citizen to 'ask' for such information.

This book reviews historical developments making for openness. It looks at Section 4 (1) (b) of the Act that pertains to pro-active parting with information 'held' by the Public Authorities. It indicates, for purposes of convenience and understanding of the Public Authorities, 17 sub-heads under which such information may be categorised and submitted for public view and scrutiny. While 16 of the sub-heads are meant to share common information, the sub-head 17 indicates 'such other information as may be prescribed either by themselves or by the government as it may deem fit to make public.

If the Public Authority appreciates the intent of Sec 4 (1) (b) in letter and spirit, and thus themselves make transparency an article of faith, this small book would have achieved its purpose. A toolkit on Audit of Proactive Disclosure, developed by CGG is included in this book for reference.

I thank the Director General, Centre for Good Governance for entrusting me with this responsibility and Shri Rakesh Reddy Dubbudu, RTI activist for sharing critical insights on the issue.

I would like to expand the book with case-laws in future edition. Suggestions to improve this book are welcome.