-: [rti4empowerment] 4media: : CIC's Ailing Registry and Lackluster Management of CR of CIC [1 Attachment]

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

[rti4empowerment] 4media: : CIC's Ailing Registry and Lackluster Management of CR of CIC [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Lokesh Batra included below]

CIC's Ailing Registry and Lackluster Management

[Resulted in false Impression of reduction in Pendency]

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Analyses of CIC data

[Period : January 2015 to 15 November 2015]

Source : CIC Website (New Link) :

[See attached Excel File for analyses done]

Recap :

1. In recent weeks there has been lots of speculations / Media stories about 'Central Information Commission (CIC)' returning a very large numbers of Cases (Appeals + Complaints] on technical grounds.

2. This resulted in very few cases being registered and indicating large decline in pendency of cases in CIC.

3. The matter was taken up with Chief IC and numbers of back to back meetings were held with him, and also with the Officers managing Central Registry of CIC.

4. At last on 13 November 2015, CIC uploaded a link on its Website namely:

"Monthly Report on Registered and Returned Cases"

Shocking Facts:

5. Last week, during my visit to Commission, it was shocking to learn that 'Central Registry (CR)' has so far, completed processing of its Dak, only till 25 August 2015, thus creating a huge backlog. [Estimated 10,000 Cases pending Processing]

6. In other words, the cases received in the Commission after the date 25 August 2015, are still to be scrutinized for registration or any other action.

Revelations :

7. Analytic study of data posted on CIC Website on new link revealed :

--- Monthly data of Cases returned/rejected has seen upsurge from 22% in January to 90 % in September 2015.

--- Processing of dak in CR, has come down from average 3522 cases per month to 1069 cases, between 01 August to 15 November 2015.

--- 70% drop in efficiency of the Central Registry in Processing the Dak since August 2015.

Issues with New Link :

--- Link does not provide monthly record of cases received in the Commission.

--- Link only provides monthly record of total dak processed by the Central Registry (CR) of CIC.

--- Link do not indicate the clauses of RTI rules, under which cases are being returned and rejected.

My Take :

8. So far, "Information Commissioners (ICs)' were being blamed for tardy hearings of the cases and not putting extra efforts… but the revelation that the 'Central Registry (CR)' is ailing due to lackluster approach in its management, is a big blow to the transparency. For creating this mess, someone in Commission has to be made accountable and taken to task in large public interest.

CIC is the final appellate authority, which an applicant turns to with full hopes for accessing his right to information. If appellants are harassed like this by the watchdog, where would he go?"

See attached Excel File for more.

Kind Regards,

Commodore Lokesh Batra (Retd.) IN-1967

BringChangeNow

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Attachment(s) from Lokesh Batra | View attachments on the web

1 of 1 File(s)