-The Times of India
Some Union ministers have expressed concern that the Right to Information (RTI) Act is affecting government’s functioning, according to the government.
Minister of personnel, public grievances and pensions V Narayanasamy replied in the affirmative on a query in the Rajya Sabha regarding concerns raised by ministers on theRTI Act affecting the government’s functioning.
When asked about bureaucrats expressing apprehension about putting their views on controversial issues because of the RTI Act, the minister said "some concerns have been expressed that the improper use of Right to Information Act and indiscriminate and impracticable demands for disclosure of sundry information unrelated to transparency and accountability in the functioning of public authorities may adversely affect the efficiency of administration".
He added that the Supreme Court had also expressed similar views in a case, Central Board of Secondary Education vs. Aditya Bandopadhyay.
Narayanasamy said while the central government agrees that "indiscriminate and impracticable" demands for disclosure of "sundry" information under the RTI Act unrelated to transparency and accountability in the functioning of public authorities may adversely affect the efficiency of the administration, it is of the view that officers need not have fear while giving their free and frank advise on government matters.
On a separate question, he said the Central Information Commission has a pendency of 20,232 cases as on September 1.