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Dear all,
Readers will recollect my previous email alerts about the attempts of the Government of India to amend the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) through the backdoor. Those of you who missed those email alerts about the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, 2011 (NSRA Bill) and amendments to the RTI Act, you may access them at: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=34%3Aright-to-information&id=655%3Apossible-amendment-of-rti-act-2005-email-alerts&Itemid=84 .

The NSRA Bill was tabled in Parliament and forwarded to the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forests last year. The Committee submitted its report on 6th March 2012, recommending several changes in the Bill. The report is attached along with a copy of the NSRA Bill. CHRI and some RTI users and activists and concerned citizens and organizations also wrote to the Chairperson of the Committee demanding withdrawal of the amendments. However a majority of the Committee members have ignored our pleas. A detailed version of this email alert is also attached to this email.

What does the Committee report say about amendments to the RTI Act?
There is no discussion on the amendments to the RTI Act anywhere in the main report of the Committee. Instead the Committee has given a clean chit to the Bill regarding transparency. It appears that the Committee has no objections to the amendment of the RTI Act to include a new exemption under Section 8 which is intended to protect sensitive information about nuclear safety matters and commercially sensitive information of nuclear technology holders. The Committee also has no objections to expanding Schedule 2 of the RTI Act to include as yet non-existent nuclear safety regulatory authorities [to be established under Clause 25(2) of the NSRA Bill] that the Central Government may establish for strategic purposes in future. So these strategic nuclear safety regulatory agencies will be born vaccinated and insulated from the RTI Act. The Committee recorded its complete satisfaction over this explanation and recommended retention of Clause 25 in toto. Neither the majority of the members nor the Central Government representatives seem to have cared much for the curtailment of the transparency regime established by the RTI Act. Nowhere in its report has the Committee found it necessary to justify why Section 8 of the RTI Act needs to be amended. The promise of transparency and consequently accountability in matters relating to nuclear and radiation safety issues is being fulfilled by hacking away at the RTI Act.

However a dissenting note from two members of the Committee takes our concerns into consideration (see next para).

Dissenting note from members belonging to the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
While a majority of the members of the Committee approved the curtailment of the RTI Act wholeheartedly, two MPs, both from the CPI(M), voiced real concerns about the inadequate measures relating to transparency. Their views have been incorporated in a dissenting note attached to the report:

“Clause 25(2): In view of the exemptions sought under 25(2) from the RTI Act in the Second Schedule PART II, AMENDMENTS TO THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT, 2005 (22 OF 2005), it is necessary to restrict the scope of Other Regulatory Bodies mentioned in Clause 25(2) to deal with only the strategic sector, which currently is also not under the AERB. The civil nuclear facilities should not be made exempt from the RTI Act.” [emphasis supplied]

Thanks to Dr. Anup Kumar Saha, MP and Mr. Saman Pathak, MP, civil society’s concerns find mention in the report. However a majority of the members seemed to be completely oblivious of the necessity of increased transparency in relation to all nuclear facilities.

Transparency in relation to nuclear safety issues – prior to NSRA Bill becoming law – A Sampler:

Most readers are aware that several thousands of villagers in Kudankulam Tamil Nadu are protesting against the nuclear facilities being established there. I will not go into a debate over the opposition to the Kudankulam project as I am not nuclear energy expert. However some of the protesters have sought a copy of the Site Evaluation Report and the Reactor Safety Analysis Report under the RTI Act. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India which is implementing the Kudankulam project has rejected the RTI application and First Appeal. The matter is now before the Central Information Commission.

I sought a copy of the Cabinet Note that was sent to the Union Cabinet for approving the NSRA Bill before it was tabled in Parliament. The purpose was to ascertain whether the views of the Department of Personnel and Training which is the nodal department for the implementation of the RTI Act in the Government of India. The Public Information Officer rejected the request citing the exemption granted to the Cabinet Note under Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act. The First Appellate Authority upheld this decision (copy of decision is attached). Now this matter will also go to the Central Information Commission.

Given this track record of the Government on transparency in nuclear safety matters, the NSRA Bill will only provide it with enormous discretion to withhold crucial information about nuclear and radiation safety matters that the people have a fundamental right to know.

What do we do next?
The Committee has made several recommendations for change in other provisions contained in the NSRA Bill. Although the recommendations of the Committee are not binding on the Government, the Dept. of Atomic Energy and other concerned departments and ministries will revisit the Bill. The Committee’s report is scheduled to be tabled in both Houses of Parliament tomorrow (21st March 2012). The Government has not yet announced its plans for consideration of the Committee’s recommendations. If any recommendations are accepted, amendments to the Bill will still have to be approved by the Cabinet. So we still have an opportunity to weigh our views upon the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh who is the Minister-in-charge of the Department of Atomic Energy and Mr. V Narayanasamy, Minister of State who piloted the NSRA Bill in the Lok Sabha.

You may like to use the following message or adapt it to suit your requirements to urge the Prime Minister and the Minister of State in his office to withdraw amendments to the RTI Act:

"We the people of India who have been actively using RTI to promote transparency and accountability in government are distressed to note that your Government has proposed amendments to the Right to Information Act, 2005 through The Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority Bill, 2011. These amendments are unnecessary in view of the adequate protection for all legitimate interests provided under Section 8(1) of the RTI Act. The exclusion of special nuclear regulatory authorities referred to in Clause 25 even before they are established by the Government is against the letter and spirit of Section 24 of the RTI Act. We urge you to recommend deletion of all clauses that seek to amend the RTI Act. Greater transparency can ensure greater safety and accountability.
No Amendments Through the Backdoor : Save Our RTI Act"
Pls send your emails/postcards to:

Dr. Manmohan Singh (manmohan@sansad.nic.in)
Prime Minister of India
South Block
Raisina Hill,
New Delhi- 110 001

and

Shri V Narayanasamy (mos-pp@nic.in)
Minister of State
Prime Minister’s Office
South Block, Raisina Hill
New Delhi- 110 001

Kindly copy your emails to my address as well. Please do not ignore or delay this matter. It is our safety that I am talking about – “yours and mine”

In order to access our previous email alerts on RTI and related issues please click on: http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65&Itemid=84 You will find the links at the top of this web page. If you do not wish to receive these email alerts please send an email to this address indicating your refusal.

Thanks
Sincerely,
Venkatesh Nayak
Programme Coordinator
Access to Information Programme
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
B-117, First Floor, Sarvodaya Enclave
New Delhi- 110 017
Tel: +91-11-43180215/ 43180201
Fax: +91-26864688
Skype: venkatesh.nayak@skype.com
Altenate Email: nayak.venkatesh@gmail.com
Website: www.humanrightsinitiative.org