Spring Semester-2020

Course Code: JMC 101

Course Title: Introduction to communication

Assignment Topic: Access to Information and Right to Communication; Bangladesh

Perspective.

I confirm that this assignment is my own work, is not copy to any other person’s work (published or unpublished), and has
not previously submitted for assignment either at Green University or elsewhere.

SUBMITTED BY SUBMITTED TO

NAME: Mst. Remu Reja NAME: Dr. Md. Aliur Rahman

ID: 201033017 DESIGNATION: Assistant professor & Chairperson
BATCH: 201 DEPARTMENT: JMC

DATE OF SUBMISSION
10.08.2020
ACCESS TO INFORMATION & RIGHT TO COMMUNICATION

INFORMATION & CONCEPT OF INFORMATION:

One of the most common ways to define information is to describe it as one or more statements
or facts that are received by a human and that have some form of worth to the recipient. For example,
the Sesame Street character ``Cookie Monster" describes information as ``news or facts about
something," or, as the first definition in the Random House College Dictionary suggests for information,
``knowledge communicated or received concerning a particular fact or circumstance; news." Cookie
Monster's definition is consistent with the common notions that information must:

1. be something, although the exact nature (substance, energy, or abstract concept) isn't
clear;
2. provide ``new" information: a repetition of previously received messages isn't
informative;
3. be ``true:" a lie or false or counterfactual information is mis-information, not information
itself;
4. be ``about" something.

This approach to information, like most human-centered approaches to information, leads one to
emphasize the meaning and use of message, ``what the message is about?" and ``what is known already?"
over the information carrying messenger and the message itself. When the message is essentially random,
or the message is of no value to the recipient, such as a repeated message previously received and
understood, it is colloquially said that no information was received, and no information was transmitted.

Some individuals equate information with meaning. Hearing a statement isn't enough to make an
event an informative act; its meaning must be perceived to make the statement informative. Arguing
against this approach, Bar Hillel points out that ``it is psychologically almost impossible not to make the
shift from the one sense of information, i.e. information = signal sequence, to the other sense, information
= what is expressed by the signal sequences". As Stonier reminds us, ``we must not confuse the detection
and/or interpretation of information with information itself". For many who have worked with
quantitative models of information in the engineering disciplines, this concern with meaning lies outside
the scope of the traditional mathematical theory of information; communication engineers seldom
concern themselves professionally with the meaning of messages.

In an approach like defining information as meaning, information is often understood in terms of

knowledge that is transmitted to a sentient being. For example, Peters defines information as ``knowledge
with the human body taken out of it". Similarly, information may be understood as ``that which occurs
within the mind upon the absorption of a message".

Information and its cousin entropy have long been studied as fundamental characteristics of
physical systems and structures. Systems of molecules are often studied by considering an imaginary
being, Maxwell's demon, a hypothetical gatekeeper between two sections of a closed system of
molecules. Assume that molecules move in a frictionless way. If the demon opens and closes the door at
just the right times, can it essentially allow particles with higher levels of energy through to one side of
the doorway and particles with lower levels of energy through to the other? Is this a perpetual motion
machine, with the demon expending no energy, pumping energy to wherever it is wanted? This would
violate the second law of thermodynamics. If the demon can't perform as described, why is it limited in
its capabilities?

Attempts to solve this paradox have centered on the relationship between information and
structure of the systems and the information needed and used by the demon in decision making, as well
as the energy involved in seeing and remembering the state of the system. The description of the positions
of the molecules, the structure of the system, can be described using concepts and formulae consistent
with some communication models, such as Shannon's model of communications.

The form or structure of systems is viewed by some as being equivalent to information. Thus,
``information is what remains after one abstract from the material aspects of physical reality". The
information in a structure is an immaterial ghost that co-exists with the physical object about which it
informs. The word ``form" comes from the same etymological roots as ``information." Form or state of
nature may be reflected in the set of characteristics' values in the output of a producing process. The
randomness associated with an information producing process about a system's form and structure may
be understood as the inverse of information. Consider a pile of coins on a counter; whether they are
``heads" or ``tails" is information, while if we have no such information, their heads or tails orientation is
random to us. Receiving information about the orientation of a coin may result in the removal of
uncertainty, decreasing the ignorance or lack of information about the structure.

Information has long been understood as a concept appropriate for discussion in the humanities
and social sciences. Electrical engineers began using the term to describe data transmission during the
first half of the twentieth century. Instead of providing a definition of information, these engineers
focused on measuring information, as they attempted to maximize information transmitted or received,
or minimize noise, or both. The social science literature of the 1950s and 1960s used ideas about
information measurement developed by Shannon and Weaver in the late 1940s crossing back from
engineering to the liberal arts. Outside of electrical engineering, Shannon's formal ideas about
information are used most profitably today in the computing and cognitive sciences.

All these ideas about information serve to facilitate discourse for those describing discipline
specific concepts, each used in solving a particular set of problems. Electrical engineers wish to study the
capacity of pieces of hardware and the physical connections between them. Linguists wish to understand
how information is transmitted by languages and the nature of what lies at the core of communication.
Mathematicians and computer scientists wish to study the processes by which software transforms input
into output and the fundamental characteristics of transforming processes.

Researchers in these disciplines want tools that manipulate the phenomena of their domains.
These needs have produced ideas about information having varying degrees of overlap, as well as areas
where they fail to intersect. Given the number of definitions or metaphors that have been proposed for
information, how does one compare them? We propose a commonality within these definitions; this
underlying commonality can be defined, studied, and measured.

So, information is produced by all processes and it is the values of characteristics in the processes'
output that are information. This captures most concepts of information in individual disciplines. The
number of possible values in the output and their relative frequencies of occurrence may be used in
measuring the amount of information present.
 Vaguely speaking, it is what is communicated or formed through sense perceptions. It has no
existence of its own. Intercepted as signals by the sense organist is constructed in the mind. Information
depends on bio-brains for its primeval generation when it perceives signals from the environment
voluntarily or involuntarily. It may not be out of place to say that a computer does not create information,
it only manipulates it. Aboriginal information comes in the form of signs and symbols from the
environment both physical, social and from internal human body. A living organism is always and
constantly interacting with the surrounding environment through sense organs which receive and
intercept signals which are ultimately communicated to the brain. Latter commands and processes every
signal to convert that into data and information. A changing environment produces information; a static
one does not. But it is impossible to keep the environment static. Something or the other is happening
which may or may not be perceived. These signals get automatically decoded with knowledge already
within the organism. An unfamiliar signal requires more input to understand it. It ultimately helps the
organism to know its position, situation and status, and instantly provides guide to further action. It comes
from everything around us and shapes our perceptions of the environment and society we live in.
Information is a cognitive process, so consequently the human behavior is a form of information
processing and taking cognitive or physical actions. Every action is scripted by the mind. Ultimately all
actions are cognitive. “To live effectively is to live with information” aptly says Norbert Weiner as quoted
by McGarry. It is thus the product of being conscious. And receiving signals in the form of energy from the
environment and to process these into meaningful data and information is the function of every organism
as long as it is alive. Brain’s need for signals from the environment is more than body’s need for food.
Every moment being bombarded with myriads of signals from the environment, the brain learns
automatically to pick up relevant signals and bounce back or ignore the unwanted ones. Mercifully, human
sense organs are not sensitive or resolute enough to receive or intercept every signal around us. Many
signals go undetected or unperceived due to our biological limitations Range, capacity and sensitivity and
resolution power of our sense organs is limited. For example, our sense of smell is very weak compared
to other animals. We augment our limited visual power with telescopes and microscopes. Humans cannot
hear sounds which a bat can hear. This inbuilt limitation of our sense organs is a blessing in disguise.
Perceiving, thinking, learning, memorizing and reasoning are the functions of information processing.
Mind is a information processing organ of the human machine. Genetic information, called the somatic
information which resides in the bio-body cells, is transmitted from the parents to the offspring at the
time of conception. This vast sum of genetic information in the form of DNA molecules in a human body
is equal to 4000 books of 500 pages each. Somatic information enshrined in the genes guides the animal
body in its growth and physiological processes throughout life. Genetic information is regulated by extra-
genetic information in the brain in the form of neurons.
THE NEEDS & IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATION:
In the present-day society, there is a great and urgent need for access and availability of
information. The information need for the various purposes is enumerated below as:

• Information is an aid in decision making, policy making needed for the policy makers, decision makers,
managers etc.
• Information will have a reinforcing/
transforming effect on human beings on
receiving it. A great deal for change can be
perceived in the human minds/ attitudes on
obtaining the information, as it increases the
ability of personal knowledge for the
recipient.
• Information generates new information. This
is the existing knowledge/ information helps
in generating new information; new
knowledge; new theories, etc.

In fact, scientists and scholars’ avail or use information to produce another document, like
research reports, thesis/ dissertations, books, journal articles, seminar paper etc.

1. The users of various professions and vocations like doctors, engineers, scientists, scholars etc. acquire
and apply information in order to do their job more effectively and efficiently. i.e. application of
information for practical purposes.
2. Information supports research in order to obtain effective and fruitful results.
3. Information helps in better management of manpower, materials, production, finance, marketing etc.
4. State-of-art kind of information of a subject helps in identifying the gaps/ shortcomings in in the
subject field and to identify the research problems to be explored or undertaken.
5. Information helps in avoiding the duplication of research.
6. Information stimulates the thought process of the users, particularly the scholars.
7. Information helps the scientists, engineers, scholars, etc. to get well informed with the current
advancements in their subjects, and to keep them up to date.

Information has been defined as a flow; hence communication is its essence. Information and its
communication are vital:
a) to create a survival mechanism of defense and protection at all levels.
b) as a basis for cooperation in society which is interdependence and cooperation. Flow of information
within a society leads to its social integration and development. It is used in large scale to coordinate
and control the activities of people for their collective survival, safety, wellbeing and progress.

c) to gain and maintain power over others. A Government in a country is the largest producer, consumer,
collector and disseminator of information. It also includes input by the intelligence agencies.
 d) to dominate other species and manipulate nature: humans preside over this earth and space.
e) and to transcend
i. biological and hereditary constraints. We can fly, move faster than any animal, and see what is
invisible to the naked eye.
ii. space and times constraints: distance has vanished in this globalized village.
iii. limitations of natural resources for social and technological development. Information is the
substitute for all-natural resources
Only information helps us to augment our limited biological, sensual and muscular power.

WHY IS ACCESS TO INFORMATION IMPORTANT?

The right to seek, access and receive information is a fundamental human right guaranteed by
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights, and Article 4 of the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa. It is
also recognized in many of the Constitutions of southern African countries.

The right to access information is important because it helps citizens:

Fight corruption

You cannot question what you don’t know. Greater access to information increases the
transparency of policymaking and governance.

Participate in democracy

More informed citizens can participate more effectively in their nation’s democratic processes.

Access other social and economic rights

As far back as 1946, the United Nations described access to information as the cornerstone of all
freedoms because you need information to exercise other crucial rights such as the right to vote, the
right to a clean and healthy environment and the right to make informed choices.

Access education and build their capacity

An informed population can better its situation by converting information into knowledge. To do
this, citizens need information literacy skills so they can distinguish between information and
disinformation; public and private information; and what is ethical and what is not.

Correct misinformation

When citizens can see what information, the government holds about them, they can also seek
correction of that information if they consider it wrong or misleading.
Right to Information & Access to Information:
Information is prerequisite for humans to perform several activities. It is recognized that
knowing and circulating information is very vital for ensuring transparency and accountability of
government organs, which now accepted as an indispensable part of any welfare state.

It provides public participation in decision making that affect their fundamental human rights.
There is no denying the fact that the idea of the rule of law, freedom of expression and good governance
are becoming meaningless without access to information. Properly instigated and working access to
information system provides as many assistants to government organs as it ensures to the individuals they
administer over.

In Bangladesh, the Right to Information (RTI) Act has been enacted in 2009, which is the significant
development in the field of promoting human rights and good governance. Although in the Constitution
of Bangladesh there is no direct mention about right to information, the preamble of the RTI Act stipulates
that the right to information is an essential part of freedom of speech, conscience, and thought which is
guaranteed as a fundamental right in Article 39 of the Constitution. As article 7(1) of the Constitution
promotes supremacy of the Constitution declaring “all powers of the Republic belong to the people”, right
to information is thus necessary to empower people.

The purposes of the RTI Act are to increase transparency and accountability, to decrease
corruption and established good governance. Such objects cannot be fulfilled without an easy access to
information by ordinary people. Section 6 of the RTI Act ensures that every authority should publish and
publicize all information related to any executed or proposed activities and decisions in such a manner
which can easily be accessible to the citizens. The section also ensures that authorities cannot cancel any
information and limit the easy access. The Act has delegated the power to make the regulation to the
information commission under section 6(8) regarding the publishing, publicizing and obtaining
information. On 30 December 2010, the Commission adopted the Right to Information (Publication and
Publicization of Information) Regulation and fixed the time frame and ways of publishing information.
According to Schedule 1 and 2 of the Regulation, the authorities should publish information on their
website and internet along with the printed copy, but eight long years have been passed away and the
Regulation is barely implemented.
 In 2017, the Information Commission started Online RTI Application and Tracking System which
received much appreciation from different stakeholders. However, the initiative is yet to see huge success
due to the lack of expected promotion and public awareness. Every government authority should start to
take the online application to change the overburden situation and to facilitate easy access to information.
The government authorities should also publish all information on their official website subject to the RTI
Act and the RTI Regulation. Without facilitating easy access to information to the common people, the
purposes of RTI Act cannot be fulfilled.

Info Lady Shathi helps 50-year-old Kohinur Begum to Skype with a relative. In rural Bangladesh
the Info Ladies are bringing internet services to men and women who need information but don't have
the means to access the web. After three months of training the Info Ladies set out each day in their pink
and blue uniforms to cycle to remote villages where they provide Skype connections to villagers who want
to communicate with relatives working overseas. They also provide tech services, photographs, health
tests, cosmetics and other small items that can be easily carried.
Constitutional Framework

Article 39 of the Bangladeshi Constitution guarantees the right of every citizen to freedom of
speech and expression and freedom of the press, and subjects these rights to reasonable restrictions in
the interest of state security, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, etc. The right to seek,
receive and impart information is not explicitly mentioned, although the preamble of the Right to
Information Act stipulates that this right is an inalienable part of freedom of expression.

Right to Information Act

The fight against corruption was a major factor in Bangladesh’s path to adopting the RTI
legislation. The initiative and lobbying for the passage of the RTI legislation came from a variety of
different interest groups and individuals: human rights defenders, media professionals, academics,
grassroots organizations, NGOs and concerned citizens. In 2002 and 2006 two draft proposals on the Right
to Information Act were circulated, the first by the Bangladeshi Law Commission and the second by the
Manusher Jonno Foundation, an NGO advocating for freedom of information In 2008, the caretaker
government installed during the state of emergency in Bangladesh passed the Right to Information
Ordinance that the civil society had the opportunity to co-shape. The 2008 Ordinance was subsequently
ratified by an elected government and the Right to Information Act (RTI Act) came into force on 1 July
2009.

The fight against corruption was a major factor in Bangladesh’s path to adopting the RTI legislation.

Provisions of the RTI Act

Principles

The purpose of the RTI Act stated in the Preamble is to increase transparency and accountability,
decrease corruption and establish good governance. The Act includes a provision whereby laws that
create an impediment to the right to information are superseded by the RTI Act in case of a conflict of
laws. Right to information is laid down as a principle underlying the functioning of the government and
“no authority shall conceal any information or limit its easy access” (Section 6(2)).
Scope

Only citizens have the right to demand and receive access to information from public bodies. The
scope of the RTI Act in relation to bodies liable to provide information extends to the executive, legislative
branch and organizations that undertake public functions. Private organizations with government or
foreign funding are included, which applies to NGOs, international organizations and other private bodies.
However, the Act excludes state security and intelligence agencies, unless information sought pertains to
corruption and violation of human rights in these institutions. The definition of “information” is broad:
any documentary material relating to the constitution, structure and official activities of any authority
regardless of its physical form or characteristics (including machine readable records) fall within this
definition.

Proactive disclosure

The RTI Act includes a long list of information that should be proactively published, although it
does not explicitly mention that such information should be available online. This includes information on
decisions, activities, policy related documents and reasons for their adoption. On an annual basis, every
authority shall publish a report containing information about its structure and activities, rules and
regulations, conditions on accessing services and information on freedom of information officers.

Disclosure upon request

As a rule, requesters are required to fill out a form to request documents, but if the form is not
easily available, the information may be requested in writing (without a form) or in an electronic form.
The requesters need to identify themselves only by name and address; describe the information sought
so that it can be identified; and note the form in which they wish to obtain the documents. Individuals
have the right to receive a copy, inspect the documents, take notes or use any other “approved method”.

Each body must appoint a Designated Officer. There is no general requirement to provide
assistance to all requesters, but if the requester is a person with a disability, the authority must provide
such assistance as necessary for him or her to access requested information. If the authority is not in
possession of the information sought, there is no procedure in place to refer the request to another body.

The authority must provide the information within 20 working days, unless information relates to
life and death, arrest or release of persons, where the deadline is 24 hours. If more than one authority is
involved in the decision-making, the information may be provided within 30 working days. If the authority
decides to refuse access, the decision must be issued within 10 working days. In case of administrative
silence, the request is presumed to be rejected.
 A reasonable fee may be imposed for obtaining information and the price should not exceed the
actual expenses. The regulation fixing the fees should be published in the Official Gazette. The fee
regulation may also provide for fee waivers.

Exemptions

The access to information regime put forward by the RTI Act takes supremacy over any
impediments laid down in other laws. There is a list of 20 exemptions which broadly protect the following
interests: state security; international relations; commercial secrets and intellectual property rights; tax
and budget information; law enforcement; judicial activities; investigations; privacy; “secret information”
of a person; life or physical safety of individuals; and others. Some of these exemptions are subject to a
harm test, but there is no public interest override. The only similar provision relates to information on
human rights breaches or corruption held by security and intelligence services, which are otherwise
excluded from the scope of the law, but in this case fall inside the scope.

Partial access is provided by the law; no request may be fully rejected if it is reasonably possible
to allow access to non-exempt portions of requested information.

The authority must inform the requester of the reasons for refusal. The RTI Act also states that
information may be refused only with a “prior approval from Information Commission” (Section 7).

Appeals

The Act explicitly bars access to a court following a denial of the right to information, but
establishes the Information Commission, an independent appeal authority with strong competences. The
Commission is formed of a Chief Commissioner and two Commissioners, appointed by the President with
respect of a gender balance requirement. This oversight body handles appeals against refusal decisions,
administrative silence, imposition of unreasonable fees, incomplete, misleading or false information and
other violations of the RTI Act. The Commission may conduct inspections, has other strong oversight
powers and issues binding decisions. The Commissioners may also conduct other tasks, such as promoting
the right to information, issuing policy recommendations, researching on the impediments to the right to
information and so forth.

Sanctions

The RTI Act prescribes fines for officials who fail their duty to justify the refusal, to decide upon
the request in due time, to give misleading or false information or who create impediments to the right
to information. The Commission may also recommend to the authority takes departmental action against
the responsible official.
Publication / Reporting mechanisms / Promotional measures

Every authority shall prepare a catalogue and index of all information and preserve it and
designate a RTI officer. The Information Commission is entrusted with promotional and awareness-raising
activities. The Commission adopts an annual report that includes statistics on the implementation of the
law and presents it to the President, who sends it further to the Parliament.

Implementation of the RTI Act

Several groups have noted that the RTI Act has a concrete effect on the ground, a possibility to
achieve societal change. However, civil society groups report that implementation of the RTI Act is a
challenging process, not least because of the “culture of fear” and the lack of trust. The World Bank has
drafted a Strategic plan on implementation of the RTI for 2014-2018, which identifies areas where
implementation has stayed behind the promises of the RTI legislation, in particular: lack of awareness,
capacity issues, the need for an increased political support, the lack of an internal coordinating body
within the Government.

Several groups have noted that the RTI Act has a concrete effect on the ground, a possibility to
achieve societal change.

Many NGOs warn that strong demand-side efforts, namely frequent use of the law, is needed for
the success of the Act. While the Commission reported that as many as 7,000 requests have been filed in
2012, people are still not sufficiently informed on their right to information. The Commission
implemented some wide-ranging awareness campaigns, such as running TV campaigns and sending
mobile text messages to the public (250 million free SMS messages have been sent). Nevertheless, more
awareness-raising activities among lay and expert public and authorities are needed. On the supply side,
two studies have shown that the response rates to RTI requests remain low.

Another serious challenge for implementation of the law is the capacity of governmental agencies,
frequent transfers of designated officers and the lack of training for the officers. Constant transfers of RTI
officers are not good for the continuity and they also make trainings on implementation of the law less
efficient. The question is also whether all authorities liable under the RTI Act designate officers; a special
problem arises with private bodies (such as NGOs and internationally funded organisations), where a
study from 2001 showed that only 201 from roughly 30,000 such organisations appointed an
officer. Nevertheless, the NGOs seem to be better aware of their responsibilities under the RTI Act.
Related legislation

Media laws

In 2014, the Government released a National Broadcasting Policy which reportedly prohibits
broadcasters from disseminating information that could smear the image of law enforcement agencies,
armed forces and government officials with judicial powers, information that is against the government
or public interest or impedes national security. Nevertheless, this is not a law and any restrictions should
be incorporated in a law and conform to international standards.

State Secrets Act

The Official Secrets Act (OSA) was adopted in 1923 under the British colonial rule. The OSA
prohibits the unauthorized collection or disclosure of secret information and imposes fines for
perpetrators, even in cases when a person voluntarily receives secret official information but knows or
ought to have known it is classified. Attempts to or assistance in breaching the OSA are also punishable.
The RTI Act overrides the OSA, but intelligence and secret services are excluded from this Act and there
are a number of exemptions applicable to information related to national security with no public interest
test prescribed.

Protection of whistleblowers

Whistleblower protection has been enacted in The Disclosure of Public Interest Information
(Protection) Act, 2011. It defines public interest information as information relating to misuse of public
money or resources, abuse of power, criminal acts and acts against public health, safety or the
environment, and corruption. Any whistleblower can make a “public interest disclosure” to the competent
authority and receives protection from civil and criminal prosecution, employment disadvantages,
protection of identity etc. Disclosure of false information or information not in the public interest is
punishable.
Environmental protection legislation

Bangladesh adopted the Environmental Protection Act in 1995 and its amendments in 2010. The
tasks of the Director General of the Department of Environment include collection, publication and
dissemination of information relating to environmental pollution. The Act and the Amendment also
prescribe the obligation of the Government to publish in the Official Gazette general guidelines and maps
with legal descriptions of environmentally critical or threatened areas. Nevertheless, the Government is
required to publish very little environmental information proactively.

The right of every citizen to speak and express freely is guaranteed under the Constitution of the
Peoples Republic of Bangladesh as one of the fundamental rights (Article 39, Constitution of The People's
Republic of Bangladesh); and right to information is an indispensable part of freedom of thought,
conscience and speech.

On the other hand, freedom of opinion and expression is contained in articles 19 and 20 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In addition, articles 4 and 5 of the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), articles 12 and 13 of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child (CRC), and article 21 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
(CRPD) guarantee the freedom of expression and opinion.

Globally, more than 100 countries have enacted right to information (RTI) legislation guaranteeing
citizens the right to access information and records held by their governments. Countries like Australia
and New Zealand passed a national right to information law as early as 1982 (prior to the latest wave of
right to information laws adopted around the world), later embarking on legislative reforms to update
their freedom of information regimes.

Shifting the focus on South Asia, it can be seen that national right to information legislation in
India (passed in 2005) is often cited to exemplify the role that groups from grassroots level can have in
the adoption of this type of legislation, as well as the impact the freedom of information can have on
people's lives. Malaysia (passed in 2005), Nepal (2007), Indonesia (2010), Mongolia (2011), Pakistan
(2013) and Sri Lanka (2016) have adopted RTI legislations. More recently, RTI bills have been passed in
Bhutan and the Maldives. However, Singapore did not take any initiative to adopt RTI Act yet.

To keep pace with the global trend, the Government of Bangladesh adopted the Right to
Information Act 2009 during the first session of the Ninth Parliament on March 29, 2009. It was a
momentous step forward aimed at fulfilling the constitutional pledge of the state of Bangladesh. The
government also set up an Information Commission on July 1, 2009 to uphold right to information of the
people.

The goal of the RTI Act was to empower common people by providing information, ensuring good
governance, transparency and accountability in all public and private organizations. The RTI Act goes
hand-in-hand with the people's right to express freely. The common citizens, the civil society, and the
media can now claim access to any information.

As per the mandate of the Act, the Commission consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and
two other Information Commissioners including a woman. The President appoints them on the basis of
recommendations made by the Selection Committee comprising five members. The Commissioners are
selected from amongst persons with broad knowledge and experience in law, Justice, Journalism,
education, science, technology, information, social service, management, or public administration. The
Commissioners hold their office for a period of five years or attainment of 67 years, and they may resign
before completion of the tenure by writing to the President. They can also be removed from their office
by the President in like manner and on grounds similar to a Judge of the Supreme Court.

Information commission of Bangladesh is playing a significant role in resolving the received

complaints quickly and smoothly. The commission's Annual Report shows that in 2016, some 6,369
requests for information were made to the public authorities. Of these, over 95 per cent were provided
with the information sought. A total of 539 complaints were lodged with the Information Commission by
disgruntled information seekers. Of these, 364 were accepted for hearing. The rest were either rejected
for faulty submissions or resolved without a hearing. Since 2010, the first year of the law, the number of
requests for information declined from 25,401 to 6,181 in 2015. Altogether, some 82,412 RTI applications
were recorded till recently.

In fact, the RTI Act has created a platform through which people from all walks of life and
communities can now access their desired and necessary information, which are beneficial for them. The
poor women from remote villages are now getting information on government safety net programmes
including vulnerable group development (VGD), vulnerable group feeding (VGF) cards and maternal health
vouchers. Farmers and fishermen are now seeking and receiving information that is helping them to
improve their livelihoods. Environmentalists are using RTI Act as a tool to ensure accountability in
environmental governance. Victims of natural disasters are getting information about relief and
rehabilitation measures.

Nevertheless, information commission with support from government and ministry of

information can work towards ensuring empowerment of common people by providing them with proper
and authentic information. The following points can help ensure right to information of the people:

• The success of Right to Information Act, 2009 is closely linked to the state of democracy in a
country. It is of utmost importance that the government is fully committed to the ideal of RTI.
• A paradigm shift in the mind-set of public officials as well as citizens who are used to subservient
relationships with the authorities is also required for the success of RTI.
• The absence of a tradition of rule of law and the existence of a culture of impunity are detrimental
to the promotion of RTI. The importance of using the penalty clause for bringing recalcitrant
officials to book needs to be proven in Bangladesh.
• The importance and involvement of non-government organizations (NGO) and the media in
promoting RTI needs to be demonstrated in Bangladesh. Exchange visits of media personnel and
RTI activists can help in this regard.
• Lack of human resources in archiving and managing information has been a major challenge for
government and non-government institutions. Public and private institutions can offer training
programmed on ICT-led information archiving cum management.
• Civil society organizations can come forward with their own information and set examples of
transparency and accountability. The NGOs in Bangladesh have been brought under the purview
of RTI and are subject to the same scrutiny as government offices.
Reference:
https://ils.unc.edu/~losee/b5/node2.html

http://www.lisbdnet.com/the-needs-and-importance-of-
information/#:~:text=Information%20helps%20in%20avoiding%20the,them%20up%2Dto%2Ddate.

http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/20171/4/ALIS%2060%282%29%20128-133.pdf

https://misa.org/issues-we-address/access-to-information/

https://www.article19.org/resources/country-report-the-right-to-information-in-bangladesh/

https://www.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/empowering-people-through-right-to-information-
1531495423

https://www.thedailystar.net/law-our-rights/news/our-right-easy-access-information-1755055

https://www.right2info.org/recent/bangladesh-rti-act-2009-present-status-and-scope