PUBLIC INFORMATION

OFFICER
RIGHT TO INFORMATION
ACT-2005

PRESENTED
BY
MAMTA JADHAV-RN.10
DEEPA NAIR-RN.5
PRITI SIRIYA-RN.
RTMNU’S DR.BABASAHED AMBEDKAR COLLEGE OF LAW
(Main Branch)NAGPUR.
LLB-V SEM (3YEARS)
INTRODUCTION
 The right to information is fundamental for the citizen to
achieve good governance aims. The right creates a transparency and
openness that allows the citizen power in the way that they are
governed.

The concept of the "right to information" - a right which belongs to

every member of the public under the Indian Constitution - carries
with it a number of corresponding duties on public bodies and public
officials, namely:

The duty of public bodies to proactively provide the public with

routine information;

The duty of public bodies to provide other information upon

request within a set amount of time and for a small fee.

 In this regard, Public Information Officer play a Very Vital Role.

WHO IS PIO?
In India, RTI laws have always required that specific officers
within each public body covered by the law is given the
responsibility for receiving and managing RTI applications with
their organisation.

The Central Act gives this responsibility to:

Public Information Officers (PIO): who are responsible for

receiving and managing RTI applications

Assistant Public Information Officers (APIO) who are responsible

only for receiving applications and passing them on to PIOs.
Appointing Officers to RTI Positions
 One of the first steps that will need to be undertaken to implement your
right to information law is to appoint officers to key positions as required by the
law.

Both the Central RTI Act and all of the State Acts require that specific officers
within each public body covered by the law are given the responsibility for
receiving and managing RTI applications within their organisation.

Under the Central Act, the following positions have been created:
Public Information Officers (PIO);
Assistant Public Information Officers (APIO);
Appellate Authorities

Obviously, for the public to be able to use the law effectively, they need to know
who they need to contact when they want to make an application or appeal.

This means that once the APIOs, PIOs and Appellate Authorities are appointed
and/or prescribed, this information should be widely disseminated.

Contact details, the APIOs', PIOs' and Appellate Authorities' should be listed on
each government website. They should also be accessible in hard copy at all
offices, including being pinned to government noticeboards in local level offices.
Appointing Officers to RTI Positions: Public
Information Officers
Section 5(1) of the Central Act requires the appointment of as many
Public Information Officers (PIOs) in "all administrative units and offices"
of the public authority as are necessary to provide the public with access
to information.

 In practice, this means that virtually every government office should

have someone in them who is designated as the PIO who will be
responsible for receiving and processing applications.

Ideally, the PIO should be a senior person in the office so that they have
the authority to make decisions on whether to release documents.

It is important that all officers within each public authority understand
the role of the PIO as they will be the "face of RTI" as far as other officials
- as well as the public - are concerned.

 Sections 5(4) and (5) make it clear that all officers - no matter their
seniority - have a duty to support the work of the PIO and to assist them
to process applications, when requested.
PIOs generally have two key responsibilities:
Receiving/facilitating requests: Requests are either sent directly to the PIO (or
under the Central Act they can also be given to an Assistant PIO (APIO) who
forwards it to the PIO). They can be given by hand, mailed by post or even
emailed. The Central Act and most State Acts place a responsibility on the
PIO to assist applicants to frame their request if they have difficulty writing
up the request appropriately or if they are illiterate. The PIO (and APIO) is
also responsible for issuing a receipt for the application.
Responding to requests: The PIO is responsible for processing the request.
Generally, this means that they will first need to find all the information
requested. This may require them to ask other officers within the organisation
to help to find information. They might even need to ask other departments to
assist. The PIO will then need to look at the information collected and decide,
taking into account the exemptions in the law, whether any or all of the
information needs to be withheld from release. The PIO will then notify the
applicant of their decision, within set time limits.
It is essential that the PIO understands the operation of the RTI law in detail.
Although all members of the organisation should be given training on the
relevant RTI law so that they understand their obligations and those of the
organisation more generally, it is absolutely essential that the PIO is trained
on the law as a matter of priority. They will be the first person responsible for
applying the Act to applications, so it is important that they are confident in
interpreting and applying the various provisions of the law.