Role & Responsibility of Assistant Public Information Officers Under RTI Act, 2005

 

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Role & Responsibility of Assistant Public Information Officers Under RTI Act, 2005

The Right to Information Act, 2005 provides for setting out practical regime for citizens to secure access to information under the control of public authorities to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority i.e. government and semi-government organizations, institutions, etc. It requires that each public authority shall designate one or more Central/State Assistant Public Information Officer for smooth implementation of the Act. The definition of Central/State Public Information Officer is as under:

 

“Central Public Information Officer" means the Central Public Information Officer designated under sub-section (1) and includes a Central Assistant Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5;

 

“State Public Information Officer" means the State Public Information Officer designated under sub-section (1) and includes a State Assistant Public Information Officer designated as such under sub-section (2) of section 5


Thus the Central/State Assistant Information Officer fall under the above definitions. These Officers shall be designated in all administrative units or offices under each public authority to provide information to persons requesting for the information under this Act.

Broadly, the officers working for the central government public authorities are known as ‘Central Public Information Officer’ while those working for the state government public authorities are known as ‘State Public Information Officer’. Those working for the Union territories are usually called ‘Public Information Officer’. Same is the case of Central/ State Assistant Public Information Officers.

For the sake of convenience these officers are being addressed as Public Information Officer (PIO) and Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO), respectively, in this article.

Designation of Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO): The Act provides that every public authority shall designate an officer at each sub-divisional level or other sub-district level as a Central/State Assistant Public Information Officer to receive the applications for information or appeals under this Act and forwarding the same forthwith to the Central/State Public Information Officer or first Appellate Authority or the Central/State Information Commission, as the case may be.

By and large, thousands of existing officers have been designated as Assistant Public Information Officers and they are performing RTI functions in addition to their routine duties.

Display of Name Plates: Such officers have to display a name plate outside their room depicting their designation of Assistant Public Information Officer so that the public can locate them easily.

Designation of Link Officer: In order to ensure availability of an Assistant Public Information Officer at all times it is advisable to designate another officer as link officer so that in case the Assistant Public Information Officer is not available or proceeds on leave the RTI work does not suffer. 

Role & Responsibility of Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO): The primary role and responsibility of the APIO is to:

  • receive RTI applications for providing information or appeals under this Act;
  • forward the RTI applications/appeals to the concerned public authority or to the Public Information or Appellate Authority;
  • maintain record of the applications/appeals received and forwarded;
  • provide assistance and guidance to the applicants;
  • send an intimation to the concerned applicant about transfer of his RTI application/appeal. 

Time frame for transfer: The transfer of applications/appeals needs to be done within a period of five days of the receipt of the RTI application/appeal, under intimation to the applicant. This period of five days shall be added in computing the period for response.

The Public Information Officer may seek the assistance of any other officer as he or she considers it necessary for the proper discharge of his or her duties. As such the Assistant Public Information Officer has to render assistance to the Public Information Officer.

Secondary functions: The Assistant Public Information Officer has to perform a number of secondary/allied functions, as per requirement, for the proper implementation of the Act. These may be as under, depending upon the requirement of each public authority:

  •  To manage working of Information Facilitation Counters;
  • To regulate the working of receipt and timely transmission of applications and appeals;
  • To provide facility for receipt of cash;
  • To ensure receipt of proper fee and additional charges, where required;
  • To analyse applications to find out areas needing improvements;
  • To get the Postal orders, Bankers Cheque, etc. encased;
  • To deposit the cash with the departmental Accounts Branch;
  • To maintain record of fee accounts and get it audited;
  • To compile periodical reports and annual reports;
  • To assist the Public Information Officer in all matters related to RTI Act.

Accountability: The Assistant Public Information Officer being a deemed Public Information Officer is equally responsible for delays and maladministration, etc. The Assistant Public Information Officer should not refuse to receive RTI applications and appeals of other public authorities to avoid penal action.  He must adhere to the prescribed time schedule.



FAQs

Q.1 Can Assistant Public Information Officer communicate approved information by higher authorities to the applicant?

Ans. 1 No. The reply to RTI request has to be sent under the signatures of Public Information Officer.

Q. 2. Can Assistant Public Information Officer be penalised for refusal to receive application?

Ans. 2 Yes. A penalty @ rupees 250/- per day can be imposed in such cases by the Central/State Information Commission.

Location: India

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