Over the years, the Indian polity got more and more centralised. This has led to a massive increase in the bureaucracy. This coupled with a huge public sector, nationalised banks and insurance have resulted in non-transparent and inefficient institutions with no accountability to the people. It is clear that this abysmal situation cannot be allowed to go on and basic reforms are urgently required. Democratic ReformsThe panchayati raj is a laudable initiative aimed to empower people by taking governance close to them. But it has not been effectively implemented in most states. The power still lies either with the bureaucracy or with a few elected leaders, none with the people. For creating a sound, responsible democracy accountable to the people, a major restructuring is necessary. A key reform required is instituting district governance, which will facilitate local decision – making accountable to the people. Other necessary reforms are transparency laws and participative regional planning. Legislation on transparency can be the entry point for reforms. Urgency for Transparency Legislation to ensure transparency law has become a matter of great urgency. The Prime minister has already made an announcement that a bill will shortly be presented before parliament. Our apprehension is that any legislation drafted through the existing bureaucratic processes will be inadequate to achieve the objectives of the legislation. PEOPLE FIRST has developed a concept for a transparency bill. This concept is open to public debate and scrutiny. Concept of Transparency law Right to Information Right to information is a human right in a democracy. At present, under cover of the ‘Official Secrets Act’, public offices deny even routine information to the people. The transparency laws should provide that the state clearly describe and notify the class of information which is confidential, and specify the time or event after which it shall be made public. To make information available to the public, the law should make it obligatory upon the state to take effective administrative steps such as setting up information desks in public offices and promoting entrepreneur information centres described later. People should also have the right to be informed through institutions like public hearings about planning and project proposals that affect their lives and to express their views on them. Such right to information and to be informed will need to be monitored and enforced by an independent statutory authority constituted under the transparency law. Commissions for Informed Citizenship. An independent authority called “Commission for Informed Citizenship” should be constituted n every state under the transparency law to regulate transparency institutions and to ensure that the right to information and to be informed is not violated. A central commission should also be constituted to coordinate the state commissions and to oversee union territories and the state of Delhi. They shall issue guidelines amplifying and clarifying the basic provisions of the law. The commissions shall also issue guidelines on the method of procuring information and the remedy available if information is denied. If any class of information is declared confidential by the state, it can be challenged in appeal before the commissions. Revision against the decision of the commissions may lie with the High Courts. The commissions shall review all existing and proposed legislation from the point of view of transparency and if, in their opinion, any provision violates the right to information, they shall request the state or the central legislature to review it. The commissions shall prepare annual reports outlining the status of transparency in the state, highlighting favourable developments, indicating action taken against violations and listing instances in which their advice was not accepted by the legislature or the government. Citizens Information Centre The transparency laws should provide that local governments shall license entrepreneurial information centres in accordance with such guidelines as issued by the commission. Usually book stores, photocopying shops, stamp vendors, etc, may be licensed. Such licensed centres may be called “Citizens Information Centres (CICs)”. CICs will be authorised under the law to collect information from central, state and local public offices and make it available to the people for a reasonable price. If a public office refuses to give information to a CIC, the CIC will inform the client accordingly in writing stating the name of the official to enable the client to lodge a complaint before the competent authority. Public Hearings The people should have the right to be informed and to participate in decision making with regard to projects that affect their lives. Public hearings at all sites and villages affected by any project are known institutions for informing people about the projects and seeking their views. These have been mostly denied under the existing laws. The public hearings under he land acquisition act and for master plans in the planning laws are perfunctory, bureaucratic and meaningless. The transparency laws should provide for public hearings for all projects exceeding 1,000 sqm in area or 10m in height subject to such exceptions as individual homes or other facilities as may be prescribed.
Social Projects The law should provide that for projects designated as special projects by the commission, tow alternative proposals of which at least one shall be prepared by a consultant or NGO appointed in consultation with the commission. The alternative proposals shall be presented at the public hearing along with their cost benefit and impact analysis to facilitate an informed response. Issue based Hearings by the Commissions The transparency laws should provide that the commissions shall, on application by citizen groups, or suo moto, hold hearings at selected locations on key issues like measures required for conserving biodiversity and stabilisation of population. The state departments and agencies like councils of science and technology shall assist the commission in these hearings. The recommendations of the commissions based on these hearings shall be given due consideration by the governments. Participatory Councils Participatory councils at the local level shall be constituted under the transparency laws on key issues like natural resource management, empowerment of women, poverty alleviation, literacy and education, NGOs and public tenders. These councils shall not operate any programme budget but may be provided funds for research and monitoring. They shall essentially act as conscience – keepers of development. The commissions shall, after ascertaining the vies of the state and local governments and independent organisations, indicate the key issues on which participatory councils shall have to be set up in a particular local government. The commissions shall issue guidelines regarding nomination of members, holding of meetings and other such issues. Environmental ClearanceThe transparency law should provide that the first review of all projects which require environmental clearance will be done by the local natural resource management council. While doings so, the council shall take into consideration the views expressed during the public hearings. If the council feels that the issues are complex, it may constitute a technical committee and / or engage the services of appropriate consultants for which the cost shall have to be borne by the project authorities.
Empowered Neighbourhoods True empowerment of the people comes from grassroots democracy in which decision are taken in the presence of all the constituents. Such grassroots democracy can be instituted only at the neighbourhood level. We need to institute neighbourhood committees or mohala samitis, which include tribal gram sabhas, in all rural, urban and metropolitan areas. Such neighbourhood committees can handle neighbourhood management and many civic and social problems at the neighbourhood level. The transparency law should provide that (a) all real estate transactions in a neighbourhood including names of parties and value, shall have to be intimated to the neighbourhood committee and posted on its notice board and (b) no decision affecting a neighbourhood can be taken by any government without ascertaining the views of the neighbourhood committee.
ReferendumsMajor policy decisions are being taken by elected representatives who often represent only 20 per cent of the constituents. The transparency law should provide for referendums and make a referendum on at least one important public issue mandatory with every local election. Compensation for Refusal to provide informationThe law should provide that if a public servant refuses to furnish information which he is bound to provide under the transparency law, the aggrieved citizen and / or CIC may lodge a complaint with a magistrate who if satisfied, would levy the compensation payable to the citizen or CIC. Transparency in Legislative PracticesAccording to prevailing practices, all legislation under consideration is treated as strictly confidential until introduced in the legislature. Even after a bill is introduced in the legislature, the people can have access to it only by approaching the legislators. Generally a very brief description of the aims and objectives of the legislation is given in the memorandum accompanying the bill. The rest of the bill being legally drafted, is obscure to the legislators and the people. There is inadequate study and debate on bills within or outside the legislature. As a consequence, bureaucratic and often superficial and unimplementable laws get passed. The government, and in case of private bills, the legislators should prepare a detailed speaking memorandum of the concept of the proposed legislation and introduce it in the legislature. It should also be released to the media and CICs so that social and professional organisations may organize debates to enable legislators to crystallize their views. Disclosure by Elected Representatives and Civil ServantsThe transparency laws should provide that elected representatives at the time of assuming office, must file a statement of their assets as is being done by the civil servants under their service regulations. The elected representatives and the civil servants should also take an oath of transparency and integrity in regard to decisions taken by them. Financial ImplicationExcept for the expenditure on the proposed commissions, the bill has no financial implication. In fact, the state and local governments and the people will benefit substantially through reduction in malpractices, wrong decisions, kickbacks and payoffs.
Administration of the Bill In view of Article 243ZD of the Constitution district planning, planning will hereafter have to be integrated covering socio-economic, infrastructure and environmental issues expressed in descriptive, quantitative and spatial plans. This means that the planning department will have to be merged with the environment department, which will coordinate such integrated planning. Transparency, like planning, is proactive, that is, it prevents mistakes from happening whereas audit, judicial process, lokpal, etc., are reactive, that is, they come into play after the damage is done. The environment departments in the states and the ministry of environment in the centre should therefore clearly administer the transparency law. In the field, the urban and regional planning directorate (which will naturally have to report to the environment department), will administer the law.
Impact on other LegislationComplementary provisions will have to be made in the local laws and state planning laws. Provision for constitution of neighbourhood committees as the first tier of civic management, will have to be made in both the municipal laws and panchayat laws on the lines indicated below. Neighbourhood CommitteesAny neighbourhood may apply to the ward member/panch for recognition of its neighbourhood committee. The civic law will provide that on grant of such recognition, the neighbourhood committee would acquire all powers of the local authority for neighbourhood management including power to levy neighbourhood charges, disconnect services in case of default and stop unauthorized construction. Social Controls through Land Rights The law should provide that the state can direct that generally or in specified areas, wherever land for any purpose has been or is proposed to be given on lease, the title shall vest in the neighbourhood government instead of the state government and the leaseholder shall be a lessee of the neighbourhood committee. Wherever housing is provided under social programmes, the law should provide that the neighbourhood committee would give the sub-lease in the name of the principal woman of the household. Ward CommitteeThe civic laws should provide for constitution of ward committees consisting of the ward member as the chairperson and presidents and secretaries of all neighbourhoods in the ward as members. The ward committee shall coordinate the neighbourhood committees and resolve their problems. The civic law should also provide for zonal committees consisting of 10 or so ward members. The zonal committees shall be provided an appropriate budget for providing support to neighbourhoods. Responsible Right to ShelterAt present squatter recognition, pay protection money to officials and slum lords, depend entirely on state support for their services and take no responsibility on themselves. The civic laws should provide that neighbourhood committees of squatter settlements over, say, five years old may also be similarly recognized by the local government. Such recognition would confer on the neighbour committee (a) right to occupancy and (b) right to negotiated resettlement if displaced. It would impose responsibility on the neighbourhood committee to (a) recognize each shelter in the name of the principal woman in the household (b) prevent further densification and (c) manage the neighbourhood services. The civic authority can offer matching or such support, if at all, as it deems fit for a limited period as an initial incentive. Non-voluntary displacementThe civic laws should provide that whenever established urban and rural settlements are displaced, the project authorities shall have to approach the local authority to constitute a rehabilitation tribunal. The tribunal shall call upon the project authorities to prepare a rehabilitation scheme in consultation with the communities. The tribunal shall designate one or more NGOs to represent the community and provide them facilitation grant which shall be a charge on the project. The tribunal shall hear the project authorities, the designated NGOs and the community and approve the rehabilitation scheme with such changes as it deems fit. It shall thereafter monitor the implementation of the scheme till such time as the rehabilitation has been effectively completed. Planning lawsAccording to Article 243ZD, integrated regional planning covering socio-economic, infrastructure and environmental resources, initiated by local governments, is now required to be practiced. Such planning shall clearly have to be under the urban and regional planning laws. The existing urban and regional planning acts are top-down and bureaucratic and shall have to be replaced. The new state planning laws should have chapters on rural, urban, district, metropolitan, state and national planning. They should provide for the methodology, which has to be scientific, regional as well as the process which has to ensure people’s participation. GeneralThis concept of a transparency bill should be extensively debated and refined. Legal drafting should be taken up only after a consensus on how the transparency law should handle a sensitive matter like right to information has been arrived at. If this is not done, we may have yet another meaningless bureaucratic legislation which adorns the law libraries but does little for the people.
Nearly fifty years of centralised autocratic democracy in which the people are just tools in the hands of elected representatives and an overbearing bureaucracy, has sapped the financial and environmental resources of the nation; and the energy and will of the people. Let the transparency law be the first step initiating the rejuvenation of the nation during its 50th year of independence. India may then be able to enter the 21st century with confidence as a truly functional democracy. Transparency in governance is the very essence of democracy.
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