CCS Campaigns

Campaign for DTP (Duty to Publish)
Duty to Publish v/s Right to Information :The UPA government introduced the Right to Information Bill 2004 in the Lok Sabha. It has now been referred to the Standing Committee of Parliament on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice. The committee invited comments on the bill from various civil society organizations. Centre for Civil Society has, from the beginning, stressed on the importance of the ‘Duty to Publish’ (DTP) approach, thereby, putting the onus of dissemination of information on the government. CCS sent its views to the chairman of the Standing Committee to review the bill, in an attempt to change the debate from what the government should reveal to what it can keep secret. DTP has received wide media attention including Times of India, India Express and business magazines.

Extract

“The DTP approach has many advantages over the current RTI approach of DTF (duty to furnish). First and foremost, it would change the debate from what the government should reveal to what it can keep secret. Instead of deciding on a case-by-case basis, as it does today, the government would need to develop general guidelines that determine what information can be kept out of the public domain. This fundamental restructuring of the debate—from what should be revealed to what can be kept secret—would strengthen the hands of citizens far more than any severe penalty clause in the Bill.”

 Submission to DOPT, July 2005 (pdf)
 The Right to Information Bill, 2004 (pdf)
 Cover Letter to Parliamentary Standing Committee (pdf)
 Submission to Parliamentary Standing Committee (pdf)
 Suggestions on RTI by clause (pdf)

Links - RTI Laws in other countries

 http://www.righttoinformation.info/rti_laws_int.htm
 http://home.online.no/~wkeim/foi.htm
 http://www.ucc.ie/law/lawonline/freedom/


Opinions & Commentary
 Do We Need A Planning Body?
    Wind Up The Panel, It's An Anachronism,Parth J Shah, Economic Times, Jun 23, 2004
 Redefining Right to Information, Parth J Shah, Businessworld, Jan 31, 2005
 Who Pays for Welfare Programmes? Parth J Shah, Economic Times, Aug 19, 2004
 How Do We Tackle Slums?, Parth J Shah, The Silicon India Magazine, April 11, 2000

 See posts regarding governance at Spontaneous Order.


Policy Reviews

 Policy Review Here.


Studies                             More Studies

 Why is Dead DEDA Still Alive?, Arjun Bhattacharya and O’Neil Rane, CCS Working Paper     No. 0042, 2003


On the Radar...

 Case for a Duty to Publish Act, Swaminathan S Aiyar, The Times of India, Dec 12, 2004
 The power of knowledge,The Economic Times, Dec 17, 2004
 Investors don't read surveys!, Sunil Jain, Rediff.com, Oct 18, 2004
 Coffee, The Grand, and Government,Rakesh Wadhwa The Himalayan Times Aug 30,     2004
 Plan or Prosper, Rakesh Wadhwa The Himalayan Times Mar 10, 2004
 New Brooms for Old - Fiscal Discipline & Public Services, Sauvik Chakraverti, Times of     India, May 28, 1999
 Alternative Nation: The Public Administration of Anarchy, Sauvik Chakraverti, Times of     India April 25, 2002
 Management Mantras: Make Way for New Public Administration, Sauvik Chakraverti, The     Times of India, July 14, 2004


Books & Monographs

 State of Governance: Delhi Citizen Handbook 2003
 New Public Management: Escape from Babudom, CCS Viewpoints
 Agenda for Change, 1998


Related Events

 Report of RTI Workshop in Tripura (pdf)
 Ward Power: Reforms in Urban Governance
 The VIP and the Common Man - Out in the Street 10 Sept 1999


Resources

 RTI Tripura Workshop Report(pdf)
 The Right to Information Act 2005(ppt)
 The Duty to Publish (ppt)
 Guidelines for Proactive Disclosure(ppt)
 CATO Institute
 Ludwig von Mises Institute
 Friedrich Naumann Foundation
 Adam Smith Institute
 Atlas Economic Research Foundation
 Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
 United Nations Development Programme
 Lok Satta
 Economic and Political Weekly


More Studies

 Bhagidari: Good Intention, Bad Implementation? Kumar Gaurav & Mayank Singhal, CCS     Working Paper No. 0048, 2003
 Dilli Sarkar’s Advertisement Expenditure: Information or Publicity?, Kumar Gaurav &     Mayank Singhal, CCS Working Paper No. 0049, 2003
 Tourism Department: In Search of Tourists, Shiva Mishra, CCS Working Paper No. 0050,     2003
 Public Works Department: Delhi Government, Sabith Ullah Khan, CCS Working Paper No.     0056, 2003