Gujarat RTI commissioner to govt: Proactively disclose climate change facts on "website" within 30 days

By A Representative
The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC), the state's official watchdog of the right to information (RTI) Act, has taken strong exception to the Gujarat government failing to make public disclosure of the relevant information of the climate change department on its website. Issued in September third week, it would force the state government to set up climate change website, which till date does not exist.
The CIC order wants the secretary, climate change, to ensure that “the requirements of the proactive disclosure under RTI Act are fully operationalised within a period of 90 days from the receipt of this order.”
The order would force the Gujarat government to finally come up with a climate change department website. Though the department was set up in 2010 amidst much fanfare, with Narendra Modi, then chief minister of India, declaring that the state is the first in India to take the initiative, till date there is no website for the department.
In fact, a click on "climate change department" on the official website of the state government takes one to the Gujarat Energy Development Agency, the state outfit meant to promote alternative energy set up decades ago.
The order states, “The state government is directed to maintain and update the proactive disclosure material in letter and spirit of the provisions of the RTI Act.”
Agreeing that a copy of the proactive disclosure material is stated to have been put up on the notice board of the department, the GIC order, which has been signed by Balwant Singh, state information commissioner, says the dissemination of public disclosure should be “communicated to the public through notice boards, newspapers, public announcements, media broadcasts, the internet or any other means.”
Singh came up with his order in response to an RTI complaint by Mahesh Pandya of the Paryavaran Mitra, a Gujarat-based NGO. He said, it should be the “constant endeavour of every public authority” to take steps “to provide as much information suo motu to the public at regular intervals through various means or communications, including internet, so that the public have minimum resort to the use of this Act to obtain information.”
Pandya had wanted the Gujarat government “maintain all its records duly catalogued and indexed in a manner and the form which facilitates the RTI and ensure that all records that are appropriate to be computerized are, within a reasonable time and subject to availability of resources.”
Pandya wanted the state government to disclose the climate change department's “norms set by it for the discharge of its functions; and the rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and records, held by it or under its control or used by its employees for discharging its functions.”
The online proactive disclosure, Pandya had insisted, should include “a statement of the categories of documents that are held by it or under its control”, as also “the particulars of any arrangement that exists for consultation with, or representation by the members of the public in relation to the formulation of its policy or implementation thereof.”
Other information should include, he said, about meetings of the boards, councils, committees and other bodies which exist under the department, their minutes, the monthly remuneration received by each of its officers and employees, budget allocation, proposed expenditures, the manner of execution of subsidy programmes, and son.
The GIC said, “All materials shall be disseminated taking into consideration the cost effectiveness, local language and the most effective method of communication in that local area and the information should be easily accessible, to the extent possible in electronic format", and be available “free or at such cost of the medium or the print cost price as may be prescribed.”

Comments

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Beneath the stone: Revisiting the New Jersey mandir controversy

By Rajiv Shah A recent report published in the British media outlet The Guardian , titled “Workers carved the largest modern Hindu temple in the west. Now, some have incurable lung disease,” took me back to my visits to the New Jersey mandir —first in 2022, when it was still under construction, though parts of it were open to visitors, and again in 2024, after its completion.

Health activist group raises concerns over HPV vaccination drive, seeks temporary halt

By A Representative Swasthya Adhikar Manch, a public health advocacy group, has urged the Union government to ensure greater accountability and transparency in the ongoing Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, and called for its temporary suspension pending a comprehensive review. In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, the group flagged what it described as unresolved concerns surrounding the nationwide rollout of the HPV vaccine, which began on February 28, 2026. The campaign targets 14-year-old girls and involves administering Gardasil, a quadrivalent vaccine intended to protect against certain strains of HPV linked to cervical cancer.

School closures across states raise concerns amid Govt of India claims of improved access

By A Representative A recent report has raised concerns over the closure and merger of government schools in several Indian states, particularly in Bihar, where a significant number of institutions have reportedly been shut down or earmarked for closure.

Search This Blog