Govt notifies RTI rules; CIC tenure cut to 3 yrs

New Delhi, October 25

The Centre has curtailed the tenure of Information Commissioners in transparency panels across the country to three years in new RTI rules notified last night, a move activists call an assault on their independence and autonomy.

The Centre had amended the Right to Information Act, 2005, in July ending the parity enjoyed by the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners with the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners on terms and conditions of their service and tenure.

The new rules have given discretion to the government to decide on allowances or service conditions not specifically covered by the 2019 rules, which will be “binding”. The government has also kept powers to relax any of these rules.

Commissioners’ tenure has been cut to three years. The 2005 Act gave them a fixed tenure of five years or a retirement age of 65 years. — PTI

Keeps salary powers

New rules allow govt to decide on allowances or service conditions not specifically covered by 2019 rules, which will be ‘binding’

Salary of Chief Information Commissioner has been fixed at Rs 2.5 lakh and that of Information Commissioners at Rs 2.25 lakh