I think I made a Change: Activist Commissioner

Right to Information (RTI) activist Shailesh Gandhi was appointed Central Information Commissioner by the Centre in September 2008. He became the first high profile activist to be appointed to such a position. Gandhi is a Mumbaikar, an engineer-industrialist who retired early and took up the responsibility of making RTI more effective. He has filed more than 700 applications asking for information since Maharashtra passed the RTI Act in the state in 2003 and also after the Centre passed the RTI Act in the country in 2005.

Since joining Central Information Commission (CIC), Gandhi has been in the news for a variety of reasons. First for reversing his decision of not accepting any salary or perks as a commissioner just 15 days after joining. Even his decisions have been criticised for not being consistent. Many prominent RTI activists feel he let them down. Excerpts from an exclusive interview to Hardnews:

Sonal Kellogg Delhi

Q: Tell us about your experience till now as an Information Commissioner at the Central Information Commission.

A: It's been good so far. I am not here on a government job. I am here because we need to make a difference in governance. I see it missing at the moment. I feel that RTI Act will bring in transparency and accountability which will result in better governance. I have completed around 1200 cases so far. I had promised in Mumbai before moving to Delhi and joining that I would ensure by April that pendency of cases in my area were reduced to 90 days after a case is filed in the CIC. I now feel that I will be able to achieve this by mid-March or latest by March end. I strongly feel that the judicial process must deliver in a reasonable time to be effective.

Q: Did you face any hostility in the CIC, since you were an RTI activist before you joined?

A: No, I didn't face any hostility; at least I couldn't feel any. But I also had a policy as a RTI activist to not criticise any individual. I directed my criticism to the system or the judgment but not to any person.

Q: Tell us why you reversed your decision of not taking the salary and perks as an information commissioner?

A: Yes, I will like to explain this. When I first agreed that my name be forwarded by RTI activists as a commissioner, I agreed that I would take just Re 1 as salary. At that time, it sounded all utopian and noble but I did not account for the fact that I would have to shift to Delhi and therefore would need a house, car, help in the house and the whole wherewithal to start working and living in Delhi for a long period of time. I was told that I would be provided whatever I needed from the people who were ready to help. But when I came here I realised that for everything I would be dependent on someone else. I did not feel comfortable about this. Though I was entitled to a salary, house, car and other perks, I would have to ask someone for a house, for a car, for support to even keep a house help or a driver. So after careful thought I decided to accept the salary and perks since I felt that I would fail as an information commissioner for all the wrong reasons if I tried to continue without the salary and other perks. I took the decision, told my wife and then declared it publicly. I would like to say that even asking people for my needs instead of taking a salary could also translate into pressure from another quarter.

But I understand that some RTI activists are upset about my decision since I reversed my earlier decision just 15 days after joining. If it was Mumbai, I would have been able to manage without a salary since I have a house and the required infrastructure there.