Administrative Reforms 
GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL CAPITAL
TERRITORY OF DELHI
ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS DEPARTMENT
7TH LEVEL, C-WING, DELHI SECRETARIAT,
I.P. ESTATE, NEW DELHI
No.F.17/11/2002/AR/16691-16890
Dated:-28/1/2002
Office Order
Sub: Provision of suo-motu information and publishing of Project Inspections under Delhi Right to Information Act, 2001
Attention is invited to Section 4(b) of the Delhi Right to Information Act, 2001 and Rule 7 of Delhi Right to Information Rules, 2001 which read as under:
Section 4 (b):
publish at such intervals as may be prescribed by the Government -
(i) the particulars of its organization, functions and duties ;
(ii) the powers and duties of its officers and employees and the procedure followed by them in the decision making process;
(iii) the norms set by the public authority for the discharge of its functions;
(iv) laws, bye-laws, rules, regulation, instructions, manuals and other categories of records under its control used by its employees for discharging its functions;
(v) the details of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information; and
(vi) the name, designation and other particulars of the competent authority;
Rule 7:
Suo-motu Publication of Information by public authorities.-
(1) The public authority shall suo-motu publish information as per clause (b) of section 4 of the Act by publishing booklets, folders and pamphlets at the following intervals :
| S. No. | Particulars of Information to be published | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Particulars of its organization, functions and duties. | Once in five years |
| 2 | Powers and duties of its officers and employees and the procedure followed by them in the decision making process. | Once in two years |
| 3 | Norms set by the public authority for the discharge of its functions | Once in two years |
| 4 | Laws, bye-laws, rules, regulations, instructions, manuals and other categories of records under its control used by its employees for discharging its functions | Once in five years |
| 5 | Details of facilities available to citizens for obtaining information | Annually |
| 6 | Name, designation and other particulars of the competent authority | Annually |
(ii) Such information shall also be made available to the public through information counters, website and display on notice board at conspicuous places in the office of the competent authority and the Public Grievances Commission.
2. These provisions clearly stipulate a statutory obligation on all the departments to publish the above documents periodically. These rules have come into force since 19th October, 2001 and a year has passed, but none of the departments appear to have paid attention to this important provision.
3. Attention is further invited to section 4(e) of Delhi Right to information Act, 2001, which reads as under:“before initiating any project, publish or communicate to the public generally or to the persons affected or likely to be affected by the project in particular, the facts available to it or to which it has reasonable access which, in its opinion, should be known to them in the best interests of maintenance of democratic principles.”
4. This Section provides for a statutory duty to publish or communicate to the public the relevant facts about the projects so that they can also do social audit if they so like.
5. All the departments, undertakings, autonomous bodies and others concerned are directed to implement the above provisions by 30th October, 2002 and send an action taken report to this department.
6. The suo-motu information prepared may also be placed on the departmental web site. Five hard copies and a soft copy of the material may also please be sent to this department.
(Prakash Kumar)
Secretary (AR)
No.F.17/11/2002/AR/
Dated:-
All Pr. Secretaries/Secretaries
All Heads of Departments/Autonomous Bodies/Undertakings, Govt. of Delhi.