RTI Act prone to misuse, suggests PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday asserted that there would be no dilution of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, but said it needed an in-depth review of the Act, as "there is a concern in the administration over the misuse of the act".

He also vowed that the government would soon bring a whistleblowers' act to protect those using the RTI Act to expose wrongdoings.

The prime minister however said that the exemptions under the RTI Act should be looked at critically. "RTI should not affect deliberative process of the government," he told the two-day annual convention of the Central Information Commission in New Delhi.

He said there was a need to strike a balance between disclosure of information and the limited time and resources available with public authorities.

"Another concern that has been raised is that RTI could end up discouraging honest, well-meaning public servants from giving full expression to their views. I think we need to remember here that a point of view brought under public scrutiny and discussion in an isolated manner may sometimes present a distorted or incomplete picture of what really happened in the processes of making the final decisions," he said.

Amendments to the RTI Act and exemptions given to security agencies from making disclosures under it are expected to be debated at the conference being attended by information commissioners.