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Government's unfortunate move to amend the Right to Information Act will weaken the signature legislation, that reverses the opacity and bureaucratic disdain which makes governance inaccessible for ordinary citizens. The proposed amendment whittles down security of tenure for information commissioners from the existing term of five years in office or upon reaching the age of 65 to such terms as may be prescribed by the central government. Salaries and allowances and other terms and conditions of service of central and state chief information commissioners, now at par with election commissioners, will instead be such as may be prescribed by the central government.
In short, a move to undermine the status of the central and state information commissions and turn them into caged parrots as the Supreme Court chose to describe the CBI is afoot. Replacing a fixed statutory term that offers security of tenure with one where information commissioners serve at the pleasure of government and on terms set by it impinges on institutional autonomy. The Act's provisions offering parity with election commissioners had bestowed tremendous prestige upon ICs. It was a signifier of autonomy and to not be chary when issuing orders to all-powerful government officers unwilling to share information with citizens.