Issue of Central Civil Services (conduct) rules and transparency - GovtVacancy.Net

Issue of Central Civil Services (conduct) rules and transparency

The Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules prohibit unauthorized transmission of information. According to this rule, no Government servant shall, except in accordance with a general or special order of the Government or in the performance of duties assigned to him in good faith, communicate to any Government servant or to any other person to whom he may communicate such document or information. not authorized to transmit, directly or indirectly, any official document or any part thereof. Similar provisions exist for the employees of the State Governments under their respective rules.

The Shourie Committee observed, “It is a common belief that the Central Civil  Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 and the corresponding rules applicable to the Railways, Foreign Affairs, and All India Services,  prohibit government servants from sharing information with the public. We do. These rules are inclined towards denial of information to the public. If the Right to Information Act is to serve  its purpose and if transparency is to be brought into the system, then the situation has to be clearly  changed.” The Shourie Committee has linked the lack of transparency to the classification of information. The Committee observed, “A major contributor to the lack of transparency is the tendency to classify indicators. Departmental Security Instruction Manual and Office issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs The Manual of Methods, which includes some of these instructions, lays down the criteria and guidelines  in relation to classification  and the authority competent to authorize the classification grading, that is, secret, confidential."

Transparency and the Right to Information are pre-condition for good governance. Access to information empowers citizens to access information about public policies and programs thus making the government more accountable and helping in strengthening participatory democracy and citizen-centered governance. It enables citizens to know the rights they have to keep themselves informed about the policies of the government and what they should expect in the form of service from the government.

Ensuring accountability in the governance system reinforces the concept of citizen-centered administration. The World Bank has identified accountability as an important requirement in achieving the goal of good governance. The tendency to act in the public interest according to the position, the dignity of the post, and the mandate of the post is called accountability. The bureaucratic system or employee system, which discharges its responsibilities without being affected by interferences, pressures, influences, and inducements,  is helpful in the formation of Responsive Governance.