{"id":173465,"date":"2017-02-03T15:10:32","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T09:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=173465"},"modified":"2017-02-04T16:43:52","modified_gmt":"2017-02-04T11:13:52","slug":"no-fees-for-right-to-information-requests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/no-fees-for-right-to-information-requests\/","title":{"rendered":"No Fees For Right To Information Requests"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Right+to+Information&amp;x=15&amp;y=8\">Right to Information Act<\/a> becomes operational today in Sri Lanka after more than fifteen years of struggle by citizens and the media, Colombo Telegraph learns that in terms of the Fee Schedule laid down by the Right to Information (RTI) Commission, no fees can be charged by Public Authorities when RTI requests are submitted.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/RTI.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-158469\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/RTI.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"324\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/RTI.jpg 466w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/RTI-300x156.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 324px) 100vw, 324px\" \/><\/a>This is a change from many countries elsewhere in the world where a fee has to be paid at the very first stage itself. The RTI Commission had published a Public Notice on the 29th of January 2017 confirming that its Rules and proposed Regulations had been sent to the Ministry of Media to be gazetted. According to inquiries made, the gazette will be out shortly. Under the Rules on Fees, the Commission has stipulated once a request is submitted and if a decision is made to provide information, whatever information given on 4 (A4 size) pages should be free to all citizens. Charges after that are minimal.<\/p>\n<p>The RTI Commission has also stated that all information that a Public Authority provides on email should be free. Inspection of documents should also be free for the first 1 hour with minimal charges thereafter. Colombo Telegraph welcomes this pro-active position taken on fees on the basis of maximum disclosure.<\/p>\n<p>From today, RTI requests can be filed in Public Authorities including constitutional and statutory bodies, government, provincial and local bodies, corporate bodies funded by the government, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations. RTI requests can be filed even on a sheet of paper with the following details;<\/p>\n<p>Application to receive Information from Public Authorities (PAs)<\/p>\n<p>Information Officer,<\/p>\n<p>01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Name of Requestor &#8211; \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<br \/>\n02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Address \u2013 \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<br \/>\n03.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Contact No. (if any) -\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<br \/>\n04.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Email Address (if any) &#8211; \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<br \/>\n05.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Details about Information requested<br \/>\nI.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Specific Public Authority \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<br \/>\nII.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Information requested \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<br \/>\n\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<br \/>\n\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<br \/>\n\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/p>\n<p>III.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Specific period information is requested (if applicable)\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<br \/>\n06.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Manner in which information is requested\u2013 (ie would you like to-)<br \/>\ni. inspect relevant work, documents, records<br \/>\nii. take notes, extracts or certified copies of documents or records<br \/>\niii. take certified samples of material<br \/>\niv. obtain information in the form of CD\/DVD\/storage media\/tapes\/video cassettes\/ any other electronic mode\/ printouts where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device.<br \/>\n07.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Language in which requestor prefers access -\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<br \/>\n08.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Does the information request concern the life and personal liberty of a citizen? (Yes\/No)<br \/>\nIf Yes, give reason for belief &#8211; \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<br \/>\n\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<br \/>\n09.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Any other details- \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<br \/>\n10.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Relevant documents attached (If any)<br \/>\nI.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<br \/>\nII.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<br \/>\nIII.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026.<br \/>\n11.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Is the requestor a citizen of Sri Lanka? (Yes\/No)<\/p>\n<p>Date: &#8211;<\/p>\n<p>Signature:-<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":158469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2186,1,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-173465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-featured-news","category-news","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>No Fees For Right To Information Requests - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/no-fees-for-right-to-information-requests\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No Fees For Right To Information Requests - 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