Lets open up our Public – Private Partnerships to Public Scrutiny!
Lets open up our Public – Private Partnerships to Public Scrutiny!
In recent times the government has emphasized the role of Public Private Partnerships (PPP) especially in infrastructure development and creation of public utilities. In the social sector, the failure of successive governments and civic bodies to attract high levels of public investment and to evolve sustainable economic ‘price’ for the provision of services has impeded development. PPPs could emerge as important drivers of private investment into these neglected sectors. In the XII five year plan the government expects 50% of PPP funding to come via the private route. Since January 2006, the Public Private Partnership Appraisal committee has approved 284 proposals 284 with TPC 273123.11 crore. However, ensuring the transparency and accountability in the functioning of the PPP model is an imperative for the success and sustainability of this approach. This requires the creation and application of the appropriate checks and balances through regulatory and policy mechanisms.
The Right to Information Act, 2005 is a groundbreaking legislation, which allows citizens to be effective watchdogs of the state. RTI has allowed citizens to directly engage with the government and monitor its effectiveness. However, presently there is a general ambiguity about the jurisdiction of RTI on PPPs. This ambiguity stems from the fact that PPPs can be considered “substantially financed” by the government and come under the RTI. However, in the absence of specific definitions for “substantially financed” in the RTI Act, the courts are looked upon to interpret whether or not, a particular PPP is required to furnish information to citizens. Consequently, the information can only be obtained from the government authorities and there is no direct knowledge of how private entities are using funds in the creation of public projects. A large number of private players especially involved in airport and power projects have come in conflict with the CIC about giving out of information. So much so that out of approximately 900 case being fought by the CIC in courts, almost 200 of them are regarding the definition of Public Authority. Major companies and institutions such a DIAL, Tata-backed power distribution company North Delhi Power Ltd and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd, a partnership between Reliance Energy Ltd and the Delhi government, Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock exchange are involved in disputes.
To address this lacunae in the otherwise landmark bill, I have introduced a Private Member Bill, the Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2012 on the 27th April, 2012 to explicitly allow RTIs to have jurisdiction over PPP projects. This bill aims at ensuring that a citizen can ask a private entity for information on a specific PPP project undertaken by it. The rights of private players have been protected by only allowing for provision of information relating to the public projects. I believe the clubbing of private players though engaged in matters of direct public interest through PPPs with public authorities may not be appropriate. I have thus not tampered with definition of public authority under the existing law and added a definition of private entities separately. Also, with continuous changes expected in the structure of Public Private Partnerships, it has been left with the government to define PPPs through subordinate legislations.
I think that my proposal would further strengthen the RTI Act’s role in enhancing transparency and accountability. With India entering a phase of rapid development and infrastructure creation, the involvement of aware citizens is of utmost importance. The Right to Information has empowered our citizens immensely and with the appropriate changes, this legislation would ensure the continued active participation of our people in our vibrant democracy.