Section 28 of RTI Act : Section 28: Power To Make Rules By Competent Authority
The Right to Information Act, 2005
- CHAPTER VI: MISCELLANEOUS
(1) The competent authority may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:
- (i) the cost of the medium or print cost price of the materials to be disseminated under sub-section (4) of section 4;
- (ii) the fee payable under sub-section (1) of section 6;
- (iii) the fee payable under sub-section (1) of section 7; and
- (iv) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.
Simplified Act
(1) The person or group with the power to do so can create official rules to help put this law into action. These rules will be announced in a public government document.
(2) Specifically, these rules can cover a range of topics including, but not limited to:
- (i) How much it will cost to get information in different formats as mentioned in section 4, subsection (4);
- (ii) The fee required to make a request for information under section 6, subsection (1);
- (iii) The fee required to get the information requested under section 7, subsection (1); and
- (iv) Any other details that need to be defined or could be defined by these rules.
Explanation using Example
Imagine that Mr. Sharma wants to request information regarding the environmental impact assessment of a new highway project from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He looks up the procedure and finds that under the Right to Information Act, 2005, he needs to pay a fee to submit his request.
Section 28 of the Act allows the competent authority to make rules regarding the fee structure. By checking the latest notification in the Official Gazette, Mr. Sharma discovers the exact amount he needs to pay for his application and the cost of obtaining the documents. This fee was determined by the rules formulated under the authority of Section 28.
Thanks to these rules, Mr. Sharma knows the financial requirements for his request and can proceed with the application in a well-informed manner.