In a democracy, information held by the government is not simply an administrative resource. Much of it is public information, generated through public institutions and public money. Yet access to such information often depends on what the government chooses to announce.
Consider a road project. If the government issues a press release saying that Rs 5 crore has been released for a particular road, the public learns of the amount because the government decided to publicise it. But what if there is no press release? How does a citizen know that Rs 5 crore was sanctioned, how much was actually released, who received the contract, how much has been spent and whether the work has progressed as intended?
These should not be questions that citizens can answer only when the government provides the information.
A functioning system of transparency should allow people to independently find such information. Government departments should maintain accessible and searchable records of public projects, including sanctions, funding sources, tender values, contractors, payments, expenditure, physical progress and completion status. Budget documents, procurement records, audit reports and other administrative data should form part of this public information system.
This is particularly important for journalism. A press release is a communication from the government. It may be accurate, but it is also necessarily selective. Journalism cannot remain confined to reporting what authorities choose to put before the public. Journalists need access to the underlying records so that official claims can be examined, compared and independently verified.
There is also a crucial difference between information being available and information being accessible. A document technically existing in a government office does not make it meaningfully accessible if citizens cannot find it, understand it or obtain it without considerable effort.
The Right to Information Act remains an important safeguard, but citizens should not have to file an RTI application simply to discover basic information about publicly funded projects.
Public information should be public by default, subject only to legitimate restrictions. Democracy is strengthened not when governments communicate more, but when citizens can independently know more.