RTI Act can bring positive change in society: CIC
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIO
Kangpokpi, October 07 2022:
State Chief Information Commissioner Oinam Sunil Singh on Friday said that with the help of Right to Information (RTI) Act, citizens can bring a positive change in the society.
He made the statement during the 'Right To Infor mation Week Celebration, 2022 - District Level Workshop' held at Conference Hall, Deputy Commissioner's Office Complex, Kangpokpi.
The programme was sponsored by Department of Personnel & Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension and jointly organised by Manipur Information Commission and Kangpokpi district administration.
During the function, Sunil spoke on 'Role of Manipur Information Commission towards providing information to citizens' .
Informing that the Central Information Commission (CIC) is emphasising on the role of State Public Information Officers (SPIO), he advised all the officers to coordinate within their departments so that cases are not left pending.
Stating that SPIO has judicial role, he called upon officials concerned to reply to any query at the earliest to avoid possible penalty.
Sunil also informed the officers to be very vigilant while dealing with queries related to various schemes and added that they should not reveal bank and Aadhaar details of a beneficiary as both are personal information of an individual.
He also reminded that the Supreme Court had already issued a decree that no personal information of Aadhaar shall be shared by any authority.
Sunil also noted that under the RTI Act, many wrongdoings have been detected in various departments and if RTI is used in a right way it can bring positive change in the society which can further change the mentality of people.
Manipur Information Commission deputy registrar (Judicial-I) S Inao Singh spoke on various sections and components under RTI Act 2005 during which he cautioned officials concerned that information sought under the RTI Act cannot be denied.
Meanwhile, Kangpokpi ADM/ADC Derick Khobung spoke on issues and challenges faced from SPIO's Perspective and said that record and information keeping at the field is very poor in addition to lack of infrastructure and training.
He observed that if departments put out proper information in the public domain then most of the queries will not be sought by citizens.
Derick further said that many times queries are sought regarding the information which is provided in public domain which results in the overburdening work of the officers concerned.
He also dwelt on the attitude and behavioural change of the officers concerned.
The programme was followed by an interaction session where officers and staff raised queries to officials of Manipur Information Commission.
The function was attended by all the SDOs, District Level Officers and staff of various departments.
It may be mentioned that RTI Week is observed every year from October 5 across the country.
The RTI Bill was passed by Parliament of India on June 15, 2005 and came into force from October 12, 2005.The Act is to promote transparency and accountability in the working of the government.