Right to Information Week 1295 applications disposed
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, October 09 2015 : Observing the Right to Information Week- 2015 from October 5, the Manipur Information Commission is in intent on popularising the Right to Information Act, 2005 and to spread awareness amongst the various stakeholders.

Incidentally, till September 29, 2015, 1295 RTI applications which reached the Commission have been disposed off and only 113 applicants are yet to be disposed.

Briefing media persons today at the State Guest House, State Chief Information Commissioner Th Ibobi said, like any other rights, guaranteed by the Constitution to its citizens, the RTI is an important right to exchange information between citizens and public authorities.

Every information seeker must be furnished with the deemed information he or she is seeking by the department concerned or authority within the stipulated time frame, but many officials of the public authorities are not aware of this and thus fail to pass on the information, he added.

Chief Information Commissioner Th Ibobi making a point

RTI mandates timely response to citizens' requests for Government information, he said.

It is an initiative taken up by Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and provide an RTI Portal Gateway to the citizens for quick search of information on the details of first Appellate Authorities, Public Information Officers (PIOs) etc.

amongst others, besides access to RTI related information or disclosures published on the web by various Public Authorities under the Government of India as well as the State Governments.

Citizens and various other CSOs should take a pro-active role in utilizing the benefits provided by the Constitution through the RTI and media should provide a helping hand in spreading the awareness of the said Act, he added.

He maintained that public authorities and various Government Departments should be well aware of RTI Act and it is clearly defined in the said Act that information must be voluntarily disposed by the authority to the information seeker.

Even though the Act was enacted ten years back, still records of the each and every department are not well maintained and digitized, he stated.

Further he appealed to all stakeholders to take the responsibility for suo-moto disclosure of information and to be pro-active in providing the right information.

Mentioning that RTI applications from women and other hill districts of the State is very low, Ibobi stated that people are not aware of the Act, which is literally like a watch-dog over the activities of the Government.

Hoax and vicious RTI applications from individuals and CSOs can choke the genuine information seekers, he said an urged people not misuse RTI Act.

The RTI Act was enforced in 2005 all over the country and Manipur Information Commission came into being in September 2006.The State has 53 Government Departments and 248 public authorities.

Public Information Officers (PIOs) of all public authorities have been appointed but there is still some shortfall as some of the PIOs are now already retired or have been transferred to other offices, he said.

Such gap has created confusion in providing the right information at the earliest to the seekers.

He added that lack of staff has created limitations in proper functioning of the Commission.

Furnishing the figure of RTI applications, Ibobi said, as of September 29, 2015, 1295 RTI applications which reached the Commission have been disposed off and only 113 applicants are yet to be disposed.