New Delhi: The two-day Annual Convention of the Central Information Commission (CIC) concluded here today. The Conference was inaugurated by the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh yesterday. In his inaugural address, Shri Rajnath Singh said that Right to Information (RTI) Act is a powerful medium of two-way communication between the citizens and the Government. He said that our system needs to be corruption-free, smart, sensitive, transparent and answerable for making all the programmes of the Government a success and RTI can play an important role in it.
On the inaugural day, four technical sessions were held on the topics, – RTI in Railways, RTI online web portal, RTI in Public Sector Undertakings and RTI in Regulators. Two Sessions were held on the second day of the CIC’s Annual Convention today.
The second day of the Convention today commenced with a technical session on Academic Papers on RTI. This session was chaired by Information Commissioners Shri Yashovardhan Azad and Shri M. Sridhar Acharyulu. The session brought out the legal journey of the evolution of Right to Petition to Right to Information and also emphasized on proper maintenance of records and files. Many suggestions were made for amendment to the RTI Act 2005 to preserve trust amongst stakeholders, arguing also for reduction in scope of exemptions under Section 8 of the RTI Act 2005 and against misuse of the Act.
The final technical session on RTI in States was chaired by the Chief Information Commissioner Shri R. K. Mathur and Information Commissioner Shri M. A. Khan Yusufi of the Central Information Commission. Chief Information Commissioner of the Punjab State Information Commission, Shri Sarwan Singh Channy highlighted that the Commissioners in his organization are themselves trying to enhance RTI awareness in the State by holding RTI workshops/ seminars / meetings at various levels. Chief Information Commissioner, Assam, Shri Himangshu Sekhar Das the emphasized on the primary measures taken for improving in quality of disposal at SPIO and FAA level and explained, how the effective suo-motu disclosure of information by the Public Authorities will reduce the number of RTI Applications, and promote transparency and accountability among government agencies. ChiefInformation Commissioner from the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission, Shri K. Ramanujanbrought out various innovative methods of RTI as a grievance redressal mechanism.
The Annual Convention has contributed immensely in generating awareness about innovative use of RTI provisions for the benefit of the citizenry thereby strengthening public trust in democracy.
