Expert pushes for change

Calcutta Telegraph; Monday , December 20 , 2010,

Guwahati, Dec. 19: Former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah has said the time has come for a change and restructuring of the bureaucracy and democracy as a whole.

“Bureaucracy is by nature risk-averse, thus change-resistant. It instinctively withdraws from being responsive to new ideas,” said Habibullah, delivering the seventh Amitabh Chowdhury annual commemorative lecture at Rabindra Bhawan here today. The topic of the lecture this year was Indian Democracy: Its shortcomings and Triumphs.

Chowdhury was doctor with the railways.

“The Right to Information Act, 2005, recognises that democracy requires an informed citizen and transparency of information, which are vital to its functioning and containing corruption,” said Habibullah, stressing that access to information is being increasingly regarded as a signature of democracy.

He also said the essence of the commemorative lecture was not just to commemorate the achievements of Chowdhury, but a medium to reflect on the achievements of our country which produced men like him and the challenges that our people face.

“I chose the subject not just because it was of professional interest to Chowdhury, but because it symbolises the very identity of our people as a nation. The creative expression of which has also been described by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen in the Argumentative Indian. The key concepts are, therefore, transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority, the right of any citizen of India to request and access information and the corresponding duty of the government to meet the request, except the information exempted under Section 8 and departments excluded from coverage under Section 24, listed in the Second Schedule of the act,” he said.

“It is the duty of the government to pro-actively make available key information to all. But this act is not the responsibility of the government alone. It brings heavy responsibility to bear upon all sections of civil society, notably the citizenry, NGOs and the media,” he added.