The Times of India: Patna: Saturday, March 03, 2012.
The State Information Commission (SIC) is expected to be entrusted with the task of taking care of the harassed RTI activists and information seekers even though no such provision is made in the RTI Act. This suggestion was made by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Friday while inaugurating a two-day international conference here being attended by the RTI functionaries across the country and abroad, apart from the representatives of the World Bank.
Nitish said that there could be a provision that the SIC accept complaints from the harassed information seekers who are traumatized by the officials and even implicated in false cases and register the cases and seek reports from the authorities concerned. The state has already established a helpline for the harassed activists where the cases are registered and looked after by the DGP and home secretary.
Also, such activists have freedom to approach the State Human Rights Commission. The CM emphasized that his government has no hesitation in disseminating information and for the transparency in the governance all the important decisions, legislation and declaration of properties by the CM, ministers and bureaucrats are made available in public domain. He said that the corporate sector should also be brought under the RTI because this sector is guided by company laws and public money is invested there.
Similarly, the publicprivate partnership projects should also be put in public domain, he added. "The RTI Act is a forceful means to strengthen democracy and giving more power to the public. The confidentiality in the government offices has been replaced by transparency. Now the Centre should bring Right to Service Act for more probity," the CM said.
Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said that the RTI has made common people stronger who have right to know about the utilization of the public money. He, however, said that sometimes it is misused. Referring to some recent reports, he said that some information seekers had sought information regarding the illness and income tax returns of some prominent politicians, including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, which, he said, were very personal matters. Central chief information commissioner (CIC) Satyananda Mishra said that the Act has made difference to the life of millions of people.
India has a colonial past and inherited a colonial government, but the Act has made the governance transparent. National Minorities Commission chairman Wajahat Habibullah, who was the first Central chief information commissioner, said that the Act has helped curb corruption and making democracy more accountable. Praising the progress made in Bihar regarding the RTI, he said that this model should be replicated by other states as well as other countries.
Retired chief justice of Delhi High Court A P Shah suggested that the provision of seeking only one information in one application should be dropped and the SIC be also given power to implement the punishment it imposes on the erring public information officers. Bihar Lokayukta C M Prasad said that judges should also be brought in the ambit of RTI Act.
CIC A K Choudhary welcomed the guests and information commissioner Farzand Ahmed proposed vote of thanks. Information commissioners of Canada Suzanne Legault, Julie Kinross of Queensland in Australia, Kevin Dunion of Scotland, Jacqueline Peschard of Mexico, Mohamed Latheef of Maldives, Shaheen Anam and Shamsul Bari of Bangladesh, Vinay Kumar Kasajoo of Nepal, Sangey Khandu of Bhutan, besides the CIC of different states are participating in the conference.
Nitish said that there could be a provision that the SIC accept complaints from the harassed information seekers who are traumatized by the officials and even implicated in false cases and register the cases and seek reports from the authorities concerned. The state has already established a helpline for the harassed activists where the cases are registered and looked after by the DGP and home secretary.
Also, such activists have freedom to approach the State Human Rights Commission. The CM emphasized that his government has no hesitation in disseminating information and for the transparency in the governance all the important decisions, legislation and declaration of properties by the CM, ministers and bureaucrats are made available in public domain. He said that the corporate sector should also be brought under the RTI because this sector is guided by company laws and public money is invested there.
Similarly, the publicprivate partnership projects should also be put in public domain, he added. "The RTI Act is a forceful means to strengthen democracy and giving more power to the public. The confidentiality in the government offices has been replaced by transparency. Now the Centre should bring Right to Service Act for more probity," the CM said.
Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said that the RTI has made common people stronger who have right to know about the utilization of the public money. He, however, said that sometimes it is misused. Referring to some recent reports, he said that some information seekers had sought information regarding the illness and income tax returns of some prominent politicians, including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, which, he said, were very personal matters. Central chief information commissioner (CIC) Satyananda Mishra said that the Act has made difference to the life of millions of people.
India has a colonial past and inherited a colonial government, but the Act has made the governance transparent. National Minorities Commission chairman Wajahat Habibullah, who was the first Central chief information commissioner, said that the Act has helped curb corruption and making democracy more accountable. Praising the progress made in Bihar regarding the RTI, he said that this model should be replicated by other states as well as other countries.
Retired chief justice of Delhi High Court A P Shah suggested that the provision of seeking only one information in one application should be dropped and the SIC be also given power to implement the punishment it imposes on the erring public information officers. Bihar Lokayukta C M Prasad said that judges should also be brought in the ambit of RTI Act.
CIC A K Choudhary welcomed the guests and information commissioner Farzand Ahmed proposed vote of thanks. Information commissioners of Canada Suzanne Legault, Julie Kinross of Queensland in Australia, Kevin Dunion of Scotland, Jacqueline Peschard of Mexico, Mohamed Latheef of Maldives, Shaheen Anam and Shamsul Bari of Bangladesh, Vinay Kumar Kasajoo of Nepal, Sangey Khandu of Bhutan, besides the CIC of different states are participating in the conference.
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