State Information Commission asked all departments to apply RTI Act.

Punjab Newsline: Tuesday, March 27, 2012.

CHANDIGARH: Haryana State Information Commission has directed all the departments and organizations of the state to comply with the mandated requirements of section 4 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act 2005.

While stating this, an official spokesman of the Commission said that section 4 was the most important provision of the RTI Act which was required to be implemented within a period of 120 days of the enactment of the Act.

The implementation of section 4 of the Act would ensure transparency in the working of the public authorities by way of disclosure of as much information to the public as possible.

Giving details about the provisions of the section 4 of the RTI Act, he said that the first obligation of this section expects that all organizations had to make arrangements for maintaining the records duly catalogued and indexed. Record management in accordance with the Act was an important step to enable the State Public Information Officers to furnish information sought under the Act.

He said that section 4 (1) (b) relates to 17 manuals which had been clearly identified under this Act. Clause (b) of the sub-section mandates the public authorities to publish the information mentioned there in within 120 days from the date of the enactment of Act. Section 4 (1) (c) makes it mandatory to publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies and announcing decisions effecting the public.

He said that Section 4 of the Act requires wide dissemination of every information required to be disclosed suo-moto in such form and manner which was accessible to the public. Dissemination might be done through notice boards, newspapers, public announcements, media broadcast, the internet or any other means including inspection of offices of any public authority.

While disseminating information, the public authority would take into consideration the cost effectiveness, local language and the most effective method of the communication in the concerned local area, he added.