The
Hans India: Hyderabad: Tuesday, 05 May 2015.
To ensure
implementation of Section 4 (1) (a) of the Right To Information (RTI) Act,
2005, the RTI activists should make sure that the Public Records Act 1993 is
implemented by the Central government, said Professor Madabhushi Sridhar,
Central Information Commissioner (CIC). Delivering a special lecture on the
importance of Section 4 (1) (a) and 4 (1) (b) of the RTI Act, 2005, organised
by Telangana RTI Forum here on Monday, Sridhar stated that the RTI activist
must seek information on the implementation of Public Records Act.
He advised
RTI activists to seek details of administrative calendar for the year and how
much budget was allocated for the next year on the same lines as the Centre’s
Annual Budget and in the states. He said it was crucial document and every
administrative officer should maintain it.
Sridhar pointed out that the Central Information Commission has u/s 25
(5) to suggest to the governments to improve the laws and governance.
During his
speech, he quoted the Delhi High Court Act which stipulated Rs 50 as fee for
filing the first appeal. There was no provision of charging fee for the first
appeal as per the RTI Act. He said he had written to the Delhi High Court and
the court had amended the Act based on his suggestion. The CIC advised the RTI
activists to seek information related to society at large and also seek the
help and guidance of concerned experts in different fields before framing
questions under RTI.
Varre
Venkateshwarlu, State Information Commissioner, stated that even after 10 years
of implementation of the RTI Act, there was only 10 per cent awareness among
the people. There was need to spread the awareness in villages, mandals and at
district-levels by forming committees and ensure that the corruption is
exposed, he said.
Sadik Hussain,
RTI campaigner highlighted the poor state of affairs of RTI Act implementation
by PIOs, First Appellate Authorities in disposing RTI requests. He said many
officials do not know the difference between section 5 (4) and Section 6 (3)
and majority of people using section 6 (3) even for seeking information from
the same department or office.
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