Hindu Business Line: Panaji: Wednesday,
June 29, 2016.
The Central
Information Commission (CIC) has ruled out making public authorities based
outside Delhi compulsorily avail of video-conferencing in hearings of the
Commission to avoid heavy expenses on tours.
A letter from
the Commission dated June 22 addressed to Delhi-based Right to Information
(RTI) activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal in response to the latter's letter on
this issue, said the CIC was functioning in accordance with the RTI Act, 2005,
and RTI Rules, 2012.
“In so far as
issues pertaining to Public Authorities are concerned, you may take up the
matter with those Public Authorities,” said the letter.
Agrawal, in his
letter to the CIC, had made a plea for making it compulsory for all
Commissioners to allow facility of video-conferencing for petitioners/
public-authorities based outside Delhi.
"It is a
criminal waste of money of public authorities/ petitioners based outside Delhi
for compelling them to come to New Delhi to attend to CIC hearings when certain
Commissioner/s at CIC do not allow video-conferencing," Agrawal had said
and pleaded that the CIC should ensure that all the Commissioners allow and
encourage video-conferencing.
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