Hindustan Times: New Delhi: Tuesday,
June 28, 2016.
This small
step could go a long way to raise the transparency bar.
The Modi
government has told all central departments to go public with a report card of
its activities and achievements on a monthly basis.
This report
is expected to be similar to the one prepared by departments and ministries for
the Cabinet Secretariat every month except that it would only contain
unclassified information.
An order by
the Cabinet Secretariat last week said this would ensure greater transparency
and availability of information in public domain about the activities of
respective ministries.
“...it has been decided that henceforth, all
ministries/departments may upload, on a monthly basis, the major achievements,
significant developments and important events for the month... on their
official websites,” the order said.
The circular
comes a month after the transparency watchdog, Central Information Commission
told the government to consider RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak’s suggestion to
upload the “unclassified” portion of the monthly report. Chief Information
Commissioner Radha Krishna Mathur too had put his weight behind the suggestion,
arguing it would “promote public interest”.
“It will help
people know what each department is doing on a real-time basis and would be in
compliance with RTI Act which says, that the government shall give accurate
information about its performance from time to time,” Nayak said, welcoming the
decision.
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