Chandigarh Tribune: Ludhiana: Monday,
October 10, 2016.
The Right to
Information (RTI) Act came into force in the state in October 2005. Even after
over 11 years, getting information from government departments is still not
easy for applicants. Departments do not even bother to update their websites
that provide key information to applicants.
Ludhiana is
soon going to get the Smart City tag, as claimed by the state government and
the MC authorities, but the affairs in the civic body are still not being run
“smartly”.
The official
website of the Municipal Corporation www.mcludhiana.gov.in provides outdated
information on the RTI Act. It seems that a particular section has not been
updated for the past over 7-8 months as contains wrong information.
In the RTI
column on the website, the first appellant authority is stated to be Ghanshyam
Thori, Additional Commissioner. However, the official is now the MC
Commissioner. The website shows the name of the Public Information Officer
(Headquarters) as KP Singh (Superintendent), who is now retired. The site
mentions Rajiv Saggar as the Additional Public Information Officer
(Headquarters). Ironically, the official has been transferrred out of the city
over three months ago.
An RTI
Activist, Rohot Sabharwal, said most applicants seek information online but the
particular website had not been updated for long. “How can we expect to get
information when we do not even know who all are there to provide it and to
whom we need to approach,” he asked.
Sukhminder
Singh, a bank employee, said nobody had time to make rounds of offices to get
vital information. “We live in a global village, courtesy information
technology; and getting information online is the easiest way. The authorities
should update the website, provide clear and latest information,” he said.
Official
speak
Civic body
website to be revamped
"The civic body authorities are in touch
with agencies for getting the website updated and link it with latest mobile
applications. In the next two months, the new website will be launched under
the Smart City project. After that, one can have access to all information
related to the corporation." — Ghanshyam Thori, MC commissioner
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