Kashmir Reader: Srinagar: Thursday, December 21, 2017.
Chief
Information Commissioner, Khursheed Ahmed Ganie Wednesday stressed on providing
voluntary information to the public at regular intervals through various means
of communication under Sec 4 of RTI act.
He further
said that Section 4 of RTI act includes cataloguing, indexing and
computerisation of records, publishing certain basic information pertaining to
the functioning of the organization.
Ganie made
these remarks while addressing the concluding ceremony of a three-day training
course on “Best practices in the implementation of Right to Information Act”
for officers of various departments.
The workshop
was organized by Center for Social Justice of J&K Institute of Management,
Public Administration & Rural Development ( J&K IMPARD).
The
Departments which participated in the workshop include Department of
Information and Public Relations, Department of Forest Protection Force,
Hospitality and Protocol and Islamic University of Science and Technology.
Awantipura.
On the
occasion, the CIC that it is important that officials, as well as RTI
applicants, should have knowledge of the act so that smooth flow of information
takes place.
Ganie also
said that any official can be sanctioned for non-compliance if they have
shirked their duties under the law.
While saying
that first appellate authority is the ‘weakest link’, Ganie said that officers
of the rank of deputy secretary or heads of departments should be made first
appellate authority for better information disclosure.
He also said
that it is in the authority of the commission to ask the applicant about the
purpose of seeking information during the second or third appeal.
He
distributed participation certificates among the participant at the end of the
event. Course coordinator Dr Jahan Ara Jabeen highlighted the objectives of the
workshop for government officials.
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