DAWN: Peshawar: Thursday, January 04, 2018.
The local
government and rural development department has notified tehsil municipal
officers and secretaries of village/neighbourhood councils as public
information officers to enforce Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Right to Information Act,
2013.
According to
Chief Information Commissioner Azmat Hanif Aurakzai, the purpose of designated
PIOs at grassroots level is to alleviate the difficulties faced by the
citizens, who are desirous of obtaining information of public importance from
the public bodies, especially the village and neighbourhood councils, said a
press release.
He said that
over the past three and a half years, more than 10,500 citizens filed RTI
requests with public bodies in the province with exception of the seven
districts of Malakand division, which was part of Pata.
Out of these,
around 7,000 requests were answered by Public bodies whereas around 4,000
citizens filed complaints regarding non-receipt of information.
The RTI
Commission has successfully disposed of 3,405 cases in accordance with the law
whereas the remaining are in the process of adjudication.
The
Information Commission with the help of Directorate of IT has also introduced
an electronic right to information system (E-RTI) for Peshawar district where
citizens can file RTI requests through e-mail.
A
citizen-facilitation centre has been established with a toll free telephone
number 0800-57784. The centre has so far provided assistance to more than 1,500
citizens.
The press
release said that a handbook was being prepared for the guidance of newly
appointed PIOs to efficiently dispose of the requests of citizens.
It said that
a series of training sessions for PIOs would be organised at district level.
Similarly, a plan
has also been chalked out for creating awareness about the law, especially in
the remote districts and rural areas of the province.
After
issuance of the notification, the number of PIOs has been increased from 529 to
3,011 in the province.
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