Republic
World: Mumbai: Tuesday, December 04, 2018.
Residents
of Maharashtra can now inspect government records in district-level offices and
local bodies under the Right to Information (RTI) Act for two hours every
Monday. A government resolution (GR) to this effect was issued by the General
Administration Department (GAD) last week.
The
move is aimed at increasing transparency and to cut down the number of RTI
applications and appeals in the government offices. The GR would not be
applicable to Mantralaya, the state secretariat.
"This
provision to allow inspection of records will not only ensure transparency, but
it will also reduce the number of first and second appeals filed under the
Right to Information (RTI) Act," stated the GR dated November 26.
It
referred to a similar initiative launched earlier by the Pune Municipal
Corporation (PMC).
"Residents
can inspect government records in district level offices and local bodies such
as municipal corporations and councils between 3 pm to 5 pm every Monday. In case
of a public holiday on Monday, the inspection will be allowed on the next
working day," it stated.
When
contacted, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told PTI that the move was aimed at
ensuring transparency and reducing applications under the RTI Act. RTI
activists have welcomed this initiative of the government.
"Citizens
must use this facility extensively and consistently to ensure its
implementation," former chief information commissioner (CIC) Shailesh
Gandhi said Monday. Mumbai-based activist Anil Galgali said they were awaiting
such a move.
"Success
of this much-awaited initiative depends on its smooth implementation by the
state," he said. Another activist Manoranjan Roy said the order should
have applied to all departments of the government.
"Leaving
out higher offices like the state secretariat would hardly serve its
purpose," he argued.
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