Times of
India: Jaipur: Friday, September 13, 2019.
While
the movement for Right To Information Act started from Rajasthan, another step
towards strengthening the flow of latest information to the public has been
initiated in the state with the launch of a Jan Soochna portal.
A
preview of the portal was held at the Bhamashah Techno Hub on Thursday,
attended by activists from various parts of the country.
The
state government, in collaboration with civil society organizations, has
developed the portal the first of its kind in the country through which the
state government ensures proactive disclosure of information and strengthening
of access to information to ordinary citizens according to geography (state,
district, block, panchayat).
The
speciality of this portal is that it is completely owned and run by the state
and is framed in consultation with various stakeholders including civil society
organizations. The government would set up information kiosks at panchayats and
e-mitra centres, from where the public can access information. Amid Central
government’s attempts to undermine the RTI Act, the Rajasthan government’s move
demonstrates the use of transparency to build accountability.
Former
central chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah said, “As per the RTI
Act, the government had to update their information within 120 days but it
seldom happened.” Similarly, the applications for information have kept on
piling up and pendency of applications made the information finally provided
redundant. The portal would address both the issues.
Social
activist Aruna Roy, who has been the torch bearer of the movement for RTI said,
the initiative would take the Right To Information movement to the masses. She
called for taking the initiative to schools and colleges so that the younger
generation can use information to bring more transparency and accountability in
the governance system.
Nikhil
Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan (MKSS) said section 4 (2) of the Right To
Information Act mandates the government to disclose all information on various
schemes on public domain, so that the public need not file RTI to get
information. But it has not happened so far. With the launch of this portal,
Rajasthan has become a pioneer in the dissemination of information to the
public. Sreedhar Acharyalu, former central information commissioner, lauding
the initiative said, “It will go a long way in fulfilling the Right To
Information.”
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