Implement RTI Act properly, officials told.

Tribune India: Jalandar: Monday, October 04, 2021.

State RTI Commissioner Khushwant Singh has directed the officers of various departments to ensure proper implementation of the Right to Information Act at their respective offices in the district, so that applicants do not face any kind of hardship in getting the required information.

Chairing a district-level meeting with the heads of departments, the Commissioner said suo moto declaration of information was the need of the hour, thus every department should declare certain information on their websites, including the names and address of Public Information Officers and their appellant authorities. He also reviewed the working of various departments to resolve the applications and appeals filed under the RTI Act, to further smooth the functioning of the departments with respect to the disposal of RTI applications.

The Commissioner further stressed that all applications under the Act should be replied within the prescribed time limit of 30 days and if there was any delay in providing the information on genuine reasons, that should be duly conveyed to the applicant.

He said keeping in view the present times, most of the information should be made available on departmental websites, which would ultimately reduce the burden on departments as applicants would seek relevant information from the website itself.