Chennai:
Beware of Lokpal! That is what the Chief Information Commissioner of Central Information Comission warned government servants while asking them to implement the Right to Information Act in letter and spirit.
Delivering the inaugural address of the two-day workshop on ‘Right to Information Act 2005’ which was organized by Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) Hyderabad and Neyveli Lignite Corporation here on Friday, CIC Satyananda Mishra said Lokpal is likely to spring back in centre stage during the budget session as people have lost faith in government institutions and government servants.
“People don’t believe government servants are doing the right thing or doing things objectively. There is an insistent demand for ombudsman who should be completely independent and if a complaint comes, should spring on you like a ton of bricks and bring you to book,’ he warned.
“So if you want to save yourselves as so much irregularities are going on in government, then RTI should be implemented in letter and spirit as it is the antidote for corruption,” he observed.
Urging government officials and public sector units to be transparent with the information, he said record keeping, cataloging and indexing and continuous proactive disclosure are essential while providing information.
He also pulled up public information officers for not providing the information sought by the applicant. “When the applicant is asking for information, you are not required to give your opinion. Provide him with the piece of information which he is seeking instead of interpreting it. Give him the photocopy of the record and not anything in writing,” he added.
He also rejected the theory that RTI has been misused. “I feel the instances of misuse of RTI Act is infinitely small and there are large number of cases with genuine reasons,” he said while defending the Act. “What information people want can’t be regulated at all,” he added.
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