Rural masses most vulnerable to graft, spread awareness of RTI Act in rural areas: Parliamentary panel
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The panel expressed concern over a big quantity of vacancies in the posts of Information Commissioners in State Information Commissions and requested the CIC to furnish a standing observe in three months.
Asserting that rural masses or the individuals most vulnerable to corrupt practices are those who know the least about their rights underneath the Right to Information (RTI) Act, a Parliamentary Committee has requested the transparency watchdog Central Information Commission (CIC) to spread awareness in regards to the regulation in rural areas.
The panel expressed concern over a big quantity of vacancies in the posts of Information Commissioners in State Information Commissions and requested the CIC to furnish a standing observe in three months.
“Transparency is the corner stone of good governance. Right to Information Act (RTI) has played an instrumental role in bringing about transparency,” the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice stated in its 106th report on Demands for Grants (2021-22) of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
The Committee is of the view that rural masses – the individuals most vulnerable to corrupt practices – are those who know the least about their rights underneath RTI Act, it stated.
“The Committee recommends CIC to spread awareness about the Act in rural areas through All India Radio, folk plays and other means and perhaps involve civil society and NGOs to achieve the said objective,” stated the report.
“The Committee recommended CIC to simplify the mode of payment of RTI fees further,” it stated.
“The Committee recommends CIC to evaluate the effectiveness of RTI Act and to assess the challenges being faced by competent authorities in its implementation. The Committee recommends CIC to examine if the provisions of the RTI Act are being misused to collect information for research purposes or to settle personal scores,” the report stated.
The Committee is anxious to observe that there are a big quantity of vacancies in the posts of Information Commissioners in State Information Commissions, it stated.
“The Committee desires CIC to furnish a status note detailing the strength of all State Information commissions in a three months time,” stated the report tabled in Parliament on March 16.
“There have been constant efforts on part of the government to further streamline and strengthen the existing mechanisms for successful and effective implementation of the RTI Act,” it stated.
A complete of 38,601 second appeals and complaints have been pending with the CIC as on January 28, 2021. Of these, 61 have been pending for greater than 5 years, 18,423 for 1-5 years and 20,117 for 0-1 12 months, it added.
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