Punjab News Express
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Information Commissioner, Dr. S.S. Channy, IAS (Retd.) today said that digitalization of records should take place at fast pace and intensive training should be provided to service providers.
Dr. S.S. Channy was delivering a special lecture on the topic of “The Right to Information Act: The Punjab Experience” at Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh.
The lecture was organized by Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) Panjab and Chandigarh (UT) Regional Branch in Collaboration with Department of Public Administration. The lecture was presided by Senior Advocate and former Director,National Judicial Academy, India Professor (Dr.) Balram Gupta.
Honorary Secretary IIPA Regional Branch and Professor Department of Public Administration, Prof. B.S. Ghuman while introducing the theme said that Right to Information (RTI) Act has completed ten years and it is right time to assess its performance. He opined that the effectiveness of RTI Act can improve considerably if all the public authorities make 17 types of information readily available as per Section 4 (1) b of the Act.
In order to overcome above hurdles in effective working of the Act Dr. Channy suggested that both government and NGOs should come together for promoting the basic spirit of the Act along with active involvement of all the stakeholders. He said that the mindset of the service providers should be changed for service provision.
In his address, Dr. S.S. Channy said that RTI Act is landmark legislation to ensure transparency, accountability and good governance. He shared the salient features of the Act such as delivering information within 30 days, nominal fee of Rs. 10/- with the application and penalty for erring officials. Dr. Channy stated that performance of RTI Act is hampered because public authorities are not regularly updating information on
websites; untrained officials are appointed as Public Information Officials by departments; poor intra-department coordination; casual attitude of First Appellate Authority (FAA); and absence of penalty for FAA.
The lecture was followed by discussion in which Prof. Alok Srivastava, Dr. Bharti Gupta, Sh. G.S. Pandher (IAS Retd.), Dr. Sanchita, Prof. B.S. Ghuman, Mohammad Sohail and Purnima participated.
Prof. Balram Gupta in his presidential address remarked that RTI has ushered in a new era of hope and its role is not merely confined to seeking information but rather it is a tool for guaranteeing transparency and accountability. The Act had played eminent role in providing sensitive and essential information regarding working of the government in public domain. He further stated that RTI in future will make Indian constitution more durable and strengthen democratic values.
Chairperson Department of Public Administration, Dr. Navreet Kaur proposed vote of thanks.