ENSURE PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF RTI ACT IN GOVERNMENT OFFICES- RTI COMMISSIONER ASKS OFFICIALS

OVERSEES STEPS BEING TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS TO RESOLVE APPLICATIONS AND APPEALS FILED UNDER THE ACT

JALANDHAR, (NIN NEWS): State RTI Commissioner Kushwant Singh today directed the officers of various departments to ensure proper implementation of Right to Information Act in 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 that 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 so as to further smooth the functioning of the departments with respect to 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 added that 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.  
 
Meanwhile, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Jaspreet Singh welcomed the commissioner RTI by offering him a bouquet of flowers at the district administrative complex. He also convened the meeting while asking government officials to raise their concerns before the commissioner so that an appropriate solution could be given by the commissioner.