OUR CORRESPONDENT
ITANAGAR: The Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of the Arunachal Pradesh Information Commission (APIC), Rinchin Dorjee, said Saturday that the Right to Information Act has brought many positive changes to the state since its inception in 2005. The Act is a ‘citizen-friendly’ mechanism devised by the government in the interest of the citizens, and government officials must strive to fulfil the aspirations of the citizens, Dorjee said while addressing a day-long awareness programme on the RTI Act at Ziro in Lower Subansiri district. He said that government officials are public servants whose duty is to serve the public, and their priority should be the people’s interests.
The CIC elaborated that the Act had been devised in the larger interest of the citizens and appealed to the participants to use the Act rationally and judiciously for the welfare of the state rather than for personal gains. Information Commissioner Sonam Yudron dwelt at length on Chapter 2, Sections 3 to 7, of the Act and explained briefly the RTI Act, its filing process, the role of the public information officer and assistant public information officer, suo moto disclosures of information, and categories of information exempted from furnishing to the appellant. Sonam also informed about the process and time period for approaching an officer higher than the PIO or the SIC in case of a refusal by the concerned PIO to furnish the information or a willful delay in furnishing the same. Explaining Chapter 2, Sections 8 to 10, of the Act, another information commissioner, Gumjum Haider, said the Act had been devised and envisioned to help the citizens and to root out corruption from the system. He also explained in detail the categories of information to be revealed and exempted from revealing, the grounds for rejection of certain information sought, the disclosure of information provided to the CPIO or PIO by a third party, and its time frame.
Genom Tekseng, another information commissioner, explained Chapter 5, Section 18, of the Act, dealing with the powers, functions, appeals, and penalties available to the SIC. In his introductory speech, APIC Registrar Taro Mize informed that similar awareness training programmes had been organized at Namsai and other places in the state. He added that many officers were not well acquainted with the rules and manuals of the RTI Act and urged them to update themselves. Underscoring the importance of the Act in facilitating accountability, transparency, and efficient administration, Lower Subansiri DC Bamin Nime urged striking a healthy balance between the PIOs and RTI activists. “So many RTI activists are mushrooming up in the state. Genuine information seekers need to be chaffed out from the fake and malafide information seekers, or else there would be chaos,” the DC said, while pleading with the Commission to come up with a mechanism to curb the souring menace.
More than 100 participants, including PIOs, APIOs, and officials from the districts of Lower Subansiri, Kamle, Kra-Daadi, Kurung Kumey, and a few RTI activists, participated in the programme.
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