Three former DCs chair meetings on RTI at Dhubri

From A Correspondent

DHUBRI, Sept 22: Two meetings held subsequently on the Right to Information (RTI) at Dhubri DC Conference hall on Thursday with three deputy commissioners in the chairs, who officiated at different point of time in Dhubri district, was the rarest moment for the people, officials and media persons to have a glimpse of it here.

 Two retired former deputy commissioner, Himangshu Sekhar Das (1994-95), Jatindra Lahakar (2008-10) and present officiating Dhubri deputy commissioner, Dhiraj Choudhury since 2016, were the three district heads who conducted meetings on the effective and better implementation of Right to Information Act, 2005. Jatindra Lahakar is now serving in the State Information Commission as State Information Commissioner since his retirement.

 Speaking in the meeting, Chief Information Commissioner, Himangshu Sekhar Das informed that due to no official in the chair of the chief information commissioner from 2011 to 2014, number of pending cases had increased to 8000. “But soon after I took over the charge of the office in December 2014, cases were disposed of fast with the appointment of two commissioners and as of today, there are only 350 cases pending now”, Das informed. In the second meeting while interacting with RTI activists and media persons, Das said that there were very few RTI filed to private and corporate sector companies who are bound to discharge Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). So more and more RTI seeking information about their share under CSR should be filed by the RTI activists and non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and ask for information on rendering services in  different social sectors like education, differently abled persons, women empowerment, institutiol care and Health.