New Delhi, October 12: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today called for codification of best practices adopted under RTI Act by states and asked people to use the act more responsibly so that it could help in making public service delivery system more effective, corruption-free and transparent thereby empowering the masses.
Inaugurating the Annual Convention of the Central Information Commission here, the President said th Right To Information Act has created a virtual “Parliament of the People”, where every citizen could easily seek information from public authorities and expect a response in 30 days, thereby enabling them to take enlightened judgements.
However, she cautioned against use of frivolous applications under RTI.
President Patil said RTI should be used responsibly by both public authorities and civil society to ensure that applications reaching authorities were those genuinely needing immediate attention.
She said RTI applications concerning in public benefits like timely implementation of schemes, bringing relief and welfare to people, help citizens getting their rights, must be given top priority.
Efforts must also be made to ensure that the RTI option was known and exercised in the rural areas and by the disadvantaged sections of the society.
”It is here that the role of the Central Information Commission, as a regulator, balancer and educator, is critical,” she said.
Stating that people expect good governance and corruption free system, she said institutions are increasingly coming under greater scrutiny and increased emphasis is being placed on transparency and accountability.
”However, there are many occasions where the bureaucracy evokes an image of red-tapism and certain opaqueness. It is my hope that as the Right to Information gets further embedded into our civil society, there will be even more urgency felt to take action to negate this perception, which at times may be wrong.
Good governance and corruption free systems are what people are rightfully expecting, and they can use the Act to get it in full measure,” the President stated.
–Agencies