RTI activist appointed consultant in admin reforms dept

Sources in the L-G’s office said the appointment had been made to train officials in the RTI Act, which in turn would help in bringing transparency in government functioning.

Speaking to Newsline, Aggarwal said, “I will be primarily working on improving the handling of RTI queries, which includes understanding of the queries and giving more professional responses. I have filed numerous RTIs and I am aware of the shortcomings of the system, which will help me to guide officials. I will try to include the Delhi government and its arms amongst the best-rated public authorities to respond to RTI petitions.”

Agrawal, who holds the Guinness World Records for maximum number of published letters to editors, said he had been asked to provide guidance and training to officials on provisions of the RTI Act, 2005 to all PIOs/First Appellate Authorities under the Delhi government during his one-year tenure.

“I will also contact former and existing Central Information Commissioners dealing with petitions filed at CIC in respect of public authorities concerning the Delhi government for their valuable feedback,” he said.

Aggarwal, who took over his new post on April 5, said he would be working from Karkardooma, where he will join on Tuesday. He said he would start with meeting officials to understand their difficulties in handling RTI petitions at Delhi government and sub-ordinate offices.

“My appointment endorses deep commitment of the L-G for service to people of Delhi by inducing maximum possible transparency in governance,” he said.