SIC finds 80% PIOs,FAAs don’t know RTI Act basics

Seven years have gone by since the Right to Information Act (RTI),2005,was passed but the level of awareness about the Act in the state government remains dismal.

Seven years have gone by since the Right to Information Act (RTI),2005,was passed but the level of awareness about the Act in the state government remains dismal. The annual report of the State Information Commission (SIC),which was submitted a few weeks back to the state assembly,states that nearly 80 per cent of public information officers (PIO) and First Appellate Authority (FAA) do not know the basics of the Act.

The observation had also appeared in the last four annual reports submitted by the SIC. The report goes on to state that in the absence of proper knowledge of the Act,officers fail to implement it accurately. This also puts a grave question on the training that is imparted to officers,as well as the quality of information that is supplied to the information seekers.

In the state,the RTI cell of Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHDA) is the primary centre where officers are trained. YASHDA also conducts training at district levels through its affiliated organisations. On an average,the RTI cell trains 10,000 PIOs,and till date has trained around 70,000 PIOs and FAAs. Apart from conducting day-long workshops for PIOs and FAAs,YASHDA also organises four-day training programmes at the district level to help PIOs and FAAs understand the Act.

While speaking on the observation,RTI cell in-charge Prahlad Kachare said the issue of compliance of RTI was a matter of attitudinal change,which could not be addressed in a single day. When the officers are trained,they have a different mindset,but when they step out of the institute there is a change in their attitude, he said,adding that a single days orientation programme was too short a time to address the various issues related to the Act.

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