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Mid-year CIC-seminar

Kashmir Times. Dated: 5/22/2017 10:36:44 AM

Dear Editor,
It refers to welcome move of Chief Central Information Commissioner in conducting mid-year seminar on RTI Act at SCOPE auditorium in New Delhi on 19.05.2017. Till now practice was to hold just one annual convention on RTI-anniversary sometime in the month of October.
Such frequent interaction with stake-holders with Information Commissioners of the centre and the states can provide valuable feedback to CIC and DoPT for further reformative measures in implementation of RTI Act. But there was an important issue in informal discussion where even several State Information Commissioners also wished proceedings to be conducted in Hindi.
It may be recalled that in last two annual CIC-conventions, all proceedings were conducted in Hindi, perhaps because the respective Chief Guests were to deliver key-note address in Hindi.
Only view-points should be allowed to be presented in such seminars and not the study-papers till CIC is satisfied with authenticity of such study-reports, where one such presented paper projected just one-percent misuse of RTI Act. Rather CIC should make its own study-reports on matters related to RTI Act including misuse, which not only results in huge wastage of public-resources but even harms genuine RTI petitioners.
—Subhash Chandra Agrawal,
1775 Kucha Lattushah
Dariba, Chandni Chowk Delhi.