PANJIM: Calling the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 a revolutionary legislation, Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai said that the RTI Act has become somewhat like a fundamental right.
He said the spirit of legislation or policy depends on the success amongst the people and that educating masses about important legislations should be looked into by the public authority.
The Governor was speaking at the inaugural function of the one-day conference on ‘Role of Public Authorities under the RTI Act, 2005’ organised for Heads of Departments in commemoration of Right to Information Day at The International Centre, Dona Paula, on Wednesday. The conference was organised by Goa State Information Commission (GSIC) and the Goa Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (GIPARD).
Urging the gathering to repose faith in ordinary people, he stressed on how people in a democracy are supreme. He said that the Public Information Officers (PIOs) are guardians of the RTI Act and asked them to look into the aspirations of the people.
“Go through verdicts of Supreme Court and High Courts,” advised the Governor saying that such verdicts often are binding as the law of the land.
The Governor expressed his opinion that every public worker should come under the purview of the Act and said that the Raj Bhavan in Goa will be people-friendly. He cautioned the gathering on how sometimes people could file queries with vindictive motives. He however, said that one should rise to the occasion and do justice to the people.
State Chief Information Commissioner Vishwas Satarkar spoke of the hurdles they face and of their success rate in disposing backlog cases. He said that transparency and accountability was the basic feature of a democracy and that the aim of the RTI Act was to promote these features in the working of public authorities.
