State Information Commissioner Ajaya Kumar Uprety has called upon the public information officers (PIOs) and first appellate authorities to effectively disclose information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, so that the objectives of this law of empowering the general public can be achieved. He was communicating with the PIOs and first appellate authorities of various departments of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) at the Central Office in BHU here on Friday. Uprety said that the objective of the RTI Act is to provide easy access to the information necessary for public interest and to maintain transparency in government work. He gave the 4C formula to the public information officers for effective implementation of the RTI Act. He said that by communicating with the information seeker, cooperating in presenting the information request in the correct form, maintaining contact with the applicant and making efforts towards understanding the RTI Act correctly, the PIOs and first appellate officers can effectively discharge their duty.
Regarding the practical challenges faced by the PIOs, he also suggested solutions in the light of the Act. He said that PIOs should understand all the provisions of the RTI Act properly and dispose of the applications related to information efficiently. He also mentioned several important decisions taken by the Supreme Court and various High Courts regarding the effective implementation of the Act. BHU Registrar Prof Arun Kumar Singh while throwing light on the origin of the RTI Act and said that the intention of this Act is to ensure the public continues to get information. He said that the RTI Act has today become an important medium of empowerment of the common citizen. In his presidential address, BHU Rector Prof VK Shukla said through this dialogue programme, PIOs have become aware of many practical aspects which they face regularly. He suggested that such communication programmes should be organised regularly for public information and first appellate officers, so that effective, transparent and efficient functioning of the system can be possible. Joint Registrar (Administration-Teaching) and Nodal Officer of RTI Act, BHU, Dr SP Mathur introduced the chief guest. The directors of various institutes, deans of faculties, heads of departments, and PIOs and first appellate officers of various departments and units of the university were present in the programme.