The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Right to Information Act should cover NGOs: Congress leader

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 14, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Right to Information Act should cover NGOs: Congress leader

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: Peter Alphonse, member of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, called the Right to Information Act an achievement of the United Progressive Alliance government capable of charting out a new chapter of governance.

He was addressing a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Organisations for Service and Advocacy (CIOSA) and Tamil Maiyyam on Saturday to discuss the promise and potential of the Right to Information Act for transparent governance and an equitable administration of resources.

He pointed out that the Act had provisions which make it mandatory for authorities to reveal to individuals all the information available to Parliament and State Assemblies.

He said the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should also be covered by the Act to ensure their accountability.

He also expressed the need to enforce the Act by mass action programmes.

The law against untouchability had done little to reduce social inequalities, he said and warned that continuing to ignore such inequalities would pave the way for violence.

Sudha Ramalingam of the People's Union of Civil Liberties reminded the gathering comprising members of non-governmental organisations, students and concerned citizens that chairpersons to the State Women's Commission and Human Rights Commission were yet to be appointed.

The fact that the Information Commissioner was yet to be named, though the formation of the Commissionerate had been gazetted, was a point of concern for all speakers.

Joseph Thomas of Midas Communication gave examples of effective use of networking technology to empower people.

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