Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

`No' to amendment

The proposed amendment to the Right to Information Act is centred mainly round the exclusion of file notings. This, on the plea that it will affect the decision making process since officials will not record their views frankly. All decisions are expected to be made within a well-defined framework of rules, procedures and policies and as such should stand the test of time.

`Considered by competent authority and not approved,' `not eligible as per rules,' `not approved due to exigency of service' are examples of typical bureaucratic language. The RTI Act should be implemented without the amendment and for the purpose for which it was envisaged.

Ravindranath Kolathekat,
Hyderabad

The RTI is an invaluable instrument in the hands of the citizens and a triumph for democracy. The proposal to amend it to exclude file notings from its purview exposes the UPA Government's insecurity.

Sanchari Biswas,
Bhopal

Unhindered access to information is akin to giving a Sukhoi MKI 30 airplane to our farmer to transport his produce to the market. The idea is laudable but do we need it now? Activists and NGOs are far removed from the realities of governing a country like ours. The issue reminds me of public interest litigation petitions. The ill-effects of indiscriminate use of PILs have just begun to knock on our doors.

Anil S. Pathak,
Vellore, T.N.

Do the illiterate masses even know about the existence of such an Act? Can they afford to assert their right? No law will serve its purpose unless it is used by the poorest and the most backward.

R. Karpagam,
Coimbatore

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