Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

‘Keep up the tempo till Lokpal bill becomes a reality'

— PHOTO: CH. VIJAYA BHASKAR

It's our right:Krishna district Collector S.A.M. Rizvi having a word with Sandeep Pandey (right) as Chief Information Commissioner Jannath Hussain (centre) looks on at the State-level conference on RTI Act in Vijayawada on Sunday.

VIJAYAWADA: The Samachara Hakku Prachara Ikya Vedika has adopted a resolution urging the government to appoint 10 information commissioners for effective implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Vedika organised its State-level meet on RTI Act here on Sunday.

On the occasion, Raman Magsasay award winner Sandeep Pandey expressed the view that the number of people seeking information under the RTI Act had dwindled in the recent past. It was primarily due to the indifferent attitude of the Public Information Officers (PIOs) and the apathy of the government. Inordinate delay in providing information was discouraging the people from making use of the Act. Notwithstanding all this, the RTI Act and movement was basis for the anti-corruption movement that was going on in the country now, he opined. The people should continue to keep up the movement until the Lok Pal Bill was a reality, he said.

Chief Information Commissioner Jannath Hussain said that there were some practical problems in the implementation of the Act. The people wanted the government to fix a specific time for the second appeal as well. Now, in some cases, it would take more than a year to dispose of the second appeals, he pointed out.

Vedika founder-member Jampa Krishna Kishore, general secretary K. Prasadasiva Rao, and founder Putta Surender Babu were present on the occasion. They said that the State government was appointing only three commissioners. The government should appoint commissioners for every two to three districts as people would have to go all the way to Hyderabad to file appeals, they said.

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