RTI a revolutionary act, needs some changes : CIC

Excelsior Correspondent

Chief Information Commissioner, GR Sofi delivering lecture during a workshop at IMPA Srinagar on Monday.
Chief Information Commissioner, GR Sofi delivering lecture during a workshop at IMPA Srinagar on Monday.

SRINAGAR, July 27: A one day workshop titled “Participatory democracy and Good Governance , the Role of Youth ” was organized  at Institute of Management Public Administration and Rural Development (IMPA)  Srinagar.
In his inaugural address  State Chief Information Commission (CIC) G R Sufi gave a historical perspective of participatory democracy and good governance. He said that in the present time Right to Information Act (RTI) is the best tool for ensuring good governance . He said RTI is a revolutionary law which has helped many people in J&K to get justice from administration.
CIC said that J&K RTI Act needs some changes which include a provision of appointing the Information Commissioner’s without any delay as soon as the term of Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) or Information Commissioner (IC) ends.
Deputy Commissioner Bandipora Dr Shah Feasal spoke on use and misuse of social media . He urged upon people especially youth to make better and positive use of social media.
PDP youth leader and Political Analyst to Chief Minister Waheed ur Rehman Parra said that youth have been the biggest casualty in  J&K right from 1947 onwards. He said Government is trying to ensure good governance by making people especially youth part of it . He said the initiatives for youth empowerment  which should have been taken by Govt in past were taken by police and Army.
Arjimand Hussain Talib columnist and international development expert responded to queries from the audience vis a vis youth and development. He laid emphasis on building a strong civil society movement in J&K.
The workshop was organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung India (FES India), a German foundation based in India in association with Jammu Kashmir RTI Movement  and Fallah Foundation.
Damyanti Sridharan, Senior Adviser FES India , Mandivi Projector Manager FES India , Dr Syed Abid Shah , Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat, RTI Activist also spoke on the occasion. Dr Mushtaq Khan  and  Umar Javid coordinated the workshop.