Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 27: G. R. Sufi, Chief Information Commissioner in a special lecture organised by Kashmir University’s Academic Staff College, apprised academicians from various colleges and Universities from within and outside the state about the role of RTI in a society.
Sofi was talking at the valedictory function of the month long Refresher Course in Basic and Applied Sciences- organised by Academic Staff College, which concluded today.
Encouraging the participants to make use of this what he termed revolutionary act Sufi said, “usage of RTI is gaining ground in Kashmir but its usage should not only be confined to a particular section of the society but it should be the right of every individual of the society”.
Talking about the role of RTI in making citizen the most powerful entity in a democratic setup, Sufi said, “RTI has made the public authority accountable and transparent before the citizens. It has empowered the citizens. A citizen has not to wait for five years to judge the elected person and he can verify the works of the elected persons on day to day basis by making use of the act ,” he said.
Giving the academicians an overview of the act, Nazir Ahmad, State Information Commissioner said RTI is an endeavour to promote transparency and contain corruption. “JK RTI act was enacted in 2009 to make public authority subservient to people, who have the right to seek information that is held by the public authority and it’s the duty of the Public Information Officer (PIO) to disseminate the required information within a specific period of time,” he said. “If someone is denied information, he/she can directly appeal to the State Information Commission”.
Speaking on the occasion, Director Academic Staff College Kashmir University Dr Farooq Fayaz also informed the teachers about the judicious use of RTI.
Prof Aquil Ahmad, the Course Coordinator gave an overview of the refresher course.
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