‘Bureaucrats trying to sabotage RTI Act’

Abdul Hakeem urges public officials to embrace transparency and calls on the media to use the RTI Act for authentic reporting

Those assuming public offices should take an oath of transparency upholding the spirit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act rather than an oath of secrecy, which is the case now, State Information Commissioner A. Abdul Hakeem has said.

He was speaking at a seminar on RTI Act organised at the Ernakulam Press Club here on October 5 (Saturday) in connection with the forthcoming 60th State Committee meeting of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists.

Mr. Hakeem urged the media to make greater use of the RTI for generating news stories rather than adopting dubious means like sting operations using hidden cameras that was looked down upon by society.

“Information received through RTI is authentic, unlike information solicited through other means, which often presents the version of the party sharing that information. The media in Kerala has yet to utilise the scope of the RTI Act,” Mr. Hakeem said, drawing attention to how tabloids in London were now surviving on news generated based on information solicited through a similar Act.

He also urged press clubs to launch RTI clubs and stated that the State Information Commission (SIC) was open to training young and aspiring journalists on using RTI as a potential tool for generating news stories.

He said that bureaucrats who were supposed to implement the RTI Act were trying to sabotage it. While officials were fully aware of Section 8 of the Act, which deals with exempted information, they appeared to have little knowledge of the rest of the Act, Mr. Hakeem added. He also shared an incident in which an official rejected an RTI application on the grounds that it was not submitted on white paper, as required by the Act.

He said that just as the public has access to legislative business through Sabha TV, they should also be able to glimpse Cabinet business from time to time for the sake of transparency. However, he clarified that this was not to suggest that Cabinet business should fall under the ambit of the RTI Act.

Mr. Hakeem said that those using the Act as a means of harassment by filing back-to-back frivolous applications could be blacklisted if the department heads concerned were able to convince the SIC. He added that the SIC had held consultations with the ministers of Higher Education and General Education regarding the introduction of the RTI Act in the educational syllabus. Besides, Mr. Hakeem mentioned that RTI clubs would also be established on campuses.

Published - October 06, 2024 01:14 am IST