Govt to train nodal officers on do's and don'ts of RTI Act

 New Delhi, June 20, 2012 : In a move aimed at strengthening the Right to Information Act, the central government has decided to train nodal officers dealing with RTI applications both at the Centre and in states on various do's and don'ts of the transparency law.
     Officials said the Department of Personnel and Training
(DoPT) has planned a detailed training programme for Central
Public Information Officers (CPIOs) and State Public
Information Officers (SPIOs), who act as nodal officers to
deal with RTI applications.
     The officials will be made aware of periodic changes made
in the RTI Act and e-handling of applications.
     "There have been many queries from CPIOs and SPIOs while
resolving RTI applications. The department has taken an
initiative to train the officials dealing with RTI
applications at the Centre and in states through a centrally
sponsored scheme," a DoPT officer said.
     He said the officers will also be trained on ways to
provide the information sought in an RTI query.
     "There have been instances where information seekers
ask for opinion rather than information. The CPIOs and SPIOs
face lot of problems in responding to such applications as the
fear of facing penalty or admonishment from the Central
Information Commission or State Information Commission is
always on their minds. All such issues are also taken up
during training programmes," the official said.
     The DoPT had in 2010 introduced a plan scheme 'Improving
transparency and accountability in government through
effective implementation of Right to Information Act' in order
to continue to support the State Information Commission and
Administrative Training Institutes in the area of awareness
generation and capacity building.
     The officer said the government has issued instructions
requiring all public authorities to update records, improve
infrastructure and bring out necessary manuals as provided in
the Act and comply with the provisions regarding suo-motu
disclosure.
     The RTI Act, which was enacted in 2005, covers disclosure
of information on almost all matters of governance.
     The government has also decided to give a grant of Rs 2.5
lakh each to a State Information Commission for organising RTI
week between October 5-11 every year, another Rs 2.5 lakh each
to training institutes for innovative awareness generation
programmes and Rs 50 lakh each for organising workshops and
seminars.
     "Every year there is a surge in filing of RTI
applications with every public authority. Hence, there is a
need to train officials dealing with it to timely respond to
queries raised by an information seeker. The training will be
aimed at enhancing competence and computerisation of whole
information delivery system," he said.
     According to the DoPT, the CPIOs and SPIOs will also be
trained in computer literacy.
     "The DoPT will seek details of utilisation of funds by
SICs annually and only after receiving it further grants will
be issued," the official said.