Editorial
LGRD step on access to information
Government must move expeditiously on RTI
THE Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) ministry has taken an appreciable step towards providing citizens access to information in various local bodies operating under it. Such a move is in consonance with democratic principles and practices everywhere and we believe the LGRD has only done what we in a democratic dispensation should have had much earlier. The draft provisions in question relate to the city corporations and municipalities, providing for citizens to ask for and be given information on issues of public interest. We would like to think that it is the first, positive step in what will be an expanding field of rights citizens will eventually come to enjoy. What matters now, in these early stages, is for the government to ensure that the measure is implemented in full without any bureaucratic or political impediments coming in the way.
The measure of course comes, as such moves usually do, with a good number of provisos or caveats. For instance, it is perfectly understandable why citizens will not be provided with information of a classified nature or information contained in notified records or documents. Having said that, it is our considered view that the authorities should, while putting the new measure into practice, take a liberal rather than a literal view of things. This is because it is the principle of information which is at work here. Too much of caution or wariness contains the risk of rendering an otherwise good plan meaningless. For the LGRD, therefore, the options are clear and especially so because other government ministries and departments can emulate the steps it will take. The very basis of democratic governance is accountability; and accountability is ensured only when the citizen feels that the state is ready to respond to his queries and his concerns.
In this context, it is only logical for people to ask the necessary questions about the much talked about Right to Information Act. The draft of the proposed act is ready and by now much discussion has focused on it. Therefore, in what stage the draft RTI is a question we place before the government. We note that a broad national consensus has already developed over the RTI and what now must be done is to have it expeditiously approved by the caretaker government to be enacted as law. We expect the government to play a proactive role in this regard.
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