Bihar govt gets e-governance award for its noble initiative of setting up call centre on Right to Information ‘Jankari’
Bihar govt’s initiative for giving free access to citizens, the information through call centre ‘ jankari’ has started bearing fruits as it has been selected for being awarded as ‘National award’ in e-governance for the year 2008-09 by Union govt (DoPT). This award would be conferred on it in a function scheduled to be held in Goa on 12-13 February, 2009.
Giving this information in Patna, IT secretary, C.K.Misra said that the establishment of ‘Jankari’, the call centre for giving information to the information seeker under the provisions of RTI Act,2005 has been widely appreciated across the Nation. Giving details, he said that any Indian National can receive information just by dialling a toll free number in the call centre and after a brief formality, the information seeker would get the information just by paying Rs/-10 as the cost. In 2008, about 16,000 calls were received by this call centre Misra added.
But so far as computerisation of other departments is concerned, it is not moving at desired pace. The target of making Finance department a paperless one by the end of 31 March, 2008 could not be achieved. The introduction of Sec-LAN in the state’ secretariat is yet to come in practise and babus still rely on tiring hard copy file work.
It is pertinent to mention here that Sonia Gandhi, the chairperson of UPA had praised this move and had advised all the CMs of cong ruled states to take similar steps so that the ideals and ethos enshrined in the noble RTI Act,2005 are achieved.
TASKS AHEAD- The commission has miles to go before it could achieve the noble and lofty ideals enshrined in this people centric Act. The State Information Commission has to be debureaucratised, because it has become a post retirement placement bureau. The funcioning of this commission has to be made more people friendly, because if visits this commission, he gets a vestige of Courts room discipline, total undesirable and uncongenial.
INFORMATION COMMISSION VS COURTS- One can draw a comparison between America and India. On the one hand Obama voluntarily signed an executive order making it mandatory for the US administration to make accessible all the documents pertaining policy decisons and any other decison to the public domain. Whereas in India, the Supreme court itself makes an appeal before its subordinate Delhi High court against the order of the CIC, what a paradox. It is easy preach than done. CJI says that the provisions of the RTI are not applicable to the Judges because they, what he said, are constitutional authority. The people sitting at the higher echelon should set examples in the public life. They should have the audacity to abide voluntarily to the provisions of the law of land.
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