Goemkarponn desk
PANAJI: Government officials need to understand that once there is a final decision on any subject, nothing remains confidential as it reaches the public domain, stated Lokayukta Retd. Justice Ambadas Joshi.
He spoke at a conference on ` Dissemination of Information under Section 4 of the Right to Information Act 2005` organised to commemorate RTI day jointly by Goa State Information Commission and Goa Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (GIPARD) at Old Goa today.
In his keynote address, Justice Joshi highlighted that Government officials need to be mentally prepared for providing information as there is a tendency of denial prevailing on the pretext of maintaining confidentiality. Officials are accountable for every Government decision. Hence, the continuous dissemination process of information is very much required to maintain transparency in every aspect, he added.
State Chief Information Commissioner Adv. Vishwas Satarkar, in his address, underlined the importance of the RTI Act towards building transparency in the governance. He said Government Departments are required to update their websites regularly so that information can be made available in electronic format and the public can access it.
State Information Commissioner Shri. Sanjay Dhavlikar informed that Goa State Information Commission is working towards speedy disposal of appeals and complaints pending with the Commission. The rate of disposal of the RTI cases has increased substantially in the last three months despite the outbreak of the COVID pandemic halted the process of hearings.
Secretary Information and Publicity Shri. Ravi Dhawan IAS stressed that Government Departments have to play a proactive role in disseminating information under section 4 of the RTI Act by making information available through digital mode.
The inaugural function was followed by a lecture delivered on Section 4 of the RTI Act by Deputy Secretary, Institute of Secretariat Training and Management Shri. Vadali Rambabu and panel discussion on Role of Government Department under RTI Act`