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

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.

Source : Business Standard , June 20, 2012