Peter Alphonse, member of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, called the Right to Information Act an achievement of the United Progressive Alliance government capable of charting out a new chapter of governance.
He was addressing a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Organisations for Service and Advocacy (CIOSA) and Tamil Maiyyam on Saturday to discuss the promise and potential of the Right to Information Act for transparent governance and an equitable administration of resources.
He pointed out that the Act had provisions which make it mandatory for authorities to reveal to individuals all the information available to Parliament and State Assemblies.
He said the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should also be covered by the Act to ensure their accountability.
The law against untouchability had done little to reduce social inequalities, he said and warned that continuing to ignore such inequalities would pave the way for violence.
The fact that the Information Commissioner was yet to be named, though the formation of the Commissionerate had been gazetted, was a point of concern for all speakers.
Joseph Thomas of Midas Communication gave examples of effective use of networking technology to empower people.
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