Chief Information Commissioner Mohammed Farooq Monday stressed the need for creating massive public awareness about right to information (RTI) act to reap benefit from it.
"Regrettably, we are yet to obtain the absolute results of the mach-needed RTI act, only because not having adequate knowledge of general people about their legal right to information", he noted.
Information Commission (IC) chief Mr Farooq made the comment while he was briefing a visiting team of Afghan civil society named Welfare Association for the Development of Afghanistan in the city. Among others, Secretary Md Farhad Hossain and Director (admin) Md Abdul Karim, addressed the meeting.
He said, as per the act, the non-government organisations (NGOs) including banks are bound to provide required information to people. "Unfortunately, response from the NGOs is very poor", the chief commissioner observed.
"If anybody fails to get his or her desired information even after the formal application, they could file a complaint with the commission", the commissioner said adding that the IC will take necessary action including execution of its judicial power.
He said RTI could strongly contribute to combat corruptions and irregularities in the public and private offices through ensuring transparency and accountability in their administrative activities.
Through the information act, the government has strongly empowered the common people; eventually, the information commission has been given the absolute authority to ascertain their legitimate right to information.
He said the RTI is the country's solo act to control the administrative power through empowering and involving the populace in the administrative functions, while all other laws and ordinances are to control the citizens.
The Information Commission started its judicial activities nearly three years back, in February 2011. During the last three years, until December 2013, the commission completed judicial proceedings of the 507 cases, out of the 513 formal applications having almost 99 per cent success in the judicial process.
