NEW DELHI: The Centre on Saturday discouraged people from filing unnecessary Right to Information applications, adding it is aiming to reduce the need for RTI by proactively putting up as much information as possible in the public domain.
Addressing the 14th annual convention of the Central Information Commission, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the success of a government does not lie in a high number of RTI applications.
“The Centre has made the administration’s work so transparent that there is minimum requirement to file them,” he claimed. While maintaining that RTI would remain as it helps in the creation of a welfare state, Shah said, “Do not use RTI without any reason. Use it for transparency. Avoid using it for personal reasons unless injustice is happening.”
Earlier this year, the Centre passed the controversial RTI Amendment Bill, which changed the terms and conditions of appointment of the Chief Information Commissioner.
Speaking at the event, CIC Sudhir Bhargava said RTI is a very important law in ensuring transparency in governance. “The number of RTI applications filed before government departments grew to 13.70 lakh in 2018-2019 as compared to 7.55 lakh in 2014-2015,” he noted.
Shah also used the occasion to praise the dashboard system introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “One can go to the dashboard and see how many toilets have been built. Even an illiterate woman can click the dashboard and get to know when she will get a cooking gas cylinder,” he added.