Right to Information: Bengal lags behind
By Our Bureau The Hindubusinessline.com, Wednesday, Jul 02, 2008
Kolkata, July 1 When it comes to sharing information with the public, West Bengal is lagging behind other States going by the number of applications seeking information filed at its different departments. This was stated by Mr A.K. Bhattacharya, the State’s Chief Information Officer here on Tuesday.
However, "it is faring better in terms of quality”, he stated. When asked to elaborate, he said, “People here can easily access information through the Web sites of different departments.”
When asked about the number of RTI applications filed last year, he said it was difficult to share such information unless a written request was sent to the Information Commission’s office.
However, he said that “last year nearly 15,000 RTI applications were filed in the State in comparison to about 1.5 lakh applications in Maharashtra.”
Of the total number of applications, 1,500 came to the Information Commission as complaints and second applications, he said, adding that 90 per cent of such cases were settled by the Commission.
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