Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, June 23: Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) of India will soon have an exclusive office complex in the union capital, the land for which has been allotted at the old JNU Campus and the estimated cost of construction is expected to be Rs 42.53 crore. The added feature of the office complex would be that all the offices related to Central Information Commission will be housed under single roof in the same premises.
This was disclosed here today by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh when the newly appointed Chief Information Commissioner, Vijai Sharma formally called on him after taking over the charge of his new assignment.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the Modi Government is committed to bring in maximum transparency and therefore, facilitating easy and conducive functioning of the office of Chief Information Commissioner is a step in that direction.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, the emphasis on e-governance and placing all the relevant information in public domain has considerably improved transparency as well as accountability. As far as Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) is concerned, many of the orders relating to promotions and empanelments of the officers reach the concerned officer through the website even before a formal notification has been issued, he added.
Refuting the criticism in certain quarters that there is undue delay in disposing the RTI applications, Dr Jitendra Singh said that a mechanism will be evolved in course of time for early disposal of RTI applications. The very fact that the RTI applications are increasing day by day is also a tribute to healthy democratic functioning and the readiness of the government to respond to every request for information to be placed in public domain, he observed.
The Chief Information Commissioner Vijai Sharma informed Dr Jitendra Singh that, as on date, the number of RTI applications is quite high but different methods are being worked out to reduce the pendency. He also discussed the plans to observe the 10th Anniversary of enactment of RTI Act, which falls on October 12, 2015. He assured Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also the Minister of DoPT, that the office of CIC will do its best to live up to the high standards set by the present government.
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