The state failed to implement the provision under the Right to Information Act (RTI),which enables an applicant to inspect the site of an ongoing public work and draw samples of construction material being used,said RTI expert and former state law secretary J N Barowalia. He said the state had framed rules for the amount of fees to be charged and laid down a procedure to apply for information under the RTI Act and also the inspection of records. However,there is no rule framed on the amount of fee to be charged from an applicant who wants to inspect a site of public work being carried out by the government or a government-funded NGO or take certified samples of construction material procured with public money. There is a need to fully implement the Act by specifically providing for these rules, said Barowalia,during a seminar on RTI Act organised by the Public Relations Society of India (PRSI),Himachal Chapter,on the occasion of Public Relations Day in Shimla. PRSI president B D Sharma said more seminars and workshops would be organised on the Act this year. State Information Commissioner and former chief secretary S S Parmar said implementation of the Act was being done efficiently for which 140 public information officers (PIOs) had been appointed. Due to the hilly terrain,he said,a provision had been made to give information at the doorstep of the people by appointing additional PIOs at block and sub-division levels. Barowalia said information on the proceedings of a departmental promotion committee without the names of its members points raised over examination of annual confidential reports could be given after declaration of the result.
