Tamilnadu Chief Information Commissioner - Awareness of RTI Act not adequate
17 Nov, 2012The Chief Information Commissioner of the Tamilnadu State Information Commission (SIC) Shri K.S. Sripathi believes that the public awareness of the Right to Information (RTI) Act is not adequate.
Inaugurating a workshop on the RTI Act, Shri Sripathi said that though the awareness level in Tamil Nadu was better compared to other States, it was not adequate. He also expressed concern over the frivolous complaints being filed before the public authorities. He pointed out certain types of such applications of frivolous types.
- The Public Information Officer (PIO) can only provide information available on records.
- An applicant cannot compel a PIO to get information on what is not available or information that cannot be given.
- The PIO and Information Commission are not forums meant for grievance resolution.
- Applicants should not send their applications directly to the State Information Commission as an applicant should approach the PIO first, then the First Appellate Authority and still if the applicants fail to obtain the desired information from them, they could file a second appeal before the Information Commission.