Smt Vanaja N Sarna, Information Commissioner,Chief Information Commission addressed Senior Officers of Indian Air Force, from across the country, on November 4th, 2022, who attended an Advance Course on Right to Information Act, sponsored by the Indian Air Force and conducted by Centre for Public Administration, Dr MCR HRD Institute, Govt of Telangana.
Smt Sarna said that the RTI Act is a potent toolaimed at bringing about transparency in the nature and quality of governance and ensuring that it is citizen-centric. She, therefore, called upon the officers to process theapplications received by them under the RTI Act with a high sense of importance.
Continuing her address, Smt Vanaja N Sarna called upon the Officers to understand the queries raised in the RTI Applications, in their true and total frame of reference, collect relevant information from different sources, and send a comprehensive, organized, and point-wise reply, as per the prescribed timelines. “Provide an interim reply, if the final reply is likely to overshoot the timeline”, she advised the Officers.
Smt Vanaja N Sarna underlined the need for a system in all organizations in order to identify employee grievances, well in advance, make a deliberate attempt to address them in a professional fashion, and find enduring solutions to them. “A huge majority of the RTI Applications relate to such administration-related issues as promotions, gratuity, pension, etc. The presence of a robust grievances redressal mechanism will be greatly instrumental in the reduced filing of RTA Applications”, she observed.
Sri Benhur Mahesh Dutt Ekka, IAS, DG, Dr MCR HRD Institute & Principal Secretary to Govt of Telangana, in hisinteraction with the Senior Officers of Indian Air Force, underlined the importance of conceptualisation and execution of more and more training programs on Right to Information Act, especially its finer nuances and practical implementations.
Air Vice Marshal RS Singh, VSM, who spoke on this occasion, stated thattraining programs conducted by Dr MCR HRD Institute were greatly instrumental in empowering the Officers from Indian Air Force in handling the RTI Applications, with a professional touch.
Smt Anita Rajendra, IAS, Joint Director General, & Secretary to Government of Telangana welcomed SmtVanaja N Sarna, Air Vice Marshal RS Singh, VSM and others. Dr Madhavi Ravulapati, Head, CPA & Course Director spoke about the Course.
