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Attempts to stymie RTI must be resisted

The governments intention to restrict the applicability of the Right to Information (RTI) legislation in certain areas such as sport and nuclear safety is puzzling.If anything,these two areas require greater transparency in light of corruption in last years Commonwealth Games as well as the protests against nuclear power plants in Jaitapur and Kudankulam.Ever since its enactment in 2005,the RTI Act has faced pressure from various government quarters to allow for greater discretion the call for removing file notings from RTI purview has been around for sometime.However,such moves go against the very principle of open governance.Trying to circumvent the RTI law or bring in amendments to increase the scope of exceptions only betrays reluctance on the part of the government to move towards transparent functioning.
There is no denying that RTI has empowered people in a way previously unknown.That RTI activists have used the legislation to shed light on a plethora of scams in recent times bears testimony to the efficacy of the transparency law.In this respect,the increasing number of attacks on RTI activists is a cause for concern.Making disclosure of information automatic in such cases will act as a deterrent.Nonetheless,there is merit in the criticism that the burgeoning number of RTI applications is hampering government functioning.This can be tackled by making declassification of government records a matter of routine.Transparent governance would receive a big boost if non-sensitive government records could simply be published on the Web India can follow international best practices in this regard.In case of more sensitive information,it could be published after a predefined lapse of time.

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