GUWAHATI, Nov 14 � A meeting held at the office of Northeast Network with Dr Monisha Behal in the chair today resolved to form a State-level forum of RTI users and activists with representatives from different districts of Assam as members. The new body will be known as the Assam RTI Forum.
The meeting expressed concern over the State Government�s tendency to appoint only retired bureaucrats as Information Commissioners, which it said dilutes the very spirit of the Act, that is transparency. It resolved to take up the matter with the State Government.
�The Forum resolved to generate awareness regarding harassment meted out to RTI applicants � by acting as a pressure group and taking up such issues with the authorities concerned, and also by disseminating such information to the people through the media.
�The meeting also resolved to create a nodal point (e-mail/telephone number/register) for tracking cases of harassment of RTI applicants, and disseminate this information to the authorities concerned, and the people through the media and through letters/memorandum from time to time on a regular basis.
The meeting further resolved to reach out to various groups of people to spread awareness about the RTI Act. It resolved to create RTI forums at the level of districts as well so that the concept trickled down to the panchayat/block level with the same objectives.
The meeting resolved that the members of the Forum take active part in media discussions � both print and electronic � to generate awareness as also exert necessary pressure wherever required in relation to implementation of the RTI Act.
The meeting unanimously constituted a State committee with Dr Monisha Behal as chairperson, Noni Kumar Saikia as vice-chairperson, Ajoy Dutta, J P Saikia and IH Borbora as advisers, Debajit Goswami as secretary, and Sudakshina Khanikar and Hiteswar Lahkar as joint secretaries.
