Centre tells depts to allow govt-run training institutes to do transparency audit

The Centre has asked its departments to allow government-run training institutes to conduct transparency audits on proactive disclosure of information on their websites, according to a personnel ministry order.

The suo motu disclosure of information to the public is mandated under Section 4 (2) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, so that people have to use the transparency law less to get information.

Each ministry or public authority should get its proactive disclosure package audited by a third party every year, as per norms.

The audit should cover compliance with proactive disclosure guidelines as well as adequacy of items included in the package.

It must also examine whether there are any other type of information which can be proactively disclosed.

The audits will be done annually and communicated to the Central Information Commission every year through publication on websites.

"Further, the task of undertaking transparency audits may be given to the respective training institutes under each ministry/department/public authority and across the states and union territories," the ministry said in the order.

However, in cases where no training institute exists under ministries or departments, the tasks of undertaking transparency audits may be given to any government training institutes, it said.

Public authorities should proactively disclose the names of the third party auditors on their website, the order said.

"For carrying out third party audit through outside consultant also, ministries/public authorities should utilise their plan/non-plan funds," it said.