States need to work more on disclosures under RTI:Narayanasamy

Various state governments in the country have not been "up to the mark" in sharing more information related to governance through suo motu disclosures mandated under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, Union Minister V Narayanasamy has said.
"The Centre is doing a lot to promote RTI Act. But what the state governments are doing is not up to the mark. They need to work more on it. They need to take an active role in promoting RTI and putting information in the public domain," said Narayanasamy, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
Information related to Public Private Partnerships (PPP), transfer orders of officers and employees, objections or paras by the Comptroller and Auditor General and Public Accounts Committee, among others, need to be put in the public domain, he said.

"We want a common man living in rural areas to be able to file an RTI application. He should be made aware of it. This is the purpose of our government. We want to project ourselves as an open government," Narayanasamy said.
The minister also sought suggestions from the people on promoting the RTI Act and making it more user-friendly.
"We need the support of the people and civil society....We are open to suggestions which would make the Act more useful. We will issue guidelines or notifications immediately based on important suggestions," he said.
Narayanasamy was speaking at the inauguration of a day- long national workshop on RTI Act organised here by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the nodal department for the implementation of the transparency law.