Ministers should take oath of transparency, not of secrecy: Moily

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, June 12 (UNI) Asserting that the Right to Information is the Master Key to Good Governance, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission has recommended that the ministers should take oath of 'transparency and not secrecy' in the future.

The Commission in its report has suggested repealing the Official Secrets Act, 1923 and substituting it by a chapter in the National Security Act containing provisions relating to the official secrets.

''This shadow of mystry in the government should be removed. This mysterious shadow of Officials Secrets Acts should be removed as there was no need to hide information. The Oath of Secrecy being taken by the ministers should be replaced by oath of transparency and if any information is needed to be kept secret for national security reasons then it should be brought under the National Security Act,'' Mr M Veerapa Moily, Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission, said in a press conference here today.

Mr Moily said the Right to Information Act was key to administrative reforms required for a transparent and accountable government and for reducing corruption.

The Commission has recommended defining the term Official Secrets and amending Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act. However, the armed forces would be exempted from the provisions of RTI Act by including them in the Second Schedule.

He stressed the need for District Collectors not remaining as the power centre of the administration but becoming service oriented.

For this the syllabus and training of the IAS would be changed and Conduct Rules of the State Governments would be amended to bring them in lines with the provisions of RTI Act. The Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules have already been amended, he said.

The Manual of Office Procedures should be amended so that ''Every government servant shall in performance of his duties in good faith, communicate to a member of public or any organisation full and accurate information, which can be disclosed under the Right to Information Act,'' the report has recommended. It has also called for a for a single window approach to the administration.

Mr Moily said the Commission has called for adequate procedure to protect the whistle blowers who are often transferred and subjected to various kinds of tortures. He said that a key recommendation was setting of Public Record Office in every state so that officials could not take the plea of unavailability of records for not providing information. One per cent of the budget for infrastructure sector could be given for creation and maintenance of this office.

The Commission has also recommended that 50 per cent positions under the RTI Act should be given to the eminent people doing social services to reduce the monopoly of the bureaucrats who generally corner all posts of Information Commissioners.

UNI AJ PR KN1644

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