'Effective implementation of Right to Information needed'

Kochi, Jan 5 (UNI) The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice today said Right to Information Act should be implemented more effectively in public interest.

Speaking to reporters here, Committee Chairman E M Sudarshana Natchiappan said the Act should be implemented more effectively and stricter punishment brought in against defaulters.

He said the committee would recommend the Parliament to give more teeth to the Act for its effective implementation.

The Chairman said the public grievance redress system should also be spruced up as it was an interface between the state and the public.

He said the committee was looking into recommending uniformity in compassionate appointments in various organisations. The committee would prepare a package and recommend it to Parliament.

Regarding electoral reform, he said it was under the committee's consideration and it would recommend debarring criminals from polls.

The committee would look into the proposal of including the Chief Justice of India in the purview of the Judical Enquiry Bill, 2006.

Exhaustive judicial reforms were needed as there were lots of pending case in courts, the Chairman said.

The committee would be here for the next two days and hold talks with officials. Committee members Tarlochan Singh, Shailendra Kumar, S K Kharvedhan, Sunil Kumar Mahato, Shafiqur Rahman Barq, Varkala Radhakrishnan, Ram Jethmalani and A Krishnaswami were present.

UNI