RTI, a natural ally to bring transparency; Susman

Patna, Apr 24 (UNI) Right to Information (RTI) is a natural ally to promote accessibility, accountabality and transperancy in any system, said Mr Thomas Susman, chief architect of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the US.

Talking to newspersons here, Mr Susman said RTI will help to bring efficiency in the administration, adding it assumed greater significance in India, where states compete with each other to facilitate the people.

He said the government must work to ensure its benefits to the people as majority of them were not aware of the provisions and its utility.

''This is the time when the US should also revise existing FOIA and adopt salient features from similar legislation in India and other countries to make it more robust,'' he maintained.

He said countries like India and Mexico drafted the legislation on RTI by borrowing the salient features from FOIA.

Mr Susman, who is on 12-day trip to India, also appreciated the RTI by Indian government with the system of independent Information Commissioners, which still prevails in demand in the US.

''The information commission of bureaucracy reduces corruptions at various levels and immensely help in attracting the investors to do business in the country as business does not flourish in a corrupt region,'' he added.

Mr Susman was here to interact with the administration and civil society and learn about their experiences with RTI.

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