NT24 News : Two Days National Workshop concludes at Panjab University.........

Two Days National Workshop concludes at Panjab University

National Tele24 News

Vinay Kumar

Chandigarh

The Centre for Academic Leadership and Educational Management under the aegis of PMMMNMTT of MHRD, Government of India organised a national workshop on RTI: Awareness, Issues and Challenges on 14-15 Feb 2019. The workshop drew the resource person from eminent institutions like High Court of Punjab and Haryana, University of Lucknow, Himachal Pradesh National Law University, DSNLU,Visakhapatnam, and University Institute of Legal Studies, School of Communication Studies, Department of Laws, School of Communication Studies, Department of Education and Dean International Students, Panjab University. The participants for this workshop were the administrators, principals, teachers, research scholars from various parts of the country. This workshop focused on topics like RTI: international national scenario with special reference to overview of RTI act, Powers and Function of Authorities with reference to misuse of RTI by Citizens, RTI: Ocean in a Pot and Roadmap of the RTI Act: Overview of implementation and future. Dr. Jyoti Rattan explicated about the efforts made by United Nation in laying down the principles on Freedom of Information 2000 which was adopted subsequently by the various countries. Mr. Yash Pal Singhal, Chief CIC, Haryana concentrated on misuse of RTI and he shared examples of endless cases to elaborate. Prof. Ranbir Kaur Bangu elaborated on the basic concepts covered under RTI which need specific interpretation. Dr. Varun Chachar from University of Lucknow shared his experiences on RTI and emphasised on the digitalization of RTI. There was a panel discussion besides the varied productive sessions on RTI: Boon or a Bane. Prof. Mohanmeet from School Communication Studies, Panjab University said information is currency of 21st century, those who have the information have the power. She  emphasised that “no law is bad by spirit, it’s the lack of implementation and enforcement that makes it a bad law”. Prof. S.Surya Prakash from Vice Chancellor, DSNLU, Vishakapatnam shared that there should be some protection for those activists who work against corruption and transparency. The valedictory session was graced by the Honb’ble Mr. Justise Augustine George Masih, Judge High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Prof, Nistha jaswal, VC, Himachal Pradesh National Law University, Shimla and Prof. Nandita Singh, Department of Education, Panjab University. The participants shared their experiences and mentioned that this workshop was utterly beneficial. They came to know about the important section of RTI which they were previously not clear about. The speakers of the sessions also clarified their doubts giving lucid explanations.