In the recent past in Nagaland, public awareness is slowly being generated on the necessity of putting in place the right to information bill as a mechanism to allow for transparency and accountability into our governing system and to make our administration more effective and at the same time responsive. Presentation of papers through the media and conducting seminars on the topic should be welcomed as citizens in Nagaland have not being able to fully comprehend the ideas that go to shape an empowered public.
Information is Power, and as former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee stated, the Government ought to share power with the common man and in the process empower them. It is precisely because of this reason that the Right to Information has to be ensured for all.
Towards this end, the Freedom of Information Bill 2000 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 25th July 2000. Freedom of information means the right to obtain information from any public authority by means of inspection, taking of extracts and notes, certified copies of any records of such public authority and diskettes, floppies or in any other electronic mode or through print-outs where such information is stored in a computer or in any other device.
Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights to free speech and expression. The prerequisite for enjoying this right is knowledge and information. The absence of authentic information on matters of public interest will only encourage wild rumors and speculations and avoidable allegations against individuals and institutions.
The Right to Information has already received judicial recognition as a part of the fundamental right to free speech and expression. Many States in the country such as Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan etc have already enacted laws to provide a statutory frame work for this right. Nagaland has yet to formulate even a draft on this bill even though we speak of good governance and transparency. The recent spate of corruption scams and abuse of authority within the system only goes to show the want of a legal framework to address the mal-functioning of the State’s polity and administration which continues to work on the British Colonial practice of the Official Secrets Act.
In Nagaland, the lack of transparency is one of the main causes for all pervading corruption and only if we have Right to Information would it lead to openness, accountability and integrity. Right to Information aims at bringing transparency in administration and public life.
The barrier to information is the single most cause responsible for corruption in society. It facilitates clandestine deals, arbitrary decisions, manipulations and embezzlements. Transparency in dealings, with their every detail exposed to the public view, should go a long way in curtailing corruption in public life.
Information is indispensable for the functioning of a true democracy. Open Government is the new democratic culture of an open society towards which other States are moving and Nagaland should be no exception.
