Information Act to be in place in Meghalaya

Modalities are being worked out to implement the Right to Information Act in Meghalaya together with the rest of the country, state Home Minister Mukul Sangma said.

Modalities are being worked out to implement the Right to Information (RTI) Act in Meghalaya together with the rest of the country, state Home Minister Mukul Sangma said here on Tuesday.

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The Right to Information Act, 2005, which was passed in the last Session of Parliament, is to be implemented throughout the country. There are just about 80 odd days left for states to implement the Act. The legislation allows any citizen of the country to collect information related to a government project, outside the preview of the Official Secrets Act. Maitshaprang  Movement, a Meghalaya NGO has been pressing for such a legislation over the past few years.

In Meghalaya, Sangma said, the State Information Commission (SIC) headed by a Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) would appoint nodal officers in each department to make way for the dissemination of information to the public in accordance with the Act, says a Newmai News Network report.

The Meghalaya governor, on recommendation of Chief Minister DD Lapang, would head a committee together with the leader of the Opposition, to form the commission, which in turn would appoint the CIC, Sangma said.