Dissemination of information to public
SHILLONG: The State Government has resurrected an old gag order restricting officers from revealing information to the media and the public as it wanted them to file RTI application to get the same information.
The matter came to light after this reporter had sought replies to questions regarding matter related to vigilance commission from an official’s office end of October.
As the reply was not forthcoming, a reminder letter was served en d of November, but this too did not help in getting the required information.
Later, after the matter was taken again in February, the reply received on February 11 said that the matter can be sought “through RTI in view of Government circular dated 19.10. 2006”.
The Government circular of year 2006 further said that “some Government officers are in the habit of communicating or disclosing directly or indirectly official documents or information to persons unauthorized or to the press without obtaining prior approval of the Government. This practice is contrary to the provision laid down under Rule 17 of the Meghalaya Services (Conduct ) Rules 1990”.
The circular said that with the introduction of the Right to Information Act , 2005, “it will be the responsibility of only the concerned Public Information Officer and Assistant Public Information Officer appointed and authorized by the State Government who shall communicate or disclose any official documents/information as per provision of the Right to Information Act”.
The circular also said that any violation of the guidelines will be viewed very seriously by the Government.
However, since the media very often requires instant information to disseminate to the public, filing of RTI is the last option as the wait for the answer from RTI query will be too long (one month).