Suraksha ConsumerForum of St. Philomena College had organised anAwareness Programme on Right to Information Act on 12th July, 2014 at Prerahna Hall, St. Philomena College.
The Resource Person for the day was Mr. Mohammad Badagannur, Member of Puttur Taluk Panchayat and the President of the Parent Teachers Association, St. Philomena College. He said, “Right to Information Act is an important Act introduced by the Government which came into force on 13th October, 2005. The sole purpose of this Act is to strengthen the hands of the common man regarding the administrative system of the government. This act is complementary to the Indian Constitution which states ‘of the people, by the people and for the people’, as an individual we have the right to see, seek and understand the programmes and schemes introduced by the government.”
He further said, “This act not only applies to the government agencies but also to the private and other corporate sector. To seek information a prescribed fee has to be paid but for the BPL holders it will be provided free of cost, the information should be provided within 30 days of time. If the document is not available due to destruction then complete information about the destruction should be provided.”
The President of the function Prof. Leo Norohna, Principal, St. Philomena College in his presidential address said that every individual has the right to information. To illustrate this he said, “In our college we have certain information which can be shared with the students and their parents for the common good, but there are few confidential information which cannot be shared. This act was introduced in order to bring transparency in the administration.”
Prof. Dinakara Rao, the Director of the Suraksha Consumer Forum and Associate Professor, Department of Economics welcomed the gathering and delivered the thematic address.
The one hour session was very informative and created awareness among the students about the Right to Information.
Vote of thanks was delivered by Ms. Reshma Jane D’Souza, ll B.com. The Master of the Ceremony was Ms. Archana, ll B.com.