Changes in RTI act urged

Speakers at a roundtable yesterday stressed the need for amending Section 7 of the Right to Information (RTI) act, which is hindering the free flow of information to people.
Government and non-government officials often use the section to deny giving information to applicants, said Information Commissioner Prof Sadeka Halim.
She called for modernising the section that makes disclosure of "certain types of information not mandatory".
In his keynote paper, Nepal Chandra Sarker, MRDI adviser and former secretary to Information Commission, made mention of a farmer in Banaripara upazila of Barisal who was sent to five offices before being denied information which officials called "secrete".
Prof Sadeka Halim said some 572 complaints were filed with the Information Commission for not providing information, 50 percent of which were not accepted due to restrictions imposed by Section 7 and other issues resulting from its "misapplication".
Management and Resource Development Initiative (MRDI) and Manusher Jonno Foundation jointly organised the roundtable on "Section 7" at Warisan restaurant in Rajshahi city.
Some 20 government officials, NGO activists, lawyers and journalists from different districts of Rajshahi division joined the discussion.
MRDI Executive Director Hasibur Rahman moderated the roundtable, attended by
Rajshahi Divisional Commissioner Helaluddin Ahmed and Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner Mesbah Uddin Chowdhury, among others.