Coinciding with the World Human Rights Day 'On 10th December 2001, a one-day Block level Workshop on "Right to Information in Orissa" convened by Centre for Developmental Activities, a local NGO was held at Harichandanpur in Keonjhar District and attended by 50 delegates from different cross sections of the Block, such as Panchayat Samiti functionaries, lawyers, doctors, Government Officials, NGOs, Media men, Social Workers and Educationists. This Block level Workshop was a follow-up of the District level Seminar on the topic held at Keonjhar on 28th November 2001.

After a welcome address made by Sri Sanjib Paikray Convener of the Workshop, Sri Manas Jena, a Social Activist, who is coordinating the RTI campaign at State level observed that the Right to Information being above all essential for the people at grass-root level, such Block level Workshop aims at carrying forward the message of an open, transparent and accountable administration down to the village level.

Sri Swarajya Biswal, Government Advocate, Orissa State Administrative Tribunal, an invitee speaker observed that the Government Servants Conduct Rules of both Centre and State prohibit the Government servants from disclosing any official information to members of the public without prior authorization. Similarly the Official Secrets Act of 1923, which considers the disclosure of official information as a punishable offence continues to regulate the conduct of the Government officials too to this day. It is therefore high time that a separate law on citizens' Right to Information be enacted both at Central and State level.

Another invitee speaker Sri Chitta Ranjan Behera, a Social Activist said that the experience of Right to Information legislation in eight States of the country has shown on the whole positive results in terms of people's empowerment, while some serious lacunae in these legislations defeating the very objective of the enactments have come to limelight too. The proposed Orissa Act for Right to Information need be formulated properly taking into account all these lessons.

The local participants who expressed their views on the topic in the Workshop included Sri Pratap Kumar Biswal, an ex-Sarpanch, Sri Sachindra Mohan Prusty, a religious-cultural organiser, Sri Sarat Chandra Sahoo, Member Panchayat Samiti, Sri Manoj Kumar Bej, Sarpanch Bhanrapur, Dr. Bijay Kumar Das, Medical Officer, Gholabandh PHC, Sri Bikram Sahoo, a Social Worker of Singbilla village, Sri Kabindra Bidyadhar, Advocate, Sri Dharamu Moharana and Padma Lochana Rath, Social Workers, Sri Krushna Chandra Mohanty, ex-Chairman, Harichandanpur Panchayat Sarniti, and Sri Pitambar Mishra an NGO functionary. All of them spoke about the problems and harassment they were facing from the different Government agencies in respect of getting information even when it relates to the very development activities in their village and Gram Panchayat.

At the end of the deliberations, a Resolution was unanimously passed by the participants, which called for a proper and early enactment of a Right to Information law in the State of Orissa on one hand, and for carrying forward the message of the Right to Information campaign down to the people at village level on the other.

A Seminar on Right to Information in Orissa was held at DPEP Auditorium, Harichandanpur in Keonjhar District on 10th December 2001 the World Human Rights Day, attended by persons from cross sections of the Block such as Office Bearers of Panchayat Samiti, Govt officials, lawyers, educationists, NGOs, and social workers, who took active part in the deliberations around the topic.. At the end of the deliberations, the following Resolution was passed unanimously:

1. A properly formulated law on Right to Information need be introduced in the State of Orissa.
2. AU-out efforts for the message of the ongoing social movement for Right to Information in Orissa to reach to the common people at GP and Gram Sabha level need be made.