A one-day District level Seminar on Right to Information in Orissa was held at Gujurati Samaj auditorium at Keonjhar on 28th November 2001. Presided over by Sri Bhagirathi Mahanta an eminent citizen and senior Advocate of the District, the Seminar was attended by about 50 delegates representing Government agencies, NGOs, Mediamen, law and local bodies.

The Convener Sri Bhakta Bastala Mohanty, Secretary, Sanyog while briefing the participants about the objectives of the Seminar observed that Keonjhar being a Tribal populated, mineral rich and backward district is receiving huge amount of money under different schemes from within and outside the country. But its lion's share is being siphoned off to the vested interests including middlemen instead of reaching the people for whom the schemes are meant. Therefore the people need to be empowered with the Right to Information while the administration should make it transparent before the people. The Co-convenor of Seminar Sri Kailash Nayak in course of his introductory remarks observed that while 7 States of the country namely Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharastra, Rajasthan, Karnatak, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi have already passed R n Bills and Assam has introduced it in its Assembly very recently, it is unfortunate that Orissa has not made and tangible headway in legislating R TI. Sri Nayak hoped that this Seminar at Keonjhar, which is 3 in the series after Anugul and Kendrapara would go a long way in stepping up the RTI campaign in the State of Orissa.

An invitee speaker Sri Chitta Ranjan Behera, a social activist gave an account of the various efforts and developments around the Right to Information that have taken place across the world including India. He welcomed the recent declaration by the Chief Minister Orissa that the State needed an enactment of Right to Information.

The invitee speaker Sri Swarajya Biswal, Government Advocate at the State Administrative Tribunal in course of his talk observed that responsiveness, transparency and accountability in the administration which the Right to Information legislation seeks to bring about, would ultimately benefit the officials themselves, since the reformed administration shall no longer attract the wrath and suspicion of the people, as is the case today.

The local Inspector of Police Sri Shantanu Dash opined that as Police men they invariably issue copies of FIR lodged by any person and inform the relations of a person who is taken into custody about the latter's condition from time to time. He further said that mere legislation won't salvage the critical situation the country is facing to-day unless and until the moral fabric of the people is regenerated.

An interactive session for the participants was held post-lunch, coordinated by Sri Manas Jena, a well-known social activist of the State. The persons who articulated their views in the Session included Sri Sanjib Paikray, Birabar Nayak, Sunakar Giri, Santosh Brahma, Shovendu Dash, Gandhi Kar, Daktar Barik, Ramakrishna Mohapatra, Prafulla Sahoo, Manoj Parida, Kailash Nayak and Ms. Tikirani Patra.

A Resolution was unanimously passed by the participants, which called upon the Chief Minister to take necessary steps in the direction of passing an appropriately drafted Right to Infonnation Bill in the State at an early date and which appealed to the conscious citizens of the State to carry forward the campaign for Right to Information down to the village level.

A one-day Seminar on Right to Information was held at Gujurati Samaj,Keonjhar attended by delegates from different cross sections of the district(such as students, youth, women, peasants, lawyers, social activists, NGOs, Government officials, media men etc. The participants discussed the various aspects of the topic and felt the need of Orissa to have an enactment of Right to Information legislation. The Chief Minister of Orissa is hereby requested to take necessary steps for such an enactment at an early date. Moreover, he is requested to take necessary administrative measures at Government level for carrying forward the message of Right to Information down to the people at village level in the State. The Resolution taken to this effect has received the unanimous approval of all the participants of the Seminar.

Bhagirathi Mohanta, President
Bhakta Bastala Mohanty
Seminar Co-ordinator