If the government officials don't inform us about the things we need to know about, then we can't take rightful step in the face of a problem. With the Bill on Right to Information passed, all of us shall acquire the right to know, and at the same time, the government officials shall feel accountable to impart the information to the public. So in my opinion, the proposed Bill on Right to Information need be passed. One thing we all should remember is that we should start from the Panchayat level rather than from the top. At the Panchayat level, the kind of informations such as "How to enlist the BPL?", "What is APL?" etc. are very much required. The general people should have the knowledge of all these. But the government officials at GPO and BDO offices never inform the people on their own about these things. So the movement for right to information that has been taken up by us, need be carried further by our NGOs or volunteers upto the village level. Our attempt should be to create public opinion at village level and block level. Besides those people who know more about this Bill, need be involved in the process of its drafting so as to simplify it. You all know, what are the problems in the village areas? As we don't have information, so we are unable to do any developmental activities.

The simple informations are not available either at Block level or Panchayat level, even after pursuing them for months together. So we need to discuss in this regard, how to collect informations? Now a days, the government officials are constantly cheating the common people, for which it has become so difficult for the people to get the desired information. If a poor man wants to know from a public office, how long it would take for his case to be disposed of, he would be given no reply. Similar is the case when a poor man is involved in a litigation in the Court. Spending money endlessly and running after the Advocate become his fate. In view of this, a citizen should have a right to know from the Court, how many days case will take to be disposed of?

Many important kinds of information don't reach to the people. I will give you an example. In NTPC and NALCO and in so many other small and big enterprises, the displacement policy made by the government is not at all people-friendly. Rather the government has made it only for the benefit of these industries. A common man does not know about these policies. Even if the policy includes the information concerning the land matters, it is not disclosed to the people. If the people know about such information, they may launch movements, and such movements may lead to unpleasant situations for them.

This Seminar has been fruitful. In our district Anugul too, there was a Seminar on this subject held in October 2001. Our District Administration, particularly Collector are of course very much aware on this issue. They have planned to open a District Information and Facilitation Centre at Anugul, for the purpose of providing to the public a single window system of information service. As Chitta Bhai ( Chitta Behera) mentined, there shall be 5 Counters in this Centre , each to serve a specific purpose in the information administration. Under the order of the Collector, the building for the purpose is now under construction.

We still have to create public opinion in favour of the right to information movement. If we can do it with courage and enthusiasm, that will create a virtual renaissance in our State. So all the intellectuals who are present here should organize workshops, group discussions, press conferences etc. so that the Bill is properly drafted by the government and passed. At this stage we may suggest to the Government as regards what the Bill should incorporate. Somebody told that some matters should not be informed to the public. Yes, if that be so, let us list out those organizations, to whom one should not approach for information on the grounds of security and integrity of the State.

In my opinion, we should first emphasise the need for enacting a law on RTI in our State, since it is highly essential for the process of our social development itself. As I know, people finding no job here are migrating to other States and again returning from there after being exploited. In the process he gets dispossessed of both money and energy. How we can stop this? Now the Sarapanch holds Palli Sabha and Gram Sabha at Panchayat level. Therefore, the persons who want to migrate to other States should inform the Gram sabha and Palli Sabha about their plan, so that the Panchayat leaders might provide such persons with job at local level and thereby prevent the person from so migrating. But how can the Panchayats know the availability of jobs unless the concerned Government Offices inform them? Here comes the role of Right to Information Act, which would compel the Government organizations to inform every body about all matters concerning the people's life including the job prospects.

My humble plea is that, the Right to Information campaign should be carried forward in right earnest to the Panchayat level, so that the proposed Draft bill can be prepared in a pro-people manner keeping the ground reality in the persective.