OFFICIAL SECRETS ACT, 1923 , PERMISSIBLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUB -SECTION (1) A PUBLIC AUTHORITY MAY ALLOW ACCESS TO INFORMATION, IF PUBLIC INTEREST IN DISCLOSURE OUTWEIGHS THE HARM TO THE PUBLIC INTERESTS.

It was an occasion today on 18-10-2023 when attended a meeting under the banner of National Campaign Committee right from 11.00 am to 1.15 pm which was attended by Shri Shivanand Dewedi and Shri Virender Kumar Thakker, in addition to other members of the area and society for workshop and training and people were asking their questions from the guides and the key members present on the event, where number of questions have been replied on this event and it was also an issue on the subject of service matters regarding to have information from the public authorities, related to the disciplinary action against employees , where it has been described to reduce the number of RTI applications, relating to service matters, the information relating to recruitment promotion and transfers should be brought into public domain promptly and all training modules for professional upgradation of employee should incorporate matters relating to the virtues of transparency and open Government and the RTI Law, and the decision making chain should be identified in the form of a flow chart explaining the rank /grade of the public functionaries involved in the decision making process and the specific stages in the decision making hierarchy. The powers of each officer including the powers of supervision over subordinates involved in the chain of decision making must also be spelt out next to the flow chart. The exceptional circumstances when such standard decision making processes may be overridden and by whom, should also be explained clearly. Where decentralization of decision making has occurred in order to grant greater autonomy to public authorities, such procedures must also be clearly explained and the design of presentation should then be extended to cover all statutory operations that are part of the public authorities mandate under the allocation of business read with the transaction of business. As far exemption for disclosure of information is concerned it is clearly explained in the official secret Act, 1923 , not withstanding any thing in the Official secret Act, 1923 nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with sub section (1) , a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests :-- Er Fateh chand Guleria, Director RTI Welfare Association registered number HPCD, 3552 , Bilaspur Himachal pradesh phone number, 9459334377