PIOs notified under RTI Act

PESHAWAR: The Local Government and Rural Development Department has notified the tehsil municipal officers and secretaries of village/neighbourhood councils as public information officers (PIOs) under the KP Right to Information Act 2013, increasing their number from 529 to 3011.

According to Chief Information Commissioner Azmat Hanif Orakzai, the purpose of designated PIOs at grassroots level is to alleviate the difficulties faced by citizens who are desirous of obtaining information of public importance from the public bodies, especially the village and neighbourhood councils.

Talking about the usage of RTI law by citizens, Orakzai said that over the past three and a half years, more than 10,500 citizens filed RTI requests with public bodies in the province with exception the seven districts of Malakand division, where the RTI law has not been extended for being part of the provincially administered tribal areas (Pata).

He added that a handbook is being prepared for the guidance of newly appointed PIOs to efficiently dispose of the information requests of citizens. The PIOs besides providing public information to the citizen will also maintain a formal record of all information requests in register which has been specially prepared and distributed amongst all the PIOs.