Pune Officials Urged to Increase Public Access to Information on RTI Day
Pune, 29th September 2025: Making more information available to citizens in the public domain can enhance the effectiveness of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, said retired Additional District Collector Adv. Pralhad Kachare. He emphasized that a transparent and dynamic system should be established so that people do not even need to file RTI applications.
Kachare was speaking at a workshop jointly organized by the Divisional Commissioner’s Office and the Pune District Collector’s Office at Vidhan Bhavan on September 28, to mark International Right to Information Day. Present on the occasion were Additional Commissioner of General Administration Tushar Thombre, Joint Commissioner Arun Anandkar, Sanjeev Palande, Resident Deputy Collector Jyoti Kadam, and other officials.
Addressing this year’s theme — “Ensuring Access to Environmental Information in the Digital Age” — Kachare highlighted the importance of making environmental data, climate change, pollution, and disaster risk information easily accessible to the public.
The workshop also included a brief overview of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Kachare stressed that, along with the RTI Act, laws such as the Public Services Guarantee Act, the Maharashtra Government Servants Regulation of Transfers and Prevention of Delay in Discharge of Official Duties Act, 2005, and the Public Records Act, 1997, play a crucial role in governance. These regulations ensure timely delivery of information and services and maintain administrative accountability.
He further noted that Maharashtra’s Revenue Department is a national leader in digitization of records, improving access to revenue-related information.
Kachare also responded to several questions on RTI Act implementation. The workshop was attended by a large number of officers and employees from the Divisional Commissioner’s Office and the District Collector’s Office.
