The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has inaugurated the new building of the Central Information Commission (CIC) in New Delhi.
He noted that the building had been completed before the due date, and congratulated all agencies involved in the construction. He said the environment friendly Griha-IV rating would ensure energy savings, and help conserve the environment.
The Prime Minister expressed hope that the new building would help in better coordination and integration in the working of CIC.
Talking about the launch of the mobile App of the CIC, the Prime Minister said this would enable citizens to file appeals with ease, and enable them to easily access information being made available by the Commission.
The Prime Minister said democratic and participative governance requires transparency and accountability and that CIC would play a key role in this regard. He said such institutes work as catalysts for trust-based governance.
The Prime Minister said that an “empowered citizen” is the strongest pillar of our democracy and that over the last four years, the Union Government has been informing and empowering people through various means. He enumerated five pillars of the modern information highway.
He said the first pillar is to ask questions (Sawaal). In this context, he mentioned the MyGov citizen engagement platform. The second pillar is listening to suggestions (Sujhaav). The Government is receptive and open to suggestions received from CPGRAMS or on social media.
The third pillar is interaction (Sanvaad). He said this establishes a connect between the citizens and the government. The fourth pillar is activity (Sakreeyta). The Prime Minister said that during the implementation of GST, there was active follow up on complaints and suggestions.
The fifth pillar is information (Soochna). The Prime Minister said that it is the Government’s duty to inform citizens about its actions. He said the Government has begun a new practice of providing information through real-time updated, online dashboards. Information on progress of schemes such as Saubhagya and Ujala has been made available, he said.
