The NHRC organised a two day National Seminar on 'Good governance, development and human rights' in collaboration with the National Law University, in New Delhi from 19-20th August, 2016. Inaugurating it, Justice Shri H.L. Dattu, Chairperson NHRC said that deep seated organized political and systemic corruption and growing population is a major hindrance to the governance and development of the country. The funds meant for realizing human rights of people get diverted due to corruption. He said that with the implementation of the Right to Information Act and the digital India campaign, there has been some progress in bringing transparency in governance and fighting corruption. But the best way to combat corruption is that the governments must strive to rid themselves of bribery.
Advocating research to find solutions to end the menace of corruption, the NHRC Chairperson said that without achieving certain optimum standards of efficiency, it would be difficult for the country to reach the 17 new Sustainable Developments Goals. He said that the NHRC is committed to help the governments in good governance towards the protection and promotion of human rights of all.
Prof. Ranbir Singh, Vice Chancellor, National Law University, questioning the intents of the governments for their seriousness towards the good governance, said that they are yet to act on long pending Supreme Court guidelines on police reforms and the Model Police Act. He said that a charter of duties must be set at every level of governance from top to bottom to improve governance as the Right to equality, dignity, life and liberty in the country still appear to be a distant dream for many. There are several laws of the British era, including the one on sedition, which need to be repealed. Blame theory is not going to work. The NHRC also cannot say that it doesn't have powers. Every individual and institution will have to come forward to help improve the governance in the country.
The seminar concluded with several important suggestions. While hailing the RTI Act, the lack of awareness about the laws, rules and policies at the grass roots level and people's inaccessibility to governments were some of the major worries, which were thought to be affecting governance. It was felt that the governance required to be more transparent, simplified, using easy digital technologies as a two way communication tool to give the people benefits of the welfare policies and get their feedback. It was also felt that the definition of health care needed to be expanded in the Indian context. It was also suggested that a provision should be made in the higher education curriculum for the students to visit places to sensitize people at grass root level about their rights and remedies for their grievances.
The seminar, divided into four academic sessions, was addressed by several prominent speakers including, among others, Ms. Maja Daruwala, Director (I/c), CHRI, Shri Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO, My Gov. & COO-NeGD, Dr. D.R. Kaarthikeyan, Former Director, CBI & DG-NHRC, Prof. (Dr.) Manoj Kumar Sinha, Director, ILI, Prof. Binod Khadria, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Mr. Rahul Dev, Sr. Journalist & Writer, Dr. Sachin Chowdhry, Associate Professor, IIPA, Shri P.S. Bawa, Chairman, Transparency International India, Dr. Dinesh Tyagi, CEO, Citizen Service Centers and NHRC Joint Secretary, Dr. Ranjit Singh and Dr. S.K. Shukla, Asstt. Director (OL).