The national advisory council (NAC) has voiced concerns that the Lokpal bill may not be able to adequately meet the requirements of a robust redressal system.

The NAC working group on transparency, accountability and governance held a day long discussion on Monday which centred on whether the bill could go beyond RTI Act.

In a release by NAC members Aruna Roy and Harsh Mander, the NAC states that there were many issues which needed to be re-visited and called for greater discussion on finer points of both law and content. The release said that there were some other aspects of the bill that could figure in such discussions.

Contending that the Bill was a “very important piece of legislation”, the NAC said that it needs much wider and more geographically spread consultations than has been done till date.

The advisory body members said that they have expressed their reservations both about including all grievances within the ambit of the Lokpal and on unconditional transparency, where matters of privacy are concerned.

“However, we look forward to working on strengthening the fundamental principles of the Lokpal, along with discussing in greater detail its scope and provisions, through the process of an open and participatory process of consultation that has now begun,”  the duo said in the release.
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