New Delhi: In the midst of a rising storm over the classified files on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the Narendra Modi government has decided to scrap the system under which almost all data in official files are marked as “secret” by officialdom.
The Union home ministry is considering a change in the rules so that at least a joint secretary-level officer will take a call in all ministries/departments on whether a matter should be classified as secret, top secret, confidential or restricted.
At a meeting called by home secretary L.C. Goyal on Thursday with the law and DoPT secretaries, among the proposals discussed was upgrading the level of officers to decide on the classification of files.
At present, an under secretary could decide the level of confidentiality, that led to most files being marked secret, sources said.
A high-level government panel has been set up to review the Rajera Official Secrets Act, which defines the word “secret” and determines how files are classified.
While the home ministry is treading cautiously, given the fears the security agencies have voiced in the past, the panel is keen to broaden the ambit of documents available to the public under the Right to Information Act, sources said.
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With Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitching for greater transparency and accountability, Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth has thrown his weight behind the move to review the OSA and directed the home secretary to undertake a full review, officials said.
The panel will take a fresh look at existing instructions for the classification of government documents, and a thorough review will be done for existing classified documents to determine which of these can now be safely declassified, they added.
