New Delhi: Lok Sabha on December 3 approved a Bill to enable citizens to have access to information on a statutory basis and remove bottlenecks in the existing legal framework.

Replying to a discussion on the Freedom of Information Bill, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension Vasundhara Raje said the Bill was only a step in the direction of sharing information and it was felt the Legislation was necessary since similar Laws exist in other countries too.

"The Bill has taken a long time to be taken for passage in Lok Sabha as it was deliberated by a standing committee of Parliament and subsequently discussed by a Group of Ministers constituted by the Central government to ensure that there is free flow of information to the public," she said.

In a brief intervention by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan to a query raised by Shivraj Patil (Congress) that the Bill does not cover within its ambit information regarding persons who have taken huge loans from banks, the minister said, "I will communicate to the original lawmaker to make necessary changes in the concerned Bill but let us not delay the passage of this Bill at this juncture."

The main Opposition Congress said the measure was a welcome step as it would provide for freedom to every citizen to secure access to information under the control of public authorities but stressed that it should be ''more responsive''.

PTI