Inspiring indeed Thanks
On 1/11/12, Ketan Kothari <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear Friends, > > I am pasting below a power story of empowerment through RTI. I must > apologize for formatting and related errors as I am pasting this > material from a difficult source. However, this is a story of a blind > man's success through RTI and how he has shown beacon of hope to > others. > > > Real Visionary > danish raza > Ratna Ala, 32, used RTI to > obtain the voters’ list of his > village and discovered that out > of 671 names, 154 were bogus. > It is his recent achievement, he > has many othes to his credit. > GovernanceNow | November 1-15, 2011 > The Game changer > Visually challenged Ratna Ala has used > the RTI weapon to change the face of a Gujarat village. To his > villagers, most of who > vacillate even at the thought of meeting > government authorities, Ala has become > a beacon of hope. His consistent efforts > despite several odds have won many battles. > An all-round development is just one trophy; > transparency and awareness among people > are others > 135 > Danish Raza > R > R > atna Ala has started a revolution > of sorts in Rangpar — a > quaint village in Gujarat’s > Wankaner taluka, 35 km > from Rajkot. > Revolution because never before his > village of 700 had seen or heard so much > about what he is pursuing rigorously > — > the right to information. Revolution also because the next assembly > elections in the state scheduled before December 2012 might not see > any bogus voting > in Rangpar. Ala, 32, is visually challenged, but he saw what others > couldn’t see: bogus names in the voters’ list. > Ratna Bhai, as he is known in the > village, used the RTI Act to obtain the > voters’ list of his village and discovered > that out of 671 names, 154 were bogus. > Ratna Bhai and his friends took the list to > mamlatdar who conducted door-to-door > verification. The list had names of seven > persons who were dead; there were no > photographs against 10 names, and 137 > of them were missing from the village. > Over the next 10 months, these names > were cancelled from the list. > “Every single vote counts, especially > in panchayat elections. Now, since these > bogus voters are out of the list, I hope the > next elections will reflect the aspirations > of genuine voters,” says Ratna Bhai, who > works as the delivery man with a photography > lab and makes ` > 2,500 per month. > Detecting bogus voters is just his latest > feat; there are many others to his credit. > In 2007, around 280 acres of the village’s > grazing land was sold to Ajanta > Orpat, a watch manufacturing company. > Ratna Bhai filed an RTI application with > the patwari’s office to know who approved > the sale of land. He was told > that the collector passed the resolution > regarding the sale. > When Ratna Bhai spoke to the collector > in person, he denied passing any such > resolution. He is still working on the > issue. > In March this year, a team of 10 people > visited Rangpar, saying that they had > come to conduct a census survey for the > central government. The team used to > charge ` > 20 per person as the survey fee. > It would issue receipts too. When Ratna > Bhai enquired about the survey fee, he > was directed to the panchayat office. The > staff at the panchayat office told him that > they were not aware of any such survey. > The team was shooed off. > Ratna Bhai belongs to the pastoral community > which is in majority in Rangpar. > He studied up to class 10 in a government > school in south Gujarat’s Amreli district > which was followed by a diploma course > in Braille from a school for the blind in > Jamnagar. He has 12 bighas of ancestral > www.GovernanceNow.com > people politics policy performance > Real Visionary > land which earns him an additional ` > 7,000 every year. This, coupled with the > salary from the photo studio, feeds the > family of four, which includes Ratna > Bhai, wife Ila (who is also visually challenged) > and sons, Ajay and Ashish. > Ratna Bhai’s tryst with the transparency > law began in the summer of 2006. It > was a usual day. He was walking on the > approach road which connects national > highway no 8 to his village. > The path, around two kilometres long, > was full of potholes. Overgrown babool > shrubs on both sides would hurt him and > sometimes his clothes would get entangled > in them. > Days before, Ratna Bhai had listened to > a programme on radio. “It spoke about > an Act through which a citizen can question > the government,” he says. > Ratna Bhai drafted an RTI application > regarding the construction of that road > and took it to the village sarpanch. > Sarpanch and his goons chased him > away. > Undeterred, he posted the application > to the village patwari (designated public > information officer as per the RTI Act). > He got no reply in the stipulated time of > 30 days. He then filed first appeal with > the taluka development officer and got > the information. > To his shock and chagrin, Ratna Bhai > discovered that ‘on papers’ the road was > made at least twice in the past two years. > He called up the helpline of Mahiti > Adhikar Gujarat Pahel (MAGP), an NGO > in Ahmedabad, and reported the matter. > Subsequently, the issue got coverage > in the regional press as well as > Doordarshan. > Potholes and babool are now things of > the past. > Ratna Bhai’s foray into the RTI has > made him much more confident and > fearless compared to other villagers who > shudder at the thought of being face-toface > with the authorities. > He narrates an incident when Mod > Bhai, Rangpar’s deputy sarpanch, could > not avail the rashtriya suraksha bima yojna > card for his daughter who was admitted > to a government hospital, 25 km from > the village. This was the interim period > when old cards had expired and new > ones were yet to be issued. Helpless, Mod > Bhai spent ` > 1,100. Next day Ratna Bhai > “People in villages > such as Rangpar find it > difficult to manage two > meals a day. Spending > `10 on an RTI application > means a lot to them. If > this money does not get > them information, they > get discouraged. Many > of them do not even try > again after one negative > experience.” > Ratna Ala > accompanied him to the block health > officer who reprimanded the insurance > company agent. > Mod Bhai got ` > 1,200. > Over the years, the attitude of village > authorities towards him has undergone > a slow but positive change. “The babus > who used to laugh at me now hold my > hand and treat me well.” But the more > important change, says Ratna, has come > at another level. > If the officials have ready with them > the information which Ratna Bhai wants, > they give him that on the spot. He files an > RTI application only when the information > does not come handy. > Plus, the authorities make sure that > they complete the work (for example, > making the road) mentioned in his RTI > application. > People from nearby villages regularly > call Ratna Bhai asking him how they can > use the RTI for land and electricity issues. > He gives advice to some. To others, > he gives the RTI helpline number. > However, taking the system head-on > has not been easy for the man who lost > his sight to a mysterious fever at the age > of four. > On one occasion when he filed an RTI > application demanding a sample of > road construction material, the village > sarpanch filed an FIR against three of > Ratna’s friends. > On another, when he was at work, some > goons came to his house and threatened > his wife Ila. However, she is made of the > same material as he. She told them that > she would hold back her husband the > day he did something for personal gain. > As long as he was serving the people, she > would not bother him. > There was immense pressure on Ratna > when he was working on the voters’ list > as majority of bogus voters belonged to > the dominant Ahir community. > When he was following the approach > road issue, some elders from the community > asked him if he would like to contest > sarpanch elections. He politely declined > the offer, saying he was satisfied being > a member of the panchayat. “Selection > of sarpanch involves muscle power and > money, which I don’t have. And even if > I manage to become sarpanch through > neat and clean polls, I would not be able > to influence the system the way I do > now,” he says while trying to decipher a > MNREGA document written in Braille. > The fact that at least 10 RTI activists > have been murdered in the past five > years, two of them in Gujarat, does not > affect him. “All of us have to die one way > or the other. Why should I be scared of > that?” > Ratna Bhai does not want power. He > has one request for the government > though — when a villager files an RTI application, > the government should ensure > that the person gets the information right > there and does not have to move the > state information commission. > “People in villages such as Rangpar > find it difficult to manage two meals a > day. Spending ` > 10 on an RTI application > means a lot to them. If this money > does not get them information, they get > discouraged. Many of them do not even > try again after one negative experience,” > he says. > Ask Ratna Bhai if he would have done > better had he not lost his sight. “If I were > a normal person I would have been running > after money. It is good that I am > blind.” • > > > Ketan > > -- > Ketan Kothari > Phone: [r] 24223281, > Cell: 9987550614 > MSN ID: [email protected] > Skype ID: Ketan3333 > > > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > -- “The waves breaking on the surface draw all the attention, but it is the current beneath the water that determines your direction.” Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
