News -- Government Grants Citizens 'Right to Know'  
Sidharth Pandey / NDTV

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=15294&n_tit=Government+Grants+Citizens+%27Right+to+Know%27+
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New Delhi, Oct 12: Ever been told by a government officer that your passport 
application,
or ration card or even the power connection to your house will not be processed 
unless
palms are greased?

There is now a way to fight back. 

A new law that comes into effect today guarantees every Indian the right to 
know exactly
what the government is up to. All this information will be accessible simply by 
filling
up a form.

Seeking answers

Uday Gosain returned to the capital from Germany where had been working for 
several
years. The first thing that literally hit him on his arrival in the city, were 
the
potholes on the road to his home in Vasant Kunj in south Delhi.

When no repairs were carried out on the road, which had been laid recently, 
Uday filed a
questionnaire under the Delhi Right to Information Act, asking the Municipal 
Corporation
of Delhi to explain why the road was in such a bad condition.

Uday also asked for the road to be inspected in his presence. 

"It was a miracle. One week before the inspection the road was being built and 
even the
pothole, which had come up the night before was perfectly filled the next 
morning," said
Uday.

Public rights

So far nine states including Delhi, Karnataka and Jammu and Kashmir had enacted 
their own
state laws on right to information, which allows citizens to ask for just about 
any
government project or even the status of their ration card or the laying of 
water
connections. 

But from midnight tonight, with the Right To Information Act of 2005, passed by
Parliament, finally coming into effect across the country any one can demand 
answers from
the government by approaching each department. 

For this, each state and the Centre will appoint information commissioners. So 
far
however, only Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Karnataka have managed to do so. 

Public rights activists say that this is one of the most important legislations 
since
independence, which will not only make the government more accountable but give 
the
citizens a greater say in the governance.

However, campaigners also say their next challenge will be to ensure that 
people get this
right.
========================================================================================

*~Jen 
Birmingham UK
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VascokarsUnited/


        
                
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