http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOIM&login=default&AW=1255228923203
How effective
has the Right to Information Act proved to be? Not very, according to some
observers
TIMES NEWS
NETWORK
Bangalore: While the Right to
Information Act has done its bit to ensure India is a successful working
democracy, its implementation leaves a lot to be desired. Sadly, many citizens
are still unaware of how to file applications. The suo motu disclosure should
have been implemented within 120 days of enforcement of the Act, but it’s still
pending.
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), along with
organizations like CIVIC, CREAT, Kria Katte and PAC, organized a discussion on
Saturday to assess how well the Act has been utilized in the past four years.
CHRI programme coordinator Venkatesh Nayak said a study is needed to find out
if it has affected government operations. RTI has worked best in tackling
corruption and holding officers accountable, he pointed out. “The first two
objectives of creating informed citizenry and transparency in government
functioning haven’t improved much.”
CORRUPTION CASES LONG PENDING
“Even
if RTI Act has helped expose corruption, there is no plan to deal with such
cases. They remain pending for long, till people forget about it. Gujarat has a
special redressal system which helps deal
with them faster,” said Nayak.
The government is still secretive about many issues. Citizens need to be
vigilant about free trade agreements that the government is entering into with
other countries and file RTI applications strategically to understand
implications of such policies, Nayak pointed out.
A CRUCIAL RIGHT
Lokayukta
Justice Santosh Hegde said the right to information is as vital as the right to
free speech. Though it is a statutory right and has its limitations, it gives
citizens many opportunities.
“We receive 20 to 30 cases per day. Since 1986, the
composition of our staff has remained the same. We have nine judges and one of
them is an information officer. The government has given us other assignments
like the Nandguri SEZ, Hassan Ring Road, PWD recruitments, etc, which leaves us
with less time to track corruption,” he said.
The Cromptroller and Auditor General’s 2007-08 report points
that a whopping Rs 51,000 crore has gone unaccounted for in eight government
projects, which include JNNURM and NREGA.
STATE-LEVEL RTI CELL A MUST
Chief
information commissioner K K Mishra stressed on the need for a state-level RTI
cell. He said 7,000 cases are pending with the commission. The government had
commissioned a private company to review implementation of the Act in the past
four years. Others like the National Campaign for People’s Right To Information
have also reviewed it in several states and the findings have been similar.
“People still find it difficult to file RTI applications. It
is pathetic. In all departments there should be a nodal officer to implement
the Act,” he said. He also recommended that 1 lakh common service centres the
government is planning to set up should also accept RTI applications.
SOME REVELATIONS
BBMP
gets one of the highest number of RTI queries. In two cases from Ward No. 50,
huge misappropriation of funds was revealed. In the case of asphalting of
Ramaiyengar Road,
Rs 3,60,650 was paid to the contractor but the work wasn’t carried out
In the case of six roadside drains in the same ward, work was done according to
the sanctioned estimate of Rs 6.55 lakh, but Rs 16.48 lakh was paid to the
contractor
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
