Times of India: Rajkot: Tuesday,
February 28, 2017.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly boasted about transparency in his
government.However, a plea filed under Right to Information Act (RTI), revealed
that since assuming office Modi government has reduced funds for promoting use
of the transparency law (RTI Act).
Rajkot-based
Rajkot-based RTI activist Shailendrasinh Jadeja filed an application under the
RTI Act with the Union ministry of personnel, public grievances and pensions,
seeking details on funds for promoting and encouraging RTI Act from 2008-09 to
201617.
“I wanted to
know how serious was the government on promoting transparency in governance and
RTI Act is the best tool to know how go vernment is promoting transparency. The
reply to my RTI query reveals that after Narendra Modi became PM, there has
been a drastic fall in funds for promoting use of RTI Act among citizen,“ said
Jadeja, who is worried about the trend.
According to
Jadeja, people need to be educated and made aware about the RTI Act through
various awareness programmes at the ground level to empower them.
“By giving
examples of people who have used the RTI Act for the larger good, he said it
could bring more transparency in administration at the local level and make
them accountable. In fact, a few days ago, a BJP MP from south Gujarat had
written a letter to Surat municipal commissioner demanding that action be taken
against RTI applicants. This shows the intent of the Union government and its
public representatives,“ Jadeja alleged.
Times View
Government,
state or central, must encourage citizen's participation in governance and
ensure transparency in its administration. RTI Act has helped common man and
political leaders alike in exposing corruption and irregularities. If Prime
Minister Narendra Modi government claims his government is `corruption free'
then it needs to spend more on awareness of RTI Act and encourage people to use
it.
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