The Better India: National: Wednesday, August 02, 2017.
Did you know
that Hockey is not our National game? This was revealed in an RTI filed by a
class VII student, Aishwarya Parashar who sought information on a government
order pertaining to India’s national game. Quite surprisingly, the Ministry of
Youth Affairs and Sports in its response stated that ministry has not declared
any sport as its national game.
India is the
world’s biggest democracy. Right to Information Act, 2005 ensures that the
people we put in power remain answerable to us always and by no means can they
use public funds arbitrarily. It is one of the most powerful legislations in
the hands of the people that empowers them to seek information from the government.
This Act is
immensely vital for the functioning of any democracy as it sanctions its
citizen the right to inspect the work of the government and ask for certified
copies to know the status of the work of different government projects. The RTI
Act mandates timely response to a request for information from a public
authority.
Who would
have thought people would file RTI to know the details of the quality and
quantity of tobacco consumed by the officials of Municipal Corporation of
Delhi.
In another
interesting RTI, a political activist in 2014 asked the Election Commission of
India why election symbols used in electronic voting machines are black and
white and not colorful.
You can
literally ask anything through an RTI, starting from the electricity bill of
your local commissioner to the amount spent by the government in training of an
athlete. A young girl in her RTI asked who has gave the order for printing
Mahatma Gandhi’s image on currency notes.
It has been
more than a decade that the Act has been passed and it has emerged as a
powerful tools for people of India to promote transparency and hold people
accountable who are in power.
Indians file
nearly 60 lakh RTIs every year, the highest number of such information requests
in the world. A total number of 2,74,737 RTI applications were filed under
standalone in different departments and agencies of Delhi.
The
government is our servant and we have no
duty to explain why we seek information from them. The government holds all the
information in our behalf, in trust. Like a banker can’t ask you why you want
to see your bank account statement, similarly the government can’t deny if you
ask them how they are governing our country.
RTI activists
have unveiled some of the most horrific scams like adarsh housing society scam,
2G scam, commonwealth scam, Red Cross Society Scam, Pratibha Patil land
controversy.
Simpreet
Singh RTI activist said, “It just takes 10 Rs to right a wrong. The biggest
achievement of RTI is that it tells the most powerful people that they are not
beyond the reach of a common man.”
The impact
created through this legislation can be seen through some of the landmark
judgements, for instance, the applications filed by Yogacharya Anandji and
Simpreet Singh in 2008 in the matter of Adarsh Scam were crucial in disclosing
the links between politicians and military officials. This 31-storey building
had permission for only 6 floors which was meant entirely for the welfare of
war widows and veterans. Instead, these flats went to several politicians,
bureaucrats and their relatives.
In another
matter, where Vaishnavi Kasturi, a visually impaired student was denied a seat
in Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore despite her impressive score in
the entrance exam filed an RTI to know why was she denied admission. She
couldn’t get admission to the college but due to her RTI, IIMs had to make
their admission criteria public. It appeared that more weightage was given to
10th and 12th exams than the score of the entrance exams.
In an another
matter an RTI filed by an NGO based in Punjab it was revealed that the funds
that were meant for victims of the Kargil War were used by the bureaucrats to
buy cars and air-conditioners. The court charged these bureaucrats with fraud
and the funds were then transferred into Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. A
9-year-old called Pranav filed an RTI that forced the Delhi police to register
his bike.
To ease the
process of India’s experiment with transparency the Delhi government is all set
to inaugurate an online RTI portal. With this portal, the process of filing,
tracking, payment and response will be available at few clicks. Through this
portal you will also be able to file appeals online. Delhi becomes the first
Union Territory, to make the filing of the RTI and related process online.
To simplify
the process for filing RTI there will be separate sections on the portal
providing guidelines and frequently asked questions. The portal will also
provide for a feedback mechanism. Through this portal one can file the
application online, once that is done the portal will allow tracking the
application. There will be a pendency report available, e-mail and SMS alerts
will also be provided. In fact the documents can be uploaded and mailed to the
applicant. RTI fee will be payable through SBI e-payment gateway.
How to file
an RTI application
You can
file an RTI in three ways:
- Online – visit rtionline.gov.in and log in to file an RTI online
- Via Post – Send your application to the concerned department via registered post or speed post.
- In Person- Visit Public Information Officer of the concerned department to file the RTI.
- Identify the department you have to seek information from. Certain subjects fall within the ambit of State or Central government and others fall within the ambit of local authority such as municipal administration/ panchayat.
- Write out the RTI application by hand or type it English, Hindi or the official language of that area.
- Address the application to the State/Central Public Information Officer. Write the name of the office you seek information from and clearly mention that “ Seeking information under RTI Act”
- Pay Rs. 10 to file the plea. You can pay in form of cash,
- You should always take a photocopy of your application and keep it with you for future reference.
- The law mandates that information should be provided within 30 days. If this does not happen you can file an appeal to the appellate authority with the name of the department and the address. The appellate authority is mandated to revert within 30 days from the date of the receipt of the appeal.
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